n8n-nodes-freightutils

n8n community node for FreightUtils — free freight calculators, ADR 2025 dangerous-goods lookup, HS 2022 codes, UK import duty, UN/LOCODE, and more. One node, 19 operations, four resources.

Install

Inside n8n:

1. Open Settings → Community Nodes
2. Click Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-freightutils
4. Confirm

Manual install (self-hosted, if the UI is disabled):

cd ~/.n8n/nodes
npm install n8n-nodes-freightutils

Restart n8n. The node appears as FreightUtils under the Transform group.

Releasing (maintainers only)

This package uses release-it (driven by n8n-node release) for the publish flow. Do NOT use npm publish directly — there is intentionally no prepublishOnly hook to short-circuit the registry publish, but release-it is the path that handles the version bump, git tag, GitHub release, and npm publish together in the right order.

npm run release        # interactive: pick patch / minor / major
npm run release minor  # non-interactive

Why no prepublishOnly: an earlier scripted prepublishOnly ran n8n-node prerelease which itself shells into release-it; chaining release-it through npm publish failed deterministically when a same-version git tag already existed (a common state after a manual / aborted publish), with EPERM-flavoured noise on Windows + OneDrive trees that had nothing to do with the actual problem. Removing the hook means npm publish works as a standard fallback if the release script ever needs an end-run.

Credentials

1. Generate a free API key at https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs (you get 100 requests/day on the free tier).
2. In n8n → Credentials → Create New, pick FreightUtils API.
3. Paste the key. Leave Base URL as https://www.freightutils.com/api unless you're pointing at a preview deployment.
4. Save. n8n tests the credential by hitting /api/health — you should see a green tick.

Rate limits

| Tier | Limit | Pricing | |------|-------|---------| | Anonymous (no key) | 25/day per IP | Free | | Free key | 100/day | Free | | Pro key | 50,000/month | £19/month |

See https://www.freightutils.com/pricing for Pro access. Every response includes X-RateLimit-Limit / X-RateLimit-Remaining / X-RateLimit-Reset headers.

Operations

Freight Ops — CBM · LDM · Chargeable Weight · Pallet Fitting · Unit Converter · Consignment

Dangerous Goods — ADR Lookup · ADR LQ/EQ Check · ADR Exemption Calculator · ADR Exemption Calculator (Consignment)

Customs & Trade — HS Code Lookup · Incoterms Lookup · UK Duty Calculator

Reference Data — Airline · UN/LOCODE · ULD · Container · Vehicle · Health Ping · List Tools

Consignment-shape operations: literal or dynamic items

Consignment, ADR LQ/EQ Check, and ADR Exemption Calculator (Consignment) all take a list of items. You can provide them either way:

• Literal: click Add Item in the node UI for each item, fill the fields directly. Best for small fixed lists.
• Dynamic: in Items → Item (or Dangerous Goods Items), click the Expression toggle and pass an upstream array — e.g. ={{ $json.items }} from a Code or Set node that produces [{un_number, quantity, unit}, ...]. Best when the consignment shape comes from a webhook, database query, or another workflow.

Both shapes hit the same API endpoint with the same wire format. (v0.3.0 had a regression where dynamic input was mishandled; fixed in v0.3.1 — see CHANGELOG.)

Example A — Chargeable weight on an incoming air-freight booking

Trigger: a webhook fires when a booking is created in your TMS.

1. Webhook → receives { length, width, height, grossWeight } (cm, kg).
2. FreightUtils node → Resource Freight Ops, Operation Calculate Chargeable Weight.
3. Map webhook fields into Length (cm), Width (cm), Height (cm), Gross Weight (kg).
4. Downstream: write chargeable_weight_kg back to the booking record.

Example response:

{
  "length_cm": 120,
  "width_cm": 80,
  "height_cm": 100,
  "gross_weight_kg": 500,
  "volumetric_weight_kg": 160,
  "chargeable_weight_kg": 500,
  "billing_basis": "actual"
}

Example B — HS code + UK duty lookup from a SKU

Trigger: row added to a "SKU Imports" spreadsheet.

1. Google Sheets trigger → new row with sku_description, country_of_origin, unit_value_gbp.
2. FreightUtils node 1 → Resource Customs & Trade, Operation HS Code Lookup, Query = {{ $json.sku_description }}.
3. Set node → pick the top match's commodity_code.
4. FreightUtils node 2 → Resource Customs & Trade, Operation UK Duty Calculator, map Commodity Code, Origin Country, Customs Value (GBP).
5. Write duty_rate_percent and total_duty_gbp back to the spreadsheet.

Links

• FreightUtils: https://www.freightutils.com
• API docs: https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs
• Pricing: https://www.freightutils.com/pricing
• Changelog: https://www.freightutils.com/changelog
• Status: https://www.freightutils.com/status
• This repo: https://github.com/SoapyRED/n8n-nodes-freightutils
• npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/n8n-nodes-freightutils
• Issues: https://github.com/SoapyRED/n8n-nodes-freightutils/issues

Licence

MIT — see LICENSE.md.

Built by Marius Cristoiu, ADR-certified freight transport planner.