Cargo Types

Every cargo record on a chrt order has a cargo type. The type drives which couriers and vehicles are qualified to carry it, what handling is required (temperature, documentation, dangerous-goods protocol), and how the shipment is priced through rate sheets. Choose the type when you add cargo in the draft builder, or set it via the API on the Cargo1 record.

The full enum

These are the only values accepted by the API and the UI. They map one-to-one to the cargo_type field on the Cargo1 model.

Category	Cargo type	Use it for
Medical & healthcare	`pharmaceuticals`	Finished drug product, vaccines, IV bags, clinical-trial drug supply.
	`medical_devices`	Implants, durable medical equipment, surgical hardware.
	`medical_supplies`	Consumable supplies — gauze, tubing, PPE, syringes.
	`lab_specimen`	Diagnostic samples and biopsies (typically temperature-controlled).
	`blood`	Blood and blood products. Cold-chain critical.
	`organ`	Transplant organs. Time-critical, cold-chain critical.
	`tissue`	Tissue grafts, bone, cornea. Cold-chain.
Industrial	`manufacturing_equipment`	Heavy machinery, tooling, production-line hardware.
	`aircraft_parts`	AOG (aircraft-on-ground) and routine spare parts for aviation.
	`spare_parts`	General industrial replacement parts.
	`electronics`	Consumer or industrial electronics, semiconductors.
Specialized	`hazardous_materials`	DG/hazmat — classed dangerous goods requiring placards or documentation.
	`chemicals`	Industrial chemicals (may or may not be DG-classed).
	`perishable`	Temperature-sensitive but not necessarily frozen — produce, food.
	`frozen`	Cargo that must stay frozen.
	`documents`	Paperwork, legal originals, signed contracts.
General	`clothing`	Apparel, textiles, soft goods.
	`other`	Anything that doesn’t fit a more specific type.
	`unspecified`	Used in drafts when the cargo isn’t known yet; fill in before submit if possible.

How cargo type is used

Courier qualification. Rate sheets list which cargo_types they cover. When you assign a courier to a task group, chrt checks that their rate sheet covers the cargo on that group. A medical-only courier rate sheet won’t match an order moving clothing.
Vehicle qualification. Some rate sheets are also scoped to vehicle types (sedan, cargo van, box truck, etc.). The intersection of cargo type + vehicle type narrows the pool of qualified couriers.
Handling. Temperature-sensitive types (blood, organ, tissue, lab_specimen, pharmaceuticals, frozen, perishable) typically pair with a chrt tracker for cold-chain monitoring.
Pricing. Rate sheets can apply a per-instance surcharge for dangerous goods (hazardous_materials, chemicals) and can be scoped to specific cargo types so that, for example, an organ run prices differently from a documents run. See Billing primitives.

When to use Other or Unspecified

If you do not yet know what is moving when you start the draft, choose unspecified and fill in the concrete type before submission. Use other when the cargo doesn’t fit any more specific enum value. Both values are valid in the API and the draft builder, but qualified couriers and rate-sheet matches may be limited until a concrete type is set.

Orders, task groups, segments, stops — where cargo fits in the data model.
Billing primitives — how cargo type interacts with rate sheets and pricing.
Creating shipments — setting cargo type during the draft builder flow.
Rate sheets (shippers) — scoping a rate sheet to specific cargo types.
Trackers on orders — attaching trackers to temperature-sensitive cargo.

The full enum

How cargo type is used

When to use Other or Unspecified

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