⚓ ShippingRates MCP Server

Container shipping intelligence for AI agents — demurrage & detention, local charges, inland haulage, CFS tariffs. Pay-per-request with USDC via x402.

Quick Start

Add ShippingRates to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shippingrates": {
      "url": "https://mcp.shippingrates.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

That's it. 9 tools auto-discovered. 3 free + 6 paid via x402.

What's New in v2.1.0

• Dual-chain payments — Base Mainnet (EVM) + Solana Mainnet
• Tiered pricing — $0.03 to $0.25 per call based on data complexity
• PayAI facilitator — Free, no API key required for payment processing
• 23/23 endpoints verified — Full production health check passed
• 2,547+ records across 14 database tables
• Server card at /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json for auto-discovery
• Live analytics dashboard with real-time payment tracking
• Listed on Official MCP Registry, Smithery, Glama, mcp.so, x402scan

Tools

Paid (USDC via x402)

Free

Payment

ShippingRates uses the x402 protocol — the internet's native payment standard for AI agents.

• Currency: USDC (stablecoin, always $1.00)
• Networks: Base Mainnet (EVM) + Solana Mainnet
• Facilitator: PayAI — free, no API key needed
• Settlement: Instant (~200ms)
• No API keys, no accounts, no subscriptions

Your agent sends a request → gets HTTP 402 with payment terms → signs USDC payment → retries with proof → gets data. All handled automatically by x402 client libraries.

Supported x402 Client Libraries

• TypeScript: @x402/fetch or @x402/axios
• Python: x402 package (httpx / requests)
• Go: x402 Go module

Payment Wallets

Data Coverage

API Access

For direct API integration (without MCP):

Example: D&D Calculate

# Free endpoint — no payment needed
curl https://api.shippingrates.org/api/stats

# Paid endpoint — returns HTTP 402 with payment instructions
curl -X POST https://api.shippingrates.org/api/dd/calculate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"line": "maersk", "country": "IN", "container_type": "40HC", "days": 14}'

Example Response (D&D Calculate)

{
  "line": "maersk",
  "country": "IN",
  "container_type": "40HC",
  "days": 14,
  "free_days": 4,
  "currency": "USD",
  "slabs": [
    { "from": 5, "to": 7, "rate_per_day": 7.5, "days": 3, "cost": 22.5 },
    { "from": 8, "to": 14, "rate_per_day": 15, "days": 7, "cost": 105 }
  ],
  "total_cost": 127.5
}

Example Response (D&D Compare)

{
  "country": "IN",
  "container_type": "40HC",
  "days": 14,
  "comparisons": [
    { "line": "maersk", "total_cost": 127.5, "free_days": 4, "currency": "USD" },
    { "line": "msc", "total_cost": 150.0, "free_days": 3, "currency": "USD" },
    { "line": "cosco", "total_cost": 95.0, "free_days": 7, "currency": "USD" }
  ],
  "cheapest": "cosco",
  "savings_vs_most_expensive": 55.0
}

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   AI Agent / Client                  │
│            (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, etc.)           │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────┬───────────────┘
               │ MCP                  │ HTTP + x402
               ▼                      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────┐
│  MCP Server v1.1.0   │  │    API Server v2.1.0     │
│  mcp.shippingrates   │──│  api.shippingrates.org   │
│  .org:3480           │  │  :3402                   │
└──────────────────────┘  └────────────┬─────────────┘
                                       │
                          ┌────────────▼─────────────┐
                          │  Shipping Intelligence DB │
                          │  SQLite — 14 tables       │
                          │  2,547+ verified records   │
                          └──────────────────────────┘

• MCP Server — TypeScript, @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, Streamable HTTP transport
• API Server — TypeScript, Express.js, x402 v2 SDK with PayAI facilitator
• Database — SQLite with data from official carrier tariff PDFs
• Infrastructure — PM2 process manager, Cloudflare Tunnel, reboot-proof

Use Cases

• Freight forwarders estimating penalty costs before booking
• AI agents optimizing container pickup schedules to minimize D&D charges
• Logistics companies comparing carriers to find the cheapest option
• Trade finance assessing cost risk on import operations
• Supply chain platforms integrating real-time D&D data

Discovery & Directories

ShippingRates is listed on:

About

Built by SmartBiz AI — AI solutions for commercial shipping, based in Mumbai, India.

ShippingRates is the world's first x402-native shipping data API, purpose-built for AI agents and autonomous commerce.

Links

• 🌐 Website
• 📖 Full API Documentation
• 🔍 x402 Discovery
• ⚡ x402 Protocol
• 🤖 MCP Specification
• 📊 API Stats

License

This repository contains documentation and connection configuration only. The ShippingRates API and MCP server are commercial services operated by SmartBiz AI.

Usage of the API is governed by pay-per-request pricing via the x402 protocol.