Container Tracking
Look up any ocean container by number or booking reference. Latest carrier milestone, current ETA, exception flags. $5 per search, or free for registered AiDeliv users.
Three moments when a tracking lookup pays for itself: before you post a freight auction for the next shipment and want to confirm where the current one stands, after a stretch of carrier silence when you need to know whether the shipment is still on schedule, and before you reply to a forwarder's updated ETA so you can check it against the carrier's actual reporting.
Tracking Result
How AiDeliv Container Tracking Works
What you can track
Two identifiers work: the container number, the most common one (for example, MSCU1234567), and the booking number, useful before a container number is assigned or shared. Enter either, and the tool routes it to the right carrier lookup. The tool tracks ocean containers across major ocean carriers. Coverage is broad but not universal, and the milestones returned can vary by carrier, route, and what the carrier reports. A container moving on a smaller regional line may return little or no data.
What a lookup returns
A lookup returns the container's latest milestone with the date the carrier recorded it, the sequence of milestones already logged (gate-in, loaded, vessel departed, transshipment, vessel arrived, discharged, gate-out), the carrier's current ETA, the vessel and voyage for the ocean leg, and any exception flag the carrier has reported. How far the data goes inland depends on the carrier: some report rail and final-yard events, others stop once the container is discharged at the destination port.
Data freshness and limits
Container tracking is not continuous GPS. Carriers report milestones as discrete events, and each event reaches the tracking data only after the carrier's own system records and publishes it. The table below shows what each piece of data means and how current it is.
AiDeliv timestamps every data point, so you can see when the carrier last reported rather than assume the status is current. The milestone-lag and demurrage figures cited on this page reflect standard carrier event-reporting practice and published carrier and port tariffs.
What This Tool Does Not Show
Two facts shape every container tracking tool
How to Read Container Tracking Data Like a Logistics Professional
Signal 1 — The latest milestone: confirmed history, not live position\
The latest milestone is the most reliable thing on the screen, because the carrier has confirmed it happened. Read it for what it states: 'vessel departed' means the box is on the water, 'discharged' means it is off the ship but not yet through the gate, 'gate-out' means it has left the terminal. The milestone does not show the vessel's live position, and it does not move in real time. It updates when the carrier posts the next event.
Signal 2 — Gaps between milestones: usually feed lag, not a missing container
Milestones arrive as discrete events, so the status can sit unchanged for a day or two even while the container is moving normally. A gate-in can post hours, sometimes longer, after the container actually moved. Treat a quiet stretch between milestones as normal unless the ETA has also passed with no update; event-based feeds always lag the physical move.
Signal 3 — ETA changes: the pattern matters more than any single number
An ETA that shifts several times during one shipment is normal, not a warning sign. Carriers recalculate it for weather, port congestion, vessel speed, and reporting catch-up. The pattern matters more than any single number: small shifts of a day or two are routine, while a large jump usually signals a real disruption. When an ETA moves sharply, cross-reference it with live port congestion data to see whether the destination port is the cause.
Container Number vs Booking Number — and the Dashboard for Shipments You Book
Which identifier to use, and when
Tracking a shipment you booked through AiDeliv
The dashboard opens in your AiDeliv account the moment a carrier wins your reverse auction. It tracks the shipment through these stages:
Because the dashboard is tied to a booked shipment, there is no per-lookup fee. Tracking is part of moving freight through AiDeliv, not a separate purchase.
Choosing a Container Tracking Tool
Which tool for which job
What each option costs
For occasional tracking, under roughly 50 containers a year, a $5 per-container lookup costs less than committing to a subscription. For shippers already running auctions on AiDeliv, container searches are free through the point system. For large shippers moving hundreds of containers a month, dedicated visibility platforms such as FourKites or project44 remain the standard, priced by custom contract rather than a flat fee. Vessel-only trackers and single-carrier websites are free, but they answer a narrower question than full container tracking.