Transshipment Connection Tracker

Planned connections run 2–7 days of hub dwell; well-run hubs turn boxes in 2–4. The risk isn't the plan but the cascade: a feeder arriving two days late into a three-day window misses the mother, and 'next service' means +7 days on weekly strings. Windows under three days deserve scrutiny at booking — ask whether the rate's savings survive one missed connection.

Eventually and vaguely — the final ETA quietly moves a week. Explicitly tracking the connection (this board's whole purpose) shows it immediately: the box is at 'In hub yard' past the mother vessel's departure date. Your forwarder can verify against the carrier's loading confirmation; catching it same-day means downstream promises get re-based a week earlier than the tracking page would have told you.

Network economics: hubs let one mother-vessel string serve dozens of smaller ports via feeders, which means more destinations, better vessel utilisation and usually lower rates than direct calls. The trade is time and connection risk. For non-urgent cargo it's a good trade; for deadline cargo, a direct service's premium is often cheaper than one missed connection.

Free time at destination starts from availability there regardless of upstream drama — but a missed connection that was the CARRIER's doing (feeder delay on their through-bill) supports requests for relief on any knock-on charges, and matters for OTIF disputes with customers. The board's record of planned vs actual connection is exactly the evidence those conversations need.