Intermodal Chassis Split Billing & Pool Audit Reconciliation Playbook

Drayage carriers operating in major port markets face one of the most complex billing reconciliation challenges in trucking: intermodal chassis pool invoices from DCLI, TRAC, Flexi-Van, and other equipment providers. These invoices routinely contain split-day charges, per-diem assessments, and detention fees that can total tens of thousands of dollars per month. Without rigorous audit processes, carriers lose significant margin on every load moved through the ports.

Strong Tower Consulting has spent more than 16 years helping asset-based intermodal carriers engineer automated reconciliation engines that match optical character recognition (OCR) gate tickets against pool billing records. This playbook details the exact operational and technical framework we deploy for carriers running Truckmate, McLeod, TMW, or custom SQL Server environments.

UIIA Chassis Pool Billing Rules Every Drayage Carrier Must Master

The Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA) governs the relationship between motor carriers and equipment providers. Key provisions that drive split billing include:

• Chassis day is defined from midnight to midnight, not by 24-hour periods.
• When a chassis is pulled on day one and returned on day two, the first day is typically the responsibility of the ocean carrier or beneficial cargo owner while the second day is billed to the motor carrier.
• Gate interchange records (IN and OUT) constitute legal evidence for determining the correct billing party.
• Disputes must be filed within 90 days of invoice receipt with supporting documentation.

Technical Architecture for Automated Reconciliation

Our recommended solution ingests three primary data streams:

1. OCR gate interchange tickets received via API or EDI 322 from terminal operators
2. Monthly chassis pool invoices from DCLI, TRAC, and Flexi-Van (PDF or CSV)
3. Internal load and settlement records from Truckmate, McLeod, or TMW (EDI 204, 214, 210)

Using SQL Server or PostgreSQL, we build a staging schema that normalizes all timestamps to UTC, applies business rules for split-day calculation, and flags exceptions. The core query pattern uses window functions to pair IN and OUT transactions for each chassis and then calculates the exact day boundary crossing.

WITH paired_moves AS (
  SELECT 
    equipment_id,
    transaction_datetime,
    move_type,
    LEAD(transaction_datetime) OVER (PARTITION BY equipment_id ORDER BY transaction_datetime) as return_time,
    DATEPART(weekday, transaction_datetime) as pull_day
  FROM gate_interchange
  WHERE move_type = 'OUT'
)
SELECT 
  equipment_id,
  CASE 
    WHEN DATEPART(day, return_time) > DATEPART(day, transaction_datetime) THEN 'SPLIT_BILL'
    ELSE 'SINGLE_DAY'
  END as billing_category
FROM paired_moves;

Dispute Arbitration and Merchant Defense Process

Successful dispute resolution requires a repeatable workflow. We recommend maintaining a centralized dispute repository that links the original invoice line item, the supporting gate ticket, driver ELD/HOS records, and the corresponding load in your TMS. For detention disputes, the most compelling evidence is a timestamped sequence showing when the driver arrived at the terminal, when the container was available, and when the chassis was finally released.

Carriers running McLeod or TMW can leverage the native document attachment features to store OCR images directly against the load record. For carriers on Truckmate, we typically build a custom SQL data mart that surfaces reconciled exceptions directly into the driver settlement and accounts payable modules.

Independent by design

Measuring ROI from Chassis Pool Reconciliation

Carriers who implement disciplined audit programs typically recover between 11% and 19% of total chassis-related spend through disputes and prevention of erroneous billing. When these savings are combined with reduced administrative time in accounts payable and improved accuracy in driver fuel surcharge and detention settlements, the financial impact is material.

Related Transportation Engineering Practices

This chassis reconciliation playbook is most powerful when integrated with broader operational systems. We frequently implement these solutions alongside TMS implementation, ELD and EDI integration, SQL data mining, and transportation accounting integration.

FAQ

Strong Tower Consulting, LLC was founded in Minnesota in 2008 by Scott Elliott. In business for more than 18 years, we serve motor carriers and drayage operators nationwide with deep expertise in intermodal operations, TMS data architecture, and financial reconciliation processes. Call 763-244-1373 to discuss your chassis pool audit program.