Hapag-Lloyd Live Position vs Portcast

Hapag-Lloyd Live Position tracks dry containers across ship, rail, and truck journeys using IoT devices attached to containers. The tracking view shows status, location, ETA, inland distance traveled, and planned or updated shipment information. A shipment must be purchased as a whole, even if some containers lack devices, and the service is available only for dry containers equipped with a smart device.

GPS trackers transmit location data every 15 minutes. For eligible Carrier Haulage import bookings, Live ETA is included and updates arrival estimates using device data and past planned-versus-actual transport performance. ETA changes appear automatically on the website and API. Customers can view vessel history, with vessel data updated every 24 hours, and download tracking data as CSV. Access is through the Online Business Suite for signed-in customers. Carrier Haulage is listed at free; Merchant Haulage costs $15, paid once per container. The API is available for customer systems; self-onboarding is free and comprehensive IT onboarding is USD 5,000.

Portcast connects shipment data with orders, contracts and invoices for global transportation teams, using AI to surface risks and recommend actions. Its container tracking combines carrier milestones, AIS, schedules, port and terminal data, and market insights into shipment views with predicted ETAs and risk alerts. Users can search by container, booking or bill of lading number; Portcast says its network covers 220+ carriers and NVOCCs. ETA predictions use machine learning across 70+ data sources and update as voyage conditions change. Freight audit checks ocean invoices against contract terms and shipment milestones, flagging billing discrepancies. Invoice extraction is described as 99%+ accurate and enabling 95%+ touchless processing, including scanned, multilingual and non-standard formats. The service is available through web and API, with data for ocean, air, rail and road, and supports custom integrations. A trial account can track up to 10 containers, with no feature limitations stated; setup follows a scheduled meeting. Pricing is on request. The listed Enterprise Predictive Visibility Platform costs $45,000 a year on a 12-month contract, with additional AWS infrastructure costs potentially applying. Portcast says its forwarder-specific freight audit product is still being developed.