Container tracking, done for you
We chase your factory, forwarder and the port so you don't have to. Every container, document, deadline and cost in one calm place, from factory to delivery.
Illustrative dataShipment overview
PI-DEMO-024 Shanghai to Felixstowe
From the factory floor to your warehouse door
Your container, clearly in view.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Industry figures from the sources cited. They describe global shipping and trade, not Portside's own usage.
of the volume of world merchandise trade is carried by sea
of containers handled in ports worldwide in 2024
of world port container traffic in 2024 was handled in ports in developing economies of Asia
of UK goods imports from China in the four quarters to end Q1 2026 — the UK's 2nd-largest source of imported goods
ports of call on MSC's network alone, across 300 trade routes
container vessels deployed by Maersk, operating in around 130 countries
From start to finish
Follow one shipment from the factory to your door. Underneath, every step it shows is something Portside does, labelled with who does it.
Stage 1 of 8 · In production
Illustrative shipment: the steps are real, the figures and dates are examples.
01 / 08 In production
Your goods are being made. We track the deposit, the factory and the promised ready date.
Order confirmed: 1,000 oak dining chairs from Suzhou A
Portside teamDeposit of £3,365 recorded as paid
Portside teamPhoto upload link sent to the factory, in English and Chinese
Portside teamCountdown to the promised ready date on your dashboard
AutomaticAutomatic the system does itPortside team we chase and record itYou your action
The timeline fills in as the shipment moves.
By sea, rail or air
Sea is above. Here are rail and air: what happens at each stage, what Portside records, and when each one makes sense.
Stage 1 of 10 · Booked
Illustrative journey: the stages are the ones Portside tracks; times are typical ranges, not quotes.
01 / 10 Booked
The rail booking is in. Portside records the booking reference and the train, and checks the goods: anything coded 84 or 85 is flagged for the transit rules.
About 28 to 40 days port to port
Watch demurrage and detention at the UK port; Portside counts the free days for you.
About 16 to 25 days station to station
Goods coded 84 or 85 (machinery, electronics) risk inspection on the transit through Russia and Belarus. Portside flags them and asks your forwarder to confirm first.
Days, not weeks
Rule of thumb: if air freight would be under about 15% of the goods value, it can make sense. Over about 30%, sea or rail is better. Ask us for a quote.
See it working
Start with the one-minute overview, or pick the part you care about: the chasing we do for you, your suppliers, your paperwork, landed cost, or Portside on your phone. Every account and shipment you will see is sample data.
Start here · 0:53
From a factory in China to your warehouse door: what Portside does for every container.
Somewhere in China, your order is being packed. In a few days, it'll be one box among millions. Portside follows it for you, every step of the way. Every arrival date, checked every day. And if anything changes, you hear first, automatically. From the port, through customs, to your door. Cleared, booked, delivered. No chasing, no surprises. Portside Imports. Every container, every stage, clearly in view.
New to importing?
How a container gets from a factory in China to your door, what the jargon means, what it really costs, and what happens when plans change.
Built for the details
Follow the movement, watch the money and know what's next. Try them: these are the real rules, with illustrative figures.
Landed cost
Freight and duty allocated across invoice lines, by value, quantity or equally, converted to pounds. Move the rate or the freight and watch each unit cost update.
FX moves
Open USD invoices are flagged when the GBP cost moves 2% or £250 since invoicing.
+£192 (+2.0%)
Alert: review before paying
USD 12,000 balance invoiceDemurrage & detention
The clock starts at discharge. Amber three days out, red once charges start.
5 free days left
Supplier scorecard
On-time readiness, document quality and full shipments for each of your suppliers.
Your portal
Everyone on your team signs in to the same view. Another company's login can't see any of it: the database enforces that, not just the screen.
Checked updates
New dates from carriers and forwarders are matched to your container first. Big jumps wait for the Portside team to confirm. Every change is logged, and you're emailed.
ETA 12 Oct 9 Oct · PI-DEMO-024
Friday digest
The week's arrivals, payments due and documents still missing, in your inbox every Friday morning.
Also in view: payment tracking, your rate card, a monthly report, and a live estimate of every ship's position on the route map, updated as arrival dates are checked. See it with your data
Pricing
We do the chasing, you get the answers. Avoiding a few days of demurrage, or catching one FX move before you pay, can cover it. Every plan includes every feature.
For occasional shipments. No subscription, no commitment.
£280/containerPer container, tracked from factory to delivery. Pay online from your Billing page.
Book a demoFor regular importers. Cheaper than pay as you go from your third container in a month.
£750/month5 containers a month included, then £150 for each extra container that month
Book a demoFor importers regularly moving 10 or more containers a month.
CustomVolume pricing tailored to you
Talk to usYour import desk, by sea, rail or air
£280 per container, or £750 a month
Full containers by sea from China, tracked, chased and paperwork kept.
£280 per container, or £750 a month
China to the UK by train in about three to four weeks. Rail containers count towards your monthly plan.
Ask us for a quote
Air freight and parcels for samples, spares and urgent stock, quoted per shipment.
Included in every plan
Prices in GBP, excluding VAT. A container counts once, in the month its shipment is added to Portside. Add as many colleagues as you like at no extra cost.
Let's talk imports
Tell us a little about your operation and what you'd like to see. We'll reply by email.
Prefer to email? Write to support@portsideimports.com
