Tracking know-how
How long ocean freight actually takes
The sailing time is the part people quote. The rest of the calendar is where the surprises live.
Read this →From the team behind Tracktainer
How to read what your carrier is telling you.
Container numbers, milestones, missing events and the statuses that mean something different from what they say. Written for people who read tracking pages every day.
Container, bill of lading or booking · 3 free credits
Worth your time
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Tracking know-how
Port codes: reading UN/LOCODE at a glance
Five characters that name every port in the world, and the ambiguity they quietly remove.
Read this →Tracking know-how
Your container was rolled. What now?
Rolled cargo is common, rarely announced, and usually discovered late. Here is how to spot it and what to ask.
Read this →Tracking know-how
Seal numbers: small detail, large consequences
The seal is the only evidence that nobody opened your container between stuffing and delivery.
Read this →Tracking know-how
Tracking know-how
When the carrier data is wrong, who checks it?
Every tracking tool reads the same feeds. The difference is what happens when those feeds disagree with reality.
Tracking know-how
You have a container number and no idea which carrier. Now what?
The first four characters tell you the owner. That is usually enough to find the line.
Tracking know-how
Container number not found: what that message actually means
Nine times out of ten the container exists and the data is simply not there yet. Here is how to tell which case you are in.
Tracking know-how
Tracking by bill of lading: when it works better than the container number
For multi container shipments and early stage bookings, the B/L is the more useful handle.
Tracking know-how
Bill of lading, booking, container: which number to use and when
Three references, three different jobs. Using the wrong one is the most common reason a search comes back empty.
Tracking know-how
Container prefixes: reading the owner code on any container
Three letters that tell you whose container it is, and why that is not always whose ship it is on.
Tracking know-how
What the eleven characters on a container actually mean
Owner code, category, serial, check digit. Once you can read it, you can spot a typo before it costs you a day.
Tracking know-how
Your tracking has not updated in four days. Is something wrong?
Silence in the middle of an ocean leg is normal. Silence at a port call is not. Here is where the line sits.
Tracking know-how
Why two sites show two different ETAs for the same container
Both can be right. They are usually measuring different things, and one of them is older than it looks.
Tracking know-how
Seven milestones worth an alert, and the rest you can ignore
Carriers publish dozens of events. Only a handful change what you have to do today.
Tracking know-how
Tracking for importers: what to watch when you are not the one booking
Under FOB terms your supplier books and you carry the consequences. Here is what to insist on.
Tracking know-how
Gate out, gate in: two words that decide who pays
These are the most financially loaded events in the whole timeline, and they are routinely misread.
Check a container before you finish reading.
Paste a container number, bill of lading or booking reference. We detect the carrier across 170+ shipping lines. Three tracking credits are free, no card needed.
Looking for the tool itself? Container tracking on tracktainer.com