Insights - Cargo Orders Classification

Shipfix runs a bespoke cargo taxonomy covering hundreds of cargo types

Shipfix has developed its own proprietary cargo classification, in line with commonly accepted practices in the maritime and trade industries.

Cargoes are broken down into 5 core categories: Bulk, Breakbulk, Containers, Liquid & Gas, and Project cargo.

The Shipfix taxonomy features a multi-level hierarchy for each commodity, e.g.

Wheat: Bulk -> Agri/Grains/Cereals -> Cereals -> Wheat.

Iron Ore Concentrate: Bulk -> Ferrous Metals -> Iron -> Iron Ore Concentrate

Beam: Breakbulk -> Forestry/Wood -> Wood Products -> Beam

Wind Turbine: Project -> Energy/Oil & Gas -> Wind Turbine/Wind Turbine Blades

We provide 610 different categories and sub-categories, of which 450 involve "Bulk" and "Breakbulk" cargoes. This categorisation is subject to weekly updates and ongoing R&D.

This cargo classification takes into account the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) as well as International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) code with particular focus on commodities which are shipped by sea. We review millions of emails monthly, to include numerous synonyms, acronyms, abbreviations and potential misspellings for each commodity type to make sure the automated extraction and classification is correct.