Which line fits this parcel, given what you care about?
Rank the lines in the parameter table by cost, speed or arrival steadiness for your weight and category.
Parameters last checked · defaults are templates, not quotes.
Line choice is a trade, not a lookup: the cheapest band is rarely the steadiest, and the fastest band rarely accepts every category.
This picker scores each published band against your parcel and shows the arithmetic, so a surprising result can be traced back to the weights you chose rather than taken on faith.
A score of 0.84 says nothing on its own. Each component is normalised against the bands that serve the chosen destination, so editing one template rate moves every other line’s score as well; the totals are only comparable inside a single run. Treat rows within a few hundredths of one another as tied and settle the choice on the cost column in dollars. A quick test: change one rate slightly and rerun — rankings that swap were never separated by more than the arithmetic of the model.
Merchandise value is collected and then left out of the arithmetic. The model scores cost, speed, steadiness and category fit only, and carries no term for loss or compensation, so a $60 parcel and a $600 parcel rank the lines identically. Reading the order as a risk assessment goes past what was computed. Where value is high, verify compensation terms on the line itself. Note also that fit carries a weight of 0.1, and that the template rates are marked not verified and must be replaced before a ranking is acted on.
Line picker
Scenario
Rates come from the parameter table and are templates: not verified replace them in src/content/params.ts with the rates you can see before acting on a ranking.
Ranked lines
6 bands serve this destination. Weights used: cost 0.5, speed 0.2, steadiness 0.2, fit 0.1.
| Line | Cost | Typical | Window | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy air — general cargo | $40.00 | 12 d | 8–20 d | 0.782 |
| Postal air — small parcel | $36.00 | 16 d | 11–30 d | 0.769 |
| Sea–rail — bulky and heavy | $36.00 | 38 d | 30–52 d | 0.600 |
| Standard air — battery-friendly | $48.00 | 14 d | 10–24 d | 0.597 |
| Sensitive goods line | $54.00 | 15 d | 11–26 d | 0.466 |
| Express air — priority handling | $62.00 | 7 d | 5–12 d | 0.436 |
How to read the result
- The parameter table ships with template bands marked not verified — replace the rates with the ones you can actually see before you act.
- A line that does not accept your category is pushed to the bottom rather than hidden, so you can see why.
- Steadiness is scored on the gap between the fastest and slowest arrival, not on the average alone.
- Scoring weights change with your priority; the table shows the weights used.
- Merchandise value is validated but never scored, so a costly parcel is not steered towards safer lines; the ranking responds only to destination, weight, category and priority.
Formula, source and caveat
cost = fixed charge + rate per kg × chargeable kg
- Source
- Published line structure.
- Caveat
- Some lines price the first kilogram separately.
total score = weighted sum of cost, speed, steadiness and category fit
- Source
- This site’s own scoring model.
- Caveat
- A scoring model is a decision aid, not a prediction of your parcel.
Questions this tool raises
- Why is a heavier parcel sometimes cheaper per kilogram?
- Continuation rates fall as weight rises, so the fixed first-kilogram charge is spread across more mass.
- Should I always pick the cheapest line?
- Only if the arrival window is acceptable. A wide window means more days in which something can go wrong.
- Where do the default rates come from?
- They are template bands, not quotes. Every parameter is marked not verified until you replace it with a rate you can see.