Skip to main content

Drayage Tracking - (Ocean Container)

Overview and instructional guide for how to initiate and use our container tracking feature

S
Written by Shipwell TMS Support
Updated today

Overview

Drayage shipments involve transporting containerized cargo over short distances, typically between ports, rail yards, and nearby warehouses or distribution centers. This mode serves as a crucial link in multi-modal transportation, facilitating the movement of goods between ocean vessels, trucks, and rail. Drayage operations are time-sensitive and require precise coordination for container handling, customs clearance, and delivery schedules. Efficient management of drayage ensures smooth transitions across the supply chain, minimizing delays and demurrage costs. Shipwell is tailored for drayage shipments and provides visibility and control over these shipments, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing manual effort. To initiate this service, please engage with your Customer Success Manager directly. This service may require an additional statement of work to turn on.

Initiating Container Tracking

Users can initiate container tracking in any of the following three ways:

  1. Master Bill Of Lading (MBOL). This identifier is often available earlier than the container ID and Ocean carrier SCAC.

  2. Container ID & Ocean Carrier SCAC

  3. Master Bill Of Lading (MBOL) & Container ID & Ocean Carrier SCAC

How it works:

  • During Shipment Creation or post shipment creation, users can enter one of the above combinations into the required fields.

  • Shipwell will recognize the MBOL/Container ID/Ocean Scac and will initiate a tracking request and work to “locate” details on the MBOL.

    • Locating container details can take up to an hour.

  • Once located, Shipwell will display tracking details

    • NOTE: In some cases, when tracking on the MBOL only, there is no container assigned yet to the MBOL. In these cases, may only be available with the Ocean carrier directly. This limitation is being addressed with expected updates by end of Q3 2025. Until this update is in place, the user may experience a case where there are ETD or ETA dates available with the Ocean carrier directly but those values do not show in Shipwell.

    • A future enhancement includes a new tracking timeline card to inform users that tracking has been requested.

These fields are all located in the shipment in the References section:

Container Updates

All container updates and milestone events will be displayed on the Shipment Details tab and the Shipment Tracking tab. Shipment details provide key dates and Shipment Tracking shows breadcrumb movement on the container. Updates are received from the tracking provider as they occur, and can happen multiple times throughout the day.

Shipment Details Tab

Users can quickly track key shipment milestones at the top of the shipment details page. These fields are editable by the end users and a tooltip hover ensures understanding of each field and what it represents.

  • Origin ETD - Estimated departure date from the origin location

  • Origin ATD - Actual departure date from the origin location

  • Port ETA - Estimated arrival date to the destination port

  • Port ATA - Actual arrival date to the destination port

  • Port LFD - Last Free Day before storage fees apply at the destination port

  • Loaded on Rail - Date the container was loaded onto a rail carrier

  • Final Terminal - Arrival date at the final rail terminal

  • Rail LFD - Last Free Day before storage fees apply at the rail terminal

Note: Our tracking partner uses specific logic, such as recent performance and previous estimate accuracy, to determine which estimate to pass through our integration. This means that there may be times where the estimation is from the terminal rather than the vessel which may not match what a customer sees with the ocean liner tracking.

Additional details contained in the Container card are as follows:

  • Port of Loading

  • Estimated Port of Loading Departure

  • Port of Discharge

  • Port of Discharge Terminal

  • POD Terminal Address

  • Vessel Name

  • Voyage Number

  • Container Type

  • Vessel IMO

  • Vessel MMSI

  • Customs Hold Type

  • Customs Hold Resolve Date

  • Customs Release Date

  • Demurrage Incurred

  • Rail Carrier

  • Final Terminal

  • LFD at Rail Terminal

Shipment Tracking Tab

As container location updates are received from the tracking service, the latest location will be updated on the shipment tracking map. Depending on the ocean carrier the system will receive 2 to 4 location updates per day. Hovering over any of the location points on the map will display the date and time of the location update.

Daily Container Exception Email

Users can now opt in to receive a daily email notification that highlights drayage container activity. This can be activated by clicking on the user avatar in the upper right corner of the screen, and selecting Profile and Preferences. From there, select the Notifications menu option to see the list of available notifications. Check the email box for the Container Tracking Update notification and you will receive the daily email.

The email notification will include the following information:

  • Container ETA has changed

    • Shipment ID (Link)

    • Container ID

    • Destination Port

    • Previous Container ETA Date

    • New Container ETA Date

  • Customs hold activity (Hold & Released)

    • Shipment ID (Link)

    • Container ID

    • Destination Port

    • Terminal at Destination Port

    • Hold Date

    • Customs Status

  • Container incurring demurrage fees

    • Shipment ID (Link)

    • Container ID

    • Destination Port

    • Destination Terminal

    • Total Demurrage

    • (Sort the data by Total Demurrage, highest first)

  • Containers arriving at final port in the next 3 days - use the ETA on the container

    • Shipment ID (Link)

    • Container ID

    • Destination Port

    • Date the ship left the origin port

    • (Sort the data by newest date)

  • Containers that left origin port in the last 3 days - check vessel departure event

    • Shipment ID (Link)

    • Container ID

    • Origin Port

    • Date the ship left the origin port

    • (Sort the data by newest date)

Frequently Asked Questions

Question/Scenario

Answer/Expectation of functionality

Troubleshooting

If there is no container tracking updating on a shipment the most likely cause is the BOL# is not correct. Go to the ocean carrier's website and enter the BOL# to validate it is correct. Some sites allow you to enter a container # and will then display the BOL#, but others do not. So first try to validate the BOL# is correct.

Master BOL or Booking number placement in Shipwell

This value should be placed within the, "BOL #" field to support tracking connection.

What information is needed to initiate container tracking?

Mode: Drayage, field requirements: MBOL OR Container ID + Ocean Scac

Does container tracking update retroactively?

Container tracking needs to be entered early on in the container journey to receive the most complete tracking. For example, If the correct MBOL # was not entered until 9/6. That's when tracking will start. If the ship arrived on 9/5, there would be no ETA updates since the ship was already in port. However, when the tracking is initiated we would expect to see all the previous milestones and general container information. If the information is entered after the ship has arrived at the destination, the ocean carrier will not be creating any new ETA updates as the ship has already arrived.

Why does tracking not work if my tracking information is correct?

Best practice is to enter tracking requirements info at time of shipment creation, for tracking to be complete. Need to confirm correct ocean carrier SCAC, container # and BOL# is added prior to the arrival.

What dates are supported in Shipwell/dashboard for container tracking?

Estimated Port Arrival, Release Date, Last Free Date, Container Return Date

Is there error logging if incorrect information is entered (BOL, Container or SCAC)?

No, this is dependent on the ocean tracking provider. Generally, when correct information is entered you should see tracking information update the shipment within about 15 seconds. If several minutes go by without receiving tracking information, you should validate that the Ocean Carrier SCAC, Container #, and BOL# have been entered correctly

Can you create multiple shipments with same container/BOL/SCAC and get tracking across all 'like' shipments?

Yes

Does container tracking change or manipulate shipment status?

Not at this time.

Container tracking is not the same for each carrier

Container tracking inputs/results are dependent on each carrier and the information that is passed across via Tracking. There can be variability from carrier to carrier. Here is a link to all the supported Ocean Carriers and Ports along with the data provided by each. OpenTrack API | Carrier + Terminal Coverage

Could you have separate ETA's for containers on the same ship?

Yes you could since tracking is specific to the container. The Ocean provider may update the container information at different times so there could be a slight lag between containers on the same vessel.

Shipment status does not change when tracking events occur

Expectation is that container tracking events will not change shipment status. Tracking events will display on tracking tab, terminal schedule dates or reporting.

Does carrier need to be assigned to shipment to facilitate container tracking?

No, carrier does not need to be assigned to shipment to initiate tracking.

Does shipment need to reflect exact origin/destination to support tracking?

No, Origin or address on shipment does not need to match for tracking to occur.

Does shipper use freight forwarder to gather tracking requirements?

Experience with other customers shows that if freight forwarder is used, tracking information may not be complete prior to container arrival and can be incomplete, due to the delay of gathering information from freight forward (such as - estimated container arrival, container return date, last free date, (terminal schedule data).

Did this answer your question?