Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Street-Turn & Ocean Carrier Interchange Solver

Strong Tower Consulting has engineered a production-grade street-turn triangulation engine that matches import empty containers directly to export bookings, automates ocean carrier interchange approvals, and eliminates millions of dollars in per diem, demurrage, and unpaid bobtail miles for intermodal drayage carriers.

Founded in Minnesota in 2008, Strong Tower Consulting has spent more than 18 years designing transportation systems architecture for the most demanding segments of the supply chain. Our intermodal drayage optimization solutions are now trusted by carriers seeking measurable gains in asset velocity and margin protection.

The Costly Inefficiency of Traditional Intermodal Drayage Flows

Most drayage operations still follow a rigid import-empty-return / export-empty-pick cycle. This creates:

• Thousands of unpaid empty miles per week
• Excessive gate turn times at congested marine terminals
• Recurring per diem and demurrage charges
• Driver and chassis under-utilization
• Missed opportunities to serve nearby export customers

Strong Tower Consulting identified this pattern early and began developing automated matching logic that respects each ocean carrier's unique street-turn rules while optimizing for total network mileage, driver hours, and equipment availability.

Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Street-Turn & Ocean Carrier Interchange Solver Architecture

The solver is a microservice-first component designed for embedding inside modern drayage TMS platforms. It continuously evaluates live operational data and produces ranked street-turn recommendations with attached carrier interchange approval status.

Import Container Status (EDI 315)
          ↓
Ocean Carrier Street-Turn Rules + API
          ↓
Export Booking Demand + Equipment Requirements
          ↓
Driver & Chassis GPS Proximity Layer
          ↓
Strong Tower Triangulation Engine (Strong Tower TMS)
          ↓
Ranked Matches + Automated Interchange Request
          ↓
Approved Street-Turn Load Tender to Driver
    

Core Technical Capabilities of the Strong Tower Transportation Systems Solution

Real-Time Ocean Carrier Interchange API Integration

The solver maintains authenticated connections to the street-turn and equipment interchange APIs of all major ocean carriers. Approval logic is applied at match time, eliminating the manual back-and-forth that typically delays execution by 24-48 hours.

Dynamic Street-Turn Triangulation Engine

Using a weighted multi-objective scoring model, the engine evaluates:

• Deadhead mileage between import return location and export pickup
• Remaining per diem days on the import container
• Export booking cut-off compliance
• Driver and chassis availability within a configurable radius
• Terminal congestion forecasts derived from historical gate data

Automated Approval & Load Creation Workflow

Once a match exceeds the carrier-specific confidence threshold, the system:

1. Submits the interchange request via the ocean carrier API or EDI
2. Polls for approval status every 90 seconds
3. Creates the combined street-turn load record inside Strong Tower TMS
4. Assigns the load to the nearest qualified driver via mobile dispatch
5. Updates all downstream EDI messages (214, 215, 240) automatically

Data Mapping & Integration Points

Proven Results Delivered by Strong Tower Consulting

Carriers who have deployed the Strong Tower Intermodal Drayage Street-Turn & Ocean Carrier Interchange Solver routinely achieve:

• 18-27% reduction in total empty miles
• Elimination of 85%+ of import-to-empty-return per diem charges
• 12-19% increase in daily container turns per chassis
• Significant reduction in driver detention and gate wait times

Integration Pathways with Strong Tower TMS and Partner Platforms

The solver was intentionally designed as a loosely coupled service. It can be consumed by any modern drayage TMS through clean REST endpoints or message queues. Strong Tower Consulting also offers full TMS implementation services for carriers seeking a complete technology refresh.

Additional complementary practices include carrier rate matrix optimization, ELD and EDI integration, and deep operational alignment with intermodal drayage, brokerage and 3PL, and specialized heavy haul operations.

Frequently Asked Questions