Editorial standards and corrections policy

In short

Every benchmark figure is filled in from the data files when the site is built. Nobody types them into the text.
Publication rules decide what we publish, and nobody can buy an exception.
We are responsible for every page. Partners can’t edit or remove one.
Spot an error? Tell us. We fix it, date the fix and say what changed.

Who is responsible

Freight Benchmarks is responsible for what it publishes: the method, the publication rules and every page.

How the figures are made

Every benchmark figure on the site, in the downloads and in llms.txt is filled in from the published data files when the site is built, so a page can’t say one thing while the data says another. Sentences that state a direction, such as “demurrage fell”, are computed from the data too, so a refresh can’t leave a false one behind. Each monthly refresh rebuilds every page. The methodology explains each calculation and its limits.

What we publish and what we hold back

Aggregates only, never an invoice, a shipment or a container. A port or a cost appears only when enough different importers stand behind it, and no importer can carry more than a fixed share of any figure. We would rather leave a port out than publish one company’s business. We never name an importer or a data partner.

How the guides and answers are written

Fee guides and answers explain what a fee is, who charges it, why it hits and how to avoid it, in plain English, citing primary sources such as the Federal Maritime Commission’s billing rule where a rule matters. They don’t name, rank or recommend forwarders. Where a carrier or terminal publishes its own procedure, such as a dispute process, we may describe it.

We use software, including AI tools, to help research, draft and check text. Figures come only from the data, never from those tools, and we are responsible for every page.

Independence from money

Referral fees pay for the site, as how we make money explains, and every data partner today is also a referral partner. Fees don’t buy figures, edits, removals, rankings or mentions.

Corrections

Figures. If a figure changes because of a correction rather than new data, the page says so, with the date and what changed. Downloads change with the next build.
Text. Factual errors are corrected with a dated note at the end of the page. Typos and broken links are fixed without a note.
Report an error with the contact form (topic “Data question or correction”). Tell us the page and the figure. We aim to reply within two business days.

The footer of every page shows the data version, which is the date of the last refresh.