Can our CargoWise history be licensed to AI companies, and how do we get it out?
Possibly in part, but forwarding files mix your own operating history with shippers' commercial details, carrier contract rates and customs records. CargoWise's product documentation is reached through its customer portal and training sites, so export steps could not be verified for this page; ask CargoWise support or your CargoWise partner. Customs broker records carry a specific federal confidentiality rule.
What lives in CargoWise, and why might buyers value it?
CargoWise, from WiseTech Global, runs freight forwarding, customs and warehouse operations on one platform. A forwarder's database typically holds bookings and shipments across air, ocean and road, house and master bills, rates, customs declarations, warehouse records, tracking events, invoices and staff notes.
Buyers building logistics tools may value how real shipments move and what goes wrong: rollovers, documentation errors, customs holds, and how staff resolved them. Long, consistent histories across many lanes are typically the most useful.
Usually in scope
- Work conversations about operations
- Tickets, tasks and project histories
- Process documents and SOPs
- Orders, invoices and workflow records, de-identified
- Code repositories you own outright
Commonly left out
- HR, payroll and personnel files
- Board, legal and M&A material
- Direct messages and private channels
- Data you hold for customers under contract
- Health, financial-account or other regulated personal data
How does a CargoWise export work?
This could not be confirmed from CargoWise's public pages. As of October 2026, CargoWise's support page directs existing customers to raise requests through its My Account portal, which it describes as available around the clock, and points to its partner network for integrations and consulting. Its learning portals are aimed at customers. It also describes CargoWise Cloud as handling backup and recovery, which is not the same as giving you an export.
Ask CargoWise, through an eRequest, or your implementation partner: which reports and grids can be exported to a spreadsheet, whether a bulk historical extract is available for the years and offices in scope, what format it uses, who in your company must approve it, and whether fees apply.
Can a buyer connect instead of taking files?
If a buyer asks to connect rather than take files, note that CargoWise's public pages mention built-in integrations and a partner network but do not describe how an outside company could read your data. If a buyer proposes a connection, ask whether CargoWise permits it under your license, what it can read, and how it is switched off. CargoWise Neo, the platform's customer-facing portal, gives your own clients live shipment views; it is not an export route.
What should stay out?
- Shipper, consignee and notify party names, addresses and contacts.
- Commercial invoice values, product descriptions and supplier details for named clients.
- Customs entries and classification records for clients, unless the client agrees in writing.
- Carrier contract rates and buy rates.
- Personal details of individual importers and of your staff.
- Denied-party screening results.
What rights questions apply to forwarding data?
If your company acts as a licensed U.S. customs broker, federal rules (19 CFR 111.24) make the records you keep for clients confidential. You may disclose them only to the client, its surety on a specific entry, or Department of Homeland Security and other properly credentialed federal officials, unless the client gives written permission, a court with proper jurisdiction issues a subpoena or order, or the information is available from a public source.
Beyond customs, carrier service contracts and client agreements often treat rates and shipment details as confidential. Read your CargoWise license terms as well. See our guide on who owns the data and talk to your lawyer.
Where should a forwarder start?
Separate customs brokerage files from forwarding files, since the confidentiality rules differ. Review client and carrier contracts for data clauses, then ask CargoWise what you can export. Exception notes and internal procedures, with client and carrier details removed, are often easier to clear. See our freight forwarding page.
Common questions
Can we license customs entry data?
If you are a licensed customs broker, client records are confidential under 19 CFR 111.24 unless the client gives written permission or another exception applies.
Does CargoWise have a self-serve export?
We could not verify this from CargoWise's public pages. Ask through an eRequest or your CargoWise partner.
Are carrier rates licensable?
Often not. Carrier contracts frequently make rates confidential, so treat them as excluded unless your lawyer says otherwise.
Is CargoWise Neo an export tool?
No. CargoWise describes it as giving your customers live access to their shipments, orders and invoices.
Sources
- CargoWise Support | CargoWise, accessed 2026-10-16
- CargoWise home page, accessed 2026-10-16
- 19 CFR 111.24 Records confidential | eCFR, accessed 2026-10-16
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.