Supported carriers
Orbex Data maintains direct and aggregator connections to major ocean carriers, NVOCCs, airlines, and regional trucking networks. Coverage expands monthly—check Settings → Integrations → Carriers for your workspace's available catalog.
| Mode | Methods | Typical data |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean | API, EDI 315/301, portal scrape | Container events, vessel, ETA |
| Air | Cargo API, AWB tracking | Flight legs, warehouse events |
| Road | ELD API, carrier TMS | Pickup, in-transit, POD |
| Rail | Class I railroad feeds | Intermodal ramp events |
Connection setup
- 1
Select carrier
Search by SCAC, airline code, or carrier name in the integrations catalog.
- 2
Authenticate
Provide API credentials, EDI ISA ID, or authorize OAuth where supported.
- 3
Map references
Confirm how your house bills and container numbers map to carrier booking refs.
- 4
Test and enable
Run test lookup on a known container; enable auto-polling on success.
Credential ownership
Use your organization's carrier portal credentials—not individual employee logins—to avoid disruption when staff turnover occurs.
Polling and push
Most ocean connections poll carrier APIs on a schedule keyed to shipment lifecycle phase—more frequent near port arrival. Carriers supporting push webhooks register Orbex Data endpoints for lower latency updates.
- Active in-transit: poll every 2–6 hours depending on tier
- Pre-departure: poll every 12–24 hours
- Post-delivery: polling stops after configurable retention
Event normalization
Raw carrier status codes map to Orbex Data standard milestones. The mapping table is visible per connection for transparency. Unknown codes queue for review and do not block other events.
Carrier descriptions like 'Vessel departed' may map differently per SCAC. Report mapping gaps to support for rapid template updates.
Troubleshooting
When tracking stalls, check connection health in Settings → Integrations. Common issues: expired credentials, incorrect SCAC on shipment, container not yet gated in, or carrier API outage.
Aggregator fallback
If direct API fails, Orbex Data may attempt secondary data sources. Fallback events are labeled accordingly in the timeline.