How Carrier Auto-Detection Works

 

What is carrier auto-detection?
When you enter a container number, Bill of Lading, or booking reference, Tracktainer can automatically determine which carrier should be used for the tracking request.

This removes an extra step from the tracking process.

Instead of:

Find carrier → Visit carrier website → Open tracking page → Enter reference

you can simply:

Enter reference → Track Shipment

How does Tracktainer identify the carrier?
Tracktainer analyzes information contained in your shipment reference, such as carrier prefixes and known reference formats.

For container numbers, the owner code can often be used to identify the relevant shipping line.

What if the carrier cannot be detected?
Carrier detection may occasionally fail if:

• 
  The reference was entered incorrectly
  


• 
  The reference format is unusual
  


• 
  Carrier data is not yet available
  


• 
  The reference belongs to an unsupported or unidentified source
  

If this happens, first verify the shipment reference and try again.

Does carrier detection guarantee tracking data?
No.

Carrier detection identifies the likely data source, but actual shipment information still depends on the data made available for that shipment.

A correctly detected shipment may temporarily remain Pending while Tracktainer waits for tracking information.