Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Chassis Split & Per Diem Dispute Engine

Intermodal drayage carriers lose millions annually to wrongful per diem and demurrage charges caused by off-dock chassis splits, terminal bad-order flips, and dual-mission gate lockouts. Strong Tower Consulting has designed and deployed an automated dispute engine inside Strong Tower TMS that captures irrefutable evidence and recovers unbilled accessorial revenue at scale.

Since 2008, Strong Tower Consulting has specialized in transportation systems architecture for the intermodal drayage sector. Our dispute engine combines GPS geofencing, EDI 322 milestone automation, terminal gate receipt matching, and ocean carrier contract logic to produce dispute packages that ocean carriers and chassis pools accept at rates exceeding 85 percent.

Why Intermodal Drayage Carriers Need Automated Per Diem Dispute Technology

Traditional manual dispute processes cannot keep pace with the volume and complexity of modern intermodal operations. When a chassis split occurs off-dock or a bad-order chassis forces an unscheduled swap, the ocean carrier's automated billing systems often generate per diem charges regardless of fault. Without precise, timestamped evidence tied to the specific container and move, these charges become permanent margin erosion.

The Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Chassis Split & Per Diem Dispute Engine closes this gap by operating in real time inside Strong Tower TMS. It eliminates reliance on driver paperwork and fragmented spreadsheets, replacing them with authoritative, auditable data packages.

Core Components of the Strong Tower Dispute Engine

The engine is built as a modular microservice within Strong Tower transportation systems. Key modules include:

• GPS Geofence Engine - Continuously monitors tractor and chassis locations against marine terminal, rail ramp, and chassis pool boundaries.
• EDI 322 Milestone Tracker - Ingests and normalizes status messages from ocean carriers, terminals, and rail providers to establish legal custody timelines.
• Chassis Split Detection Logic - Identifies when a container is dropped on a street chassis or when a dual-mission move creates an off-terminal split.
• Per Diem Rules Library - Maintains current contract terms for every major ocean carrier and chassis pool, updated automatically through API feeds.
• Dispute Package Generator - Assembles PDF and EDI evidence bundles with GPS plots, TIR scans, 322 timestamps, and carrier-specific narrative.

Technical Workflow: From Event Detection to Dispute Submission

The Strong Tower methodology follows a deterministic five-step process that runs automatically for every intermodal load:

1. Event Ingestion - Real-time GPS, ELD, and EDI 322 data streams are ingested through our ELD-EDI-Integration practice.
2. Geofence & Milestone Correlation - The engine matches container pickup and drop timestamps against terminal gate receipts and chassis pool rules.
3. Violation Classification - Off-dock chassis splits, bad-order flips, and force-majeure events are automatically flagged with root-cause attribution.
4. Evidence Package Assembly - Supporting documents are compiled into a standardized dispute format accepted by each ocean carrier portal.
5. Automated Submission & Tracking - Disputes are transmitted via API or EDI and tracked to resolution inside the Strong Tower TMS dashboard.

GPS / ELD Data ──► Geofence Engine
EDI 322 Messages ──► Milestone Normalizer
Terminal TIR Scans ──► Document OCR & Matching
Chassis Pool APIs ──► Rules Engine
Ocean Carrier Agreements ──► Per Diem Logic
                          │
                          ▼
               Dispute Decision Engine
                          │
               ┌──────────┴──────────┐
               ▼                     ▼
     Valid Charge          Wrongful Per Diem
               │                     │
               ▼                     ▼
         Accept & Pay       Automated Dispute Package
                                     │
                                     ▼
                               Carrier Portal / EDI 240
    

Data Mapping: Critical Fields for Successful Per Diem Disputes

Proven Results from Strong Tower TMS Deployments

Carriers using the Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Chassis Split & Per Diem Dispute Engine routinely recover 70-90 percent of previously lost per diem revenue. The system also drives behavioral change: drivers and dispatchers receive real-time alerts that reduce future violations. Because the engine is embedded in Strong Tower TMS, the data loop is closed - every dispute outcome improves the underlying rules engine.

Integration with Broader Strong Tower Practices

The dispute engine is not a standalone product. It is delivered as part of our comprehensive TMS Implementation and ELD-EDI Integration services. Carriers also benefit from pairing the engine with Carrier Rate Matrix Optimization to ensure accessorial rates properly reflect recovered per diem values.

Strong Tower Consulting serves the full spectrum of intermodal participants. See our dedicated Intermodal Drayage practice page, or explore how these same principles apply to brokerage and 3PL operations and specialized heavy haul fleets.

Frequently Asked Questions