Track an MSC shipment booked with Airlift USA by container number or Airlift house bill of lading number. For an MSC number that was not booked through Airlift, use MSC's own tracker.
Track an MSC container or Airlift house B/L
Enter the container number or the Airlift house bill of lading number from your Airlift booking confirmation.
Airlift milestones for MSC bookingsRefreshed daily from MSC's track-and-trace feed using the MSC booking reference; customs release, delivery and empty return added by the operations team.
MSC number formats: container, bill of lading, booking
A container number is eleven characters: a four-letter owner prefix ending in U, a six-digit serial and a check digit, printed on the door of the box and on the booking confirmation. The prefix names the owner of the container, which may be a leasing company rather than MSC, so the same MSC shipment can move in boxes with different prefixes. Take the number from the container or the booking rather than guessing the prefix.
MSC bills of lading have carried the prefix MEDU since 2018 (older documents carry MSCU); the advisory gives MEDUABC123456 as the shape. MSC says its carrier identification code stays MSCU, so a US AMS filing must quote the master bill exactly as MSC issued it, with its own prefix.
Two bills of lading exist on an NVOCC shipment. The master bill is issued by MSC to Airlift and carries MSC's numbering; the house bill is issued by Airlift to the shipper and is the number on your Airlift booking confirmation. The Airlift tracker resolves the house bill and the container number; MSC's tracker resolves its master bill, its booking number and the container number. MSC's tracker has two tabs: Container/Bill of Lading Number and Booking Number.
What the tracking statuses mean
The words carriers, terminals and the Airlift timeline use for the same events, and where each shows on this tracker.
Status
What it means
On the Airlift timeline
Gate in
The loaded container has been received at the origin terminal (or an inland depot) and is waiting for its ship.
Gate In, ICD Gate In, Port Gate In
Loaded / on board
The container has been lifted onto the vessel. The on-board date is the date the bill of lading is issued against.
Load on (vessel)
Discharged
The container has been lifted off the vessel at a port, either at a transshipment hub or at the final port of discharge.
Discharge / Arrived at port
Available for pick-up
A terminal status, not a carrier one: the box has been discharged, the customs release and the carrier release are in, and any terminal holds are cleared, so a trucker can collect it. This tracker shows the customs release and the truck load; the terminal availability status is on the terminal system.
Customs Clearance, then Load On Truck
Empty return
The consignee has emptied the container and returned it to the depot the carrier named. It closes the detention period.
Empty return to Container Yard
Every milestone the Airlift timeline can show, in journey order
Booking Requested. Airlift has received the booking; the request date is the first event on the timeline.
Container Picked up. The empty container has been collected from the carrier depot for stuffing at origin.
Gate In / ICD Gate In / Port Gate In. The loaded container has entered the inland container depot or the port terminal at origin. On this tracker the ICD and port gate-ins are shown as separate events when the box moves through both.
Load on (vessel), with voyage number. The container is on board the named ship. On a transshipment routing each leg has its own load event, so the vessel name can change along the way.
Discharge / Arrived at port. The container has been landed at a port: at a transshipment hub it is Discharge followed by the next Load on; at the port of discharge it is Arrived at port. Before the actual date is known the event reads Est. Arrival or Revised Est. Arrival.
Customs Clearance. The US entry has been released; recorded when the broker confirms release.
Load On Rail / Arrived at Rail ramp / Unloaded from Rail. Shown only when the final destination is inland and the carrier moves the box by rail from the port of discharge.
Load On Truck. The container has left the terminal or rail ramp on a truck for delivery.
Delivered / Est.Delivery. The container has reached the consignee (or the estimated date, before it does). Where the customer collects the box the event is Customer Pick up instead.
Empty return to Container Yard. The emptied container has been returned to the carrier depot. Demurrage and detention clocks are measured against the discharge and pick-up dates that precede this.
Estimated dates are MSC's schedule at the time of the last update and change without notice; an event shown as Est. or Revised Est. has not happened yet.
If the shipment was booked through Airlift USA, enter the container number or the Airlift house bill of lading number in the tracker above and press Track; the timeline shows every milestone Airlift holds for the box. The tracker resolves shipments booked through Airlift USA and the Airlift group offices on any carrier; it does not query MSC for a number Airlift never booked. For an MSC container that was not booked through Airlift, use MSC's own tracker, which accepts container number, bill of lading number or booking number.
Tell us the container or bill of lading number, where the box is headed and what you need — an arrival notice, the customs entry, drayage, or a quote for the next shipment — and the team comes back to you. Airlift USA is a licensed NVOCC (FMC OTI 016162); customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed broker network.
