Middle Watch · Daily Brief

9 things need you today.

Monday, August 3 · brief generated 06:58 AM · 312 active containers checked across 6 carrier portals, 3 terminals, CBP ACE and the AP inbox.

Money at risk today
$22,960
Avoidable if the 3 critical items are actioned before today's terminal cutoff.
Containers monitored
312
across 41 customers
Exceptions found
9
3 critical · 3 serious · 3 warning
Time to produce this
6 min
↓ from 4 h 10 by hand

Where the exposure sits

Dollar exposure by category, this morning's brief.

Demurrage & detention
$9,860
Customs & penalties
$7,530
Invoice discrepancies
$5,570
$0$2,500$5,000$7,500$10,000
▲Critical · Terminal appointment system

Last free day is today — 3 containers with no pickup appointment booked

B/L MEDUMI4429871 · POMTOC · consignee Delray Home Goods · 40HC ×3

$6,300
Appointment cutoff 14:00
What the agent checked
  • 06:31 — Pulled container status from MSC portal: all 3 discharged Thu 07/30, available Fri 07/31.
  • 06:33 — POMTOC terminal lookup: free time expires today 08/03, no holds outstanding.
  • 06:34 — Queried terminal appointment system: no appointment on file for any of the 3 units.
  • 06:35 — Checked dispatch sheet: no trucker assigned; customer delivery window is Wed.
  • 06:36 — Modelled exposure at tariff: $210/day days 1–4, $420/day days 5+, 3 units, projected pickup Thu = $6,300.
Recommended action

Book 3 appointments in today's window before the 14:00 cutoff, or file a free-time extension with MSC citing the Wed delivery window.

Owner: Dispatch · Escalate to Ops Manager if no trucker capacity by 11:00.

▲Critical · CBP ACE status

CBP exam placed Friday 21:14 — nobody saw it over the weekend

Entry ZZZ-1840992-4 · MET exam · container moved to CES · 2 units

$2,530
3 days lost already
What the agent checked
  • 06:38 — ACE entry summary status changed to Exam — MET, timestamped Fri 07/31 21:14.
  • 06:39 — No corresponding note in the file; last internal touch was Fri 17:22. Confirmed nobody actioned it.
  • 06:40 — Terminal shows units moved to CES Sat 08/01. CES drayage billable at $425/unit.
  • 06:41 — Checked carrier free time: clock not automatically tolled during exam — must be requested.
  • 06:42 — Exposure: CES drayage $850 + untolled demurrage 2 units × 4 days × $210 = $2,530.
Recommended action

File free-time tolling request with the carrier today citing the CBP exam — this is the step most often missed and it is worth $1,680 on its own. Notify the customer of a 3–5 day delay before they call you.

Owner: Customs desk · Draft notice ready.

▲Critical · Invoice audit

Chassis per diem billed for days the container sat under terminal hold

Carrier invoice INV-77A20194 · due Wed 08/05 · 8 units

$2,840
Dispute before payment Wed
What the agent checked
  • 06:44 — Parsed invoice line items; isolated 71 chassis-usage days billed at $40/day.
  • 06:45 — Cross-referenced each unit's terminal history: 8 units held for freight release 07/14–07/22.
  • 06:46 — 71 billed days include 62 days under hold — not chargeable per the equipment addendum.
  • 06:47 — Verified no prior credit issued on this account for the same period.
  • 06:48 — Recoverable: 62 days × $40 + duplicated documentation fee $360 = $2,840.
Recommended action

Dispute before Wednesday's payment run — disputing after payment turns a deduction into a refund request and typically adds 60+ days. Line-item breakdown attached.

Owner: AP · Dispute letter drafted.

◆Serious · Carrier portal

Freight hold not released although the customer wired Thursday

B/L MAEU2298104 · 2 units · Port Everglades

$1,260
Demurrage starts in 2 days
What the agent checked
  • 06:50 — Carrier portal still shows Freight hold — unpaid on both units.
  • 06:51 — Matched against AR inbox: remittance advice received Thu 07/30 for the full amount.
  • 06:51 — Confirmed the wire reference matches the carrier's invoice number — this is a carrier-side posting lag, not a customer problem.
  • 06:52 — Free time expires Wed 08/05; exposure if unreleased = 2 × 3 × $210 = $1,260.
Recommended action

Send the remittance advice to the carrier release desk this morning. Posting lags clear in hours when chased and in a week when not.

Owner: Ocean import desk.

◆Serious · Equipment tracking

4 empties past return free time — per diem running since Saturday

Day 6 of 5 free days · $115/day/unit · trucker Southline Drayage

$2,300
$460/day accruing
What the agent checked
  • 06:53 — 4 units show delivered/emptied but no return-gate event at any terminal.
  • 06:54 — Free-time clock expired Sat 08/01; per diem accruing at $115/unit/day.
  • 06:54 — Checked return locations: 2 terminals currently listing empty-return restrictions for this equipment type.
  • 06:55 — Projected 5 further days at current pace = $2,300.
Recommended action

Confirm an open return location before dispatching — restriction-driven per diem is disputable, but only with a documented refused-return attempt. Have the trucker log every attempt.

Owner: Equipment control.

◆Serious · Invoice audit

Invoiced rate is $455/container above the quote on 6 units

Shanghai → Miami · quoted $2,450 all-in · invoiced $2,905

$2,730
Due Fri 08/07
What the agent checked
  • 06:56 — Matched invoice against the quote on file for this lane and customer.
  • 06:56 — Delta traced to a congestion surcharge of $455/unit added at invoicing.
  • 06:57 — Quote validity ran through 08/15 and reads all-in; surcharge effective date is after booking confirmation.
  • 06:57 — 6 units × $455 = $2,730 recoverable.
Recommended action

Reject the surcharge citing booking date against surcharge effective date. Cite the quote's all-in wording — that clause is why this is winnable.

Owner: Pricing · Evidence pack ready.

●Warning · CBP filing calendar

ISF not filed — vessel arrives in 4 days

Booking SHA-0844127 · 3 units · ETA Fri 08/07

$5,000
Penalty risk
What the agent checked
  • 06:58 — Cross-checked all inbound bookings with ETA ≤ 10 days against filed ISFs.
  • 06:58 — This booking has no ISF on file and no supplier data request logged.
  • 06:58 — Late-filing liquidated damages run to $5,000 per violation.
Recommended action

Request supplier data today. Four days is comfortable; two is not, and this booking has been quiet for eleven days.

Owner: Customs desk.

●Warning · Vessel schedule

ETA slipped 3 days — 6 delivery appointments now wrong

Vessel schedule revised overnight · 6 units · 4 customers affected

—
Rebook before customers call
What the agent checked
  • 06:59 — Carrier schedule update overnight: ETA 08/06 → 08/09.
  • 06:59 — 6 units on this vessel have delivery appointments booked against the old ETA.
  • 06:59 — 2 of the 4 customers have appointment-change penalties in their SLA.
Recommended action

Notify the 4 customers and rebook this morning. Being the one who tells them beats being the one who gets called.

Owner: Customer service · Notices drafted.

✓Cleared overnight · No action needed

2 items from Friday's brief resolved without intervention

1 customs hold released · 1 freight hold cleared after payment posted

Closed
Verified 06:30
What the agent checked
  • 06:30 — Re-verified all 11 open items from Friday's brief against live portal status.
  • 06:30 — 2 cleared, 9 still open and carried into today's list above.
  • 06:30 — Nothing re-opened; no silent regressions.
Why this matters

The agent closes its own loops. You are never chasing something that already resolved itself over the weekend.

What was checked this morning

Every source below was verified before 07:00. This is the part that takes a person four hours.

✓ Carrier portals
6 carriers · 312 containers
✓ Terminal status
POMTOC · SFCT · Port Everglades
✓ Terminal appointments
54 open units cross-checked
✓ CBP ACE status
88 open entries
✓ Carrier invoices
14 invoices · 620 line items
✓ Equipment / empty returns
47 units past discharge
✓ Vessel schedules
19 inbound vessels
✓ Friday's open items
11 re-verified

Your desk gets this at 7 AM. Every day.

No dashboard to log into, no new system to learn. The brief lands in the inbox your ops manager already opens first — prioritized, with the evidence attached, so the first decision of the day is what to action, not what to check.

Demonstration brief built on synthetic data representative of a Miami import operation.
Container numbers, entry numbers, invoice references and customer names are fictional.