Summary
What is this feature?
Three new first-class fields on every intermodal booking: Tare weight, Cargo weight, and VGM (Verified Gross Mass). VGM is auto-calculated as Tare + Cargo, with the option to override the value manually. The same three values are available as cost-side rate metrics and are included in outbound booking dispatch to supported ferry and rail partners.
Why does it matter?
SOLAS regulations require VGM on every loaded container shipped by sea, and modern intermodal booking messages (c-web, EDIGES) expect tare, cargo, and VGM as separate fields. Without dedicated fields, weight data was never visible to planners or customer service - which blocked SOLAS-compliant ferry bookings, broke rail integrations that required the values up front, and prevented weight-based pricing for tank intermodal customers.
How does it work?
When an intermodal booking is created or updated, Tare weight is read from the resource (container or vehicle), Cargo weight is the sum of goods weight across all linked orders, and VGM is calculated as Tare + Cargo. The values are visible on the intermodal booking list and on the intermodal leg hover card, can be used in cost-side rate calculations, and are sent automatically in supported outbound integrations.
Prerequisites
A Tare weight must be set on the relevant resource (container, trailer, or vehicle) for the auto-calculation to populate correctly. Bookings on resources without a tare weight will show a blank or zero value for Tare weight and VGM until the resource is updated.
Goods on the orders linked to the intermodal booking must have a weight set so that Cargo weight can be summed.
Uses actual loaded weight when available and falls back to ordered weight so the value is populated for planning, not only after loading.
For the values to flow into outbound bookings, the relevant integration must already be configured (c-web for CLdN, P&O, SeaTruck, or EDIGES).
Use Cases
SOLAS-compliant ferry dispatch: ferry operators require VGM to be transmitted with every loaded container booking. With Tare, Cargo, and VGM as separate fields on the booking, dispatch payloads to c-web (CLdN), P&O, and SeaTruck now carry the values directly instead of being reverse-engineered, which removes a category of booking rejections caused by missing or incorrect weight data.
EDIGES rail bookings: rail operators using EDIGES expect VGM, cargo weight, and tare weight in the booking payload. The new fields are populated automatically and included in outbound EDIGES messages, removing the need to complete bookings manually in partner portals.
Tank intermodal pricing: liquid bulk operators price by tank tare + goods weight, where the tare differs per tank. With tare weight, cargo weight, and VGM available as cost-side rate metrics, these pricing rules can be configured directly in Qargo instead of being maintained outside the system.
Customer service visibility before dispatch: planners and customer service teams can now add the three weight columns to the intermodal booking list and the values are visible on the intermodal leg hover card, making it possible to spot bookings with missing or zero weight data before they are sent to the operator.
Terminology
Term | Definition |
Tare weight | The empty weight of the container, trailer, or vehicle assigned to the booking. Read from the resource record. |
Cargo weight | The total weight of the goods on the orders linked to the intermodal booking. Calculated from actual loaded weight where available, otherwise from ordered weight. |
VGM (Verified Gross Mass) | The verified total weight of a loaded container: Tare weight + Cargo weight. Required by SOLAS regulations for vessel loading on ferry connections. |
Intermodal booking | The booking record that represents the intermodal leg of a transport - typically a ferry or rail movement managed by an external operator. |
EDIGES | A standardised electronic booking message format used by several European rail operators (Hupac, Kombiverkehr, Samskip, Novatrans, T3M, Mercitalia). |
c-web | The booking integration used by CLdN for ferry bookings. |
Visualising the New Fields
On the intermodal booking
The three new fields appear on every intermodal booking. They are populated automatically when the booking is created or updated:
OPEN the intermodal booking from Planning → Container booking, or from the intermodal leg on an order.
VIEW the Tare weight, Cargo weight, and VGM values in the booking detail panel. Tare weight is read from the assigned resource, Cargo weight is the sum of goods weight across the orders on the booking, and VGM is calculated as Tare + Cargo.
OVERRIDE the VGM value manually if the actual weighed VGM differs from the calculated value (for example, after physical weighing at a port). The override is preserved even if the underlying tare or cargo values change later.
🧰 The auto-calculation depends on a Tare weight being configured on the resource and goods weight being set on the orders. Bookings on resources without a tare weight will show blank or zero values until the resource record is updated.
On the intermodal booking list
The three values are shown as columns on the intermodal booking list
📚 The columns are visible but not filterable or sortable.
On the intermodal leg hover card
The same three values are displayed on the intermodal leg hover card that appears when hovering an intermodal leg on the order table. This makes the values visible without opening the booking itself.
Cost-Side Rate Metrics
The three values are available as metrics in cost-side rate calculations, alongside the existing weight and dimension metrics.
Available metrics
Three new metrics are exposed in the metric picker on cost-side price-table dimensions and formula calculations:
Tare weight - the tare value from the booking.
Cargo weight - the summed goods weight from the booking.
Verified gross mass - the VGM value (auto-calculated or overridden) from the booking.
These can be used to configure brackets (for example, up to 8t / up to 36.5t for VGM) or to drive formula-based cost calculations. The flow for adding the new metrics is identical to the existing weight metrics already used in cost rate cards.
📚 Three new metrics available on cost-side rate cards only.
Outbound Integration Dispatch
When an intermodal booking is dispatched to a supported partner, the three new fields are included in outbound updates automatically.
Supported integrations
c-web (CLdN): maps directly to the existing
<tareWeight>,<cargoWeight>, and<vgm>elements in the c-web booking message.P&O: the three fields are included in the booking dispatch payload.
SeaTruck: the Cargo weight field is used directly.
EDIGES: the three fields are included in the EDIGES booking payload mappings.
🧰 No additional configuration is required for these integrations to start using the new fields once the integration itself is set up. The fields are populated and dispatched automatically.
External API
Three new optional, read-only fields are exposed on BookingDimensions in the External API:
BookingDimensions.tare_weightBookingDimensions.cargo_weightBookingDimensions.verified_gross_mass
These are populated by Qargo's calculation and are not accepted as input.
Troubleshooting
Issue | What to check |
Tare weight is blank or zero on the booking | Confirm that the resource (container, trailer, or vehicle) assigned to the booking has a Tare weight configured on the resource record. The booking reads this value directly from the resource. |
Cargo weight is blank or zero | Confirm that the goods on the orders linked to the booking have a weight set. The system uses actual loaded weight when available and falls back to ordered weight - if neither is populated, the cargo weight cannot be summed. |
VGM does not match the expected value after editing goods or resource | If the VGM was manually overridden, it does not recalculate when the underlying values change. The manual-override indicator on the VGM cell signals this state. Clearing the override allows the value to recalculate. |
Tare / Cargo / VGM columns not visible on the booking list | The columns are not visible by default. Open Edit columns on the intermodal booking list and enable them per saved view. |
Sorting or filtering on the new columns has no effect | Filtering and sorting on Tare weight, Cargo weight, and VGM are not available in v1. The columns are visible-only at this stage. |
Outbound booking still missing weight data at the partner | Confirm that the booking has tare and cargo populated in Qargo (see the checks above), and that the partner integration in use is one of the supported integrations listed in Outbound Integration Dispatch. |