Shipper ROI Calculator
Enter your monthly dry, reefer, and ISO tank volumes, switch between CNEE port deposits and lessee equipment rental scenarios, and see the numbers update instantly. All math runs in your browser; raw calculator inputs are never sent to ConPDS.
The Financial Case for Structured Shipper Documentation
The cost of container deposit leakage scales with volume, deposit size, and the share of returns where a repair charge is raised on your specific lanes. The math below models what a structured documentation platform recovers at three operator sizes across both deposit scenarios: lessee-side (equipment rental, typically around two to three months' rental — a few hundred euros for a dry box) and CNEE-side (port collection — the larger per-container deposit, typically around €1,000 for a dry box, rising to €2,500+ in some regions on the most contested lanes and materially higher for reefer and ISO tank). Switch scenarios below to see tier figures at each baseline, or use the interactive calculator further down to model your own fleet.
40 containers / month
150 containers / month
500 containers / month
Deposit Exposure Varies by Class and Scenario
Each class below shows typical deposit ranges on both sides of the deposit split. CNEE-side (port collection) is typically the higher, scaling with container replacement value and non-return risk; lessee-side (equipment rental) is typically the lower, sized at roughly 2–3 months rental. Mixed-fleet operators carry compounding exposure: a single contested reefer compressor claim or ISO tank cleaning dispute often exceeds the annual platform cost on its own.
Dry Box
Reefer
ISO Tank
Deposit sizes vary widely on both sides — financially strong counterparties often pay no deposit at all, while new or small operators on high-dispute lanes pay the upper end of each range. The calculator below lets you model your actual fleet against either deposit scenario.
Calculate Your Own Mixed-Fleet Exposure
Enter your monthly container volumes and known average repair charges. The calculator models your annual deposit exposure, the recoverable range once handover and return condition evidence is in place, and the payback against ConPDS pricing — all computed in your browser. Your typed values are not transmitted; if you accept analytics cookies, ConPDS receives only anonymous usage buckets such as scenario, volume range, and exposure range.
- Annual deposit capital: Σ (monthly volume × deposit per container) × 12 — the working capital tied up in deposits at any given time.
- Annual repair-charge exposure: Σ (monthly volume × avg charge when raised) × incidence rate × 12 — the expected €'s absorbed as repair deductions across a year.
- Recoverable (60–80%): exposure × 60% to 80% — the share of raised charges operators typically reverse when they can reference structured pickup-and-return evidence.
- Platform ROI multiple: recoverable ÷ €4,200/year (entry-tier pricing floor at €350/month).
Incidence rate is the share of returns where any repair charge is raised — not a percentage of the deposit that gets deducted. If 100% of your returns incur a charge, set this to 100%. The avg charge when raised is the average only across containers that actually get charged, not across all returns.
- Deposit ranges: published shipping-line import tariffs (e.g. Emirates Shipping Line's India and Pakistan tariff sheets, roughly €100–€2,600 per box depending on lane and clearance type) and the UNESCAP container-deposit survey. The model's €1,000 typical dry-box deposit is deliberately conservative against these tariffs; €2,500+ applies in some regions on the most contested lanes.
- Lessee deposit sizing: lease terms are negotiated case-by-case on lessee creditworthiness (per lessor leasing FAQs and SEC filings, e.g. Triton). The "2–3 months rental" sizing is the convention ConPDS customers report.
- Incidence rate (15–25%): operator-reported by ConPDS customers; consistent with a TCompanies US intermodal survey estimating ~25% of containers and trailers in circulation are damaged, with 39% of carriers billed even when not at fault (FreightWaves coverage).
- Average repair charge: 2025 container repair and maintenance market data — dry $280–650, reefer $1,200–3,500, ISO tank $900–2,800 per service event (Dataintelo) — and published depot repair tariffs.
- Recovery rate (60–80%): operator-reported by ConPDS customers; consistent with CorePiper's 2026 State of Freight Claims benchmark (35–45% recovery under manual processes vs 70–85% with complete, systematically submitted documentation). In the same TCompanies survey, 61% of not-at-fault charges were paid because the payer could not prove they weren't responsible, and a further 36% failed on incomplete or unclear documentation.
- Pricing: current ConPDS Checker entry tier (€350/month).
All figures are operator-typical estimates based on your inputs — not guaranteed savings. Actual recovery depends on lane mix, counterparty, and evidence quality. Calculated in-browser; raw calculator inputs are never sent to ConPDS.
Who This Calculator Is For
This calculator is framed for operators who carry container deposit exposure at pickup and return — the shipper, forwarder, or consignee side of the trade. It is deliberately narrow so the inputs and assumptions stay honest. If your exposure looks different (depot gate throughput, reefer workshop M&R, wash-station turn), the right place to start is the relevant product page rather than forcing your numbers through this model.
Want the Numbers Translated Into an Implementation Plan?
If the recovery range above looks material for your fleet, the next step is a short conversation about how a structured pickup-and-return record is deployed at your lane profile, counterparty mix, and existing evidence tooling. No pitch deck — the ConPDS team walks through the evidence standard, the rollout, and the honest edge cases where recovery falls outside the 60–80% band.