Patent ID: 8131584

Claim:
A computer readable medium storing a computer program executed by a computer processor to effect a gateway balancing module for balancing shipments of a plurality of containers between a plurality of associated gateways, the module comprising: a determine demand subcomponent adapted to determine de-consolidation demand on each of the plurality of associated gateways based upon a total number of containers associated with each of the gateways; a calculate containers subcomponent adapted to determine a handicapped de-consolidation demand on each of the plurality of associated gateways based upon de-consolidation complexity using computer software, one or more algorithms, or networking capabilities as part of the programming executed by the computer processor; a determine capacity subcomponent adapted to determine available de-consolidation capacity for each of the plurality of associated gateways using computer algorithms as part of the programming executed by the computer processor; and a generate balance recommendations subcomponent adapted to provide a user with a gateway balancing recommendation based upon a comparison of the handicapped gateway demand and the de-consolidation capacities of each of the plurality of associated gateways using computer algorithms and communications as part of the programming executed by the computer processor.