CSX LINES OFFERS ôJUST IN TIMEö DATA ON HAWAII, PUERTO RICO SHIPMENTS
CSX Lines, the domestic liner unit of CSX Corp., said it is offering Internet-based “just in time” data for customers shipping containers to Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
NetCaptain, CSX Line's suite of electronic business applications, provides customers estimated container availability online in real time. The container availability calculator integrates two pieces of data, the location of the container on the vessel and the hatch discharge sequences from the vessel planners. As the vessel planners input and update the discharge sequence in CSX Lines' system, the system reads this data against the stowage location of the cargo and is able to provide, to the minute and hour, accurate cargo availability to the shipper through the NetCaptain portal.
Customers have had to call CSX Lines' service centers to find out the stowage location and then call the port to ask when the particular hatch would be worked in order to determine availability.
“Today in Puerto Rico, for example, every customer has to come to the port to pick up loads, which creates more congestion than in ports where CSX Lines ships containers to the customer's final destination,” said Cathy Pit, e-business product manager. With the Internet-based system, shippers can save several hours that truck drivers would have to sit at the port of discharge, waiting to pick up containers.
CSX Lines customers can find out when their containers can be picked up at the destination port in three ways:
* Use the “search for container” link on CSX Lines home page, which requires no customer registration.
* Access the “At Sea” report available by logging onto NetCaptain and checking ShipStat Reports.
* Search by booking, bill, purchase order, reference or container number in the search function of ShipStat in NetCaptain.
The second and third options require customer registration.