Methodology Evidence — WorldFreightHub

Confidence system

Confidence describes evidence strength, not popularity or editorial preference.
Level	How it is assigned	Example
High	Confirmed against a primary source.	A VAT rate published by a national tax authority.
Medium	Corroborated by multiple secondary sources, or a primary source that is a snapshot rather than a live figure.	A freight-rate range assembled from several carrier references.
Low	An unverified estimate with no published primary source.	A terminal free-time allowance that varies and is not publicly posted.
Unknown	Insufficient evidence to classify; no confidence judgement is made.	A fact not yet checked against any documented source.

4-step workflow

Collect. Pull the fact from the highest-quality available source and record that source.
Label. Assign HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW or UNKNOWN based on how the fact was sourced.
Cross-check. Upgrade when an independent primary source corroborates; otherwise keep the estimate label.
Publish or withhold. Publish only when sourced or clearly labelled. If neither is possible, withhold the figure.

The full definitions, source hierarchy and rate-specific caveats live on the methodology page.

Read the full methodology

Mandatory fields: rate records

Every figure admitted to the WorldFreightHub Freight Index (WHFI) must record the fields below. A record that cannot fill a mandatory field is withheld, or published with the gap explicitly flagged as a LOW-confidence caveat — never silently averaged into a range.

WHFI rate-record mandatory fields, as applied to the 34 benchmark rates published 2026-09.
Field	Requirement	What it records
Collection date	Mandatory	The date the figure was collected, or the as-of date printed by the source. Undated sources are recorded with an access date and flagged.
Origin	Mandatory	The load port (e.g. Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shenzhen). Route-lane figures must name the actual origin, not just the country.
Destination	Mandatory	The discharge port or gateway (e.g. Jeddah, Jebel Ali, Hamad). A country-level figure must say so and cannot be presented as port-specific.
Container type	Mandatory	20ft FCL, 40ft FCL/40HQ, LCL per CBM, or air per kg. Records without a stated container type are excluded from FCL tables.
Incoterm / charge basis	Mandatory	The trade term under which the figure is quoted where the source states one (e.g. FOB, CIF).
Currency	Mandatory	Always USD in the WHFI index; source figures in other currencies are converted at a recorded date-rate and the conversion is noted.
Port-to-port vs door-to-door	Mandatory	Whether the figure covers ocean freight only (port-to-port) or includes collection/delivery (door-to-door). Mixing the two bases in one range is forbidden.
Included charges	Mandatory	What the figure includes (e.g. base ocean freight, export declaration) exactly as the source states.
Excluded charges	Mandatory	What the figure excludes (THC, BAF/war-risk surcharges, destination CFS, clearance, last mile). Excluded items must be listed so the figure cannot be read as all-in.

Mandatory fields: transit-time records

Transit-time (时效) figures follow the same rule: the door range, routing, season and exact route must be recorded with the number, because a transit time is meaningless without them.

WHFI transit-time record mandatory fields.
Field	Requirement	What it records
Door range	Mandatory	Whether the time covers port-to-port, terminal-to-terminal or door-to-door. Door-to-door figures cannot be compared with port-to-port ones.
Direct vs transshipment	Mandatory	Whether the transit is a direct sailing or includes transshipment, and where. Red Sea vs Cape-of-Good-Hope routing is recorded as a routing variant, not a separate service.
Season	Mandatory	The seasonal window the transit figure applies to (e.g. pre-peak, peak season), since head-haul transit lengthens in peak windows.
Route	Mandatory	The exact origin-destination pair with routing note (Suez/Red Sea, Cape, or rail corridor).

Methodology evidence records

These are internal policy records. 'Policy as published' means the page itself is the controlling document.
Claim	Source	Source type	Confidence	Last reviewed
Confidence system uses HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW and UNKNOWN.	WorldFreightHub methodology	Primary	High	Policy as published
Workflow is collect, label, cross-check, then publish or withhold.	WorldFreightHub methodology	Primary	High	Policy as published
No figure is fabricated to fill a source gap.	WorldFreightHub methodology	Primary	High	Policy as published

Get a freight quote

Tell us about your shipment and we will connect you with verified providers on the China–GCC corridor.

Get a quote