Shipment Tracking & Delivery
Following a shipment through its milestones, understanding why dates move, and what to do when cargo is delayed.
Featured guide
Start here
8 Contingency Questions to Ask Your Freight Forwarder Before the Next Disruption
Every forwarder handles a normal shipment. 2026 showed which ones handle a closed corridor. Eight questions that reveal whether your provider has a real plan B.
Read guideAll Tracking & Delivery guides
Peak Season 2026 Came Early: How Shippers Should Book Through It
Front-loading ahead of tariff deadlines pulled peak season forward into the second quarter of 2026. What that means for booking, allocation and Q4 capacity.
Agentic AI in Freight Forwarding: What It Actually Does in 2026
AI in freight has moved from predicting problems to acting on them. A practical look at what agentic systems do well, where they fail, and what to ask your forwarder.
Freight Budget Planning in a Volatile Market: A Scenario Method
A single-number freight budget fails in a year where lanes move 50% in a quarter. A three-scenario method that survives contract season and gives finance a defensible range.
Switching Freight Forwarders Without Breaking Your Supply Chain
Changing forwarder is operationally risky and routinely botched. A phased transition plan covering data, in-transit cargo, customs continuity and the 90-day handover.
Supplier Cargo Readiness Checklist: Prevent Pickup and Booking Delays
A practical checklist for shippers confirming supplier cargo readiness, packaging, labels, documents, pickup windows, export handoffs, and booking cutoffs.
Shipping Instructions Template: What Shippers Must Include
A practical guide to the shipping instruction fields shippers should standardize for freight forwarders, carriers, customs brokers, suppliers, and consignees.
Freight Exception Management: Escalation Playbook for Shippers
A 2026 escalation playbook for shippers managing freight exceptions, late pickups, customs holds, rolled cargo, missed delivery appointments, invoice disputes, and claims.
Freight Tender vs Spot Quote: 2026 Shipper Guide
A practical guide for shippers deciding when to run a freight tender, when to use spot quotes, and how to compare service, cost, and risk in 2026.
Shipment Visibility Milestones: What Shippers Should Track
A shipper guide to the freight milestones that matter most, from quote and booking confirmation through pickup, customs, delivery, proof of delivery, and invoice review.
Tracking & Delivery FAQ
Why does my shipment's ETA keep changing?
Because an ETA is a rolling forecast, not a commitment. Vessels are delayed inbound, sailings get blanked, berth windows shift, and port congestion adds waiting time. Ocean schedule reliability on major lanes has frequently sat well below three-quarters of vessels arriving within a day of schedule, so building buffer into your planning is more effective than tracking the date closely.
What do the tracking milestones actually mean?
They mark distinct stages that are easy to confuse. Gate-in means the container reached the terminal; loaded means it is on the vessel; discharged means it is off at destination — but not that you can collect it. Available for collection is the milestone that matters for planning, and it can trail discharge by days once customs and terminal processes are counted.
My container has been discharged but I can't collect it. Why?
Discharge is not release. Collection also requires customs clearance to be complete, all freight and destination charges to be settled, the bill of lading surrendered or a telex release received, a delivery order issued, and a terminal appointment secured. Any one of these outstanding will hold the container — while demurrage accrues from the discharge date regardless.
What should I do if my shipment is delayed?
Establish where it actually is and what the constraint is, since the remedy differs entirely between a blank sailing, a rolled container, a customs query, and a collection backlog. Ask your forwarder for the specific cause and the next available option, check whether free time is being consumed while you wait, and request a demurrage waiver early if the delay was outside your control.
Can I track an LCL shipment the same way as FCL?
Only partly. LCL tracking follows the container your cargo is consolidated into, so you can see the vessel movement, but visibility of your individual consignment at the origin and destination CFS is usually limited to what the consolidator reports. That is why LCL delivery dates are less predictable — the consolidation and deconsolidation windows are the least visible part of the journey.