Changelog

You can now bulk update custom fields at both the shipment and container level, making it easier than ever to backfill and organize your tracking data at scale. Previously, bulk updates only worked for container-level fields. With this release, you can upload a single spreadsheet to update shipment-level fields like PO numbers, customer references, or internal tags across hundreds of shipments in one go. This is especially useful for teams managing high volumes who need to keep their data consistent without manual entry.

Learn how to use Bulk Update Custom Fields →

We’ve expanded container visibility by adding Shipping Line Last Free Day (SSL LFD) dates across multiple views in Terminal49. This release helps you stay on top of carrier deadlines alongside existing terminal and rail dates.

What’s New

In the Container Dashboard, you’ll now see two new columns: SSL LFD and LFD (combined). Hover over the combined column to instantly compare shipping line and terminal dates.

On the Shipment Detail Page, the SSL LFD is now tracked as a milestone event. Even when containers are collapsed, all three LFD types — Terminal, Shipping Line, and Rail — are visible at a glance.

Finally, in the Containers That Need Attention Dashboard, SSL LFD has been added to the Holds / Fees column, with clear labels (T, R, S) so you can identify deadlines faster.

Why It Matters

This update gives you a single source of truth for Last Free Days, reducing the risk of missed deadlines and unexpected charges. With carrier, terminal, and rail dates side-by-side, your team can make faster and more accurate decisions.

You can now see how fresh your container data is and refresh it when needed.

• A new Tracking Freshness Trust Indicator shows when each container was last updated (Current, Slightly Outdated, Stale,)
• Manual refresh is available from the Shipment Detail page for actively tracked containers.
• Available in the Shipment Dashboard, Shipment Detail view and Containers Dashboard

Refreshes are smart and only sync the data sources that apply to the container’s most recent milestone. AIS updates automatically every 5 minutes and is not included in manual refresh.

To learn more about the logic and details about the functionality, check out our blog post and help articles.

📘 Read the blog post

📖 Help article: How Data Freshness and Manual Refresh work

Terminal49 Free is now live. This forever-free plan gives every company real-time container visibility at no cost. Track up to 10 active containers at a time with up to 3 users, no hidden fees, and no credit card requirement.

What you get with Terminal49 Free

• Instant Tracking
  Add shipments or containers one at a time or import them via spreadsheet.
• Auto Tracking by Identifier
  Use MBOL, booking number, or container number.
• Centralized Shipment Dashboard
  View containers by status: On Ship, Arrived, Stopped Tracking, and more.
• Real Time ETA Updates
  Vessel ETAs refreshed multiple times per day.
• Alerts for Holds, Fees & LFDs
  Monitor delays, terminal charges, and last free day notifications.
• Powerful Search and Filters
  Locate containers by customer name, PO, BOL, or custom tag.
• Unified Container Timeline
  See carrier, terminal, and AIS milestones in a single ordered view.
• Custom Email Notifications
  Notify your team of key events like discharge, availability, and LFD.
• Rapid Onboarding
  Start tracking in minutes with no sales call or trial countdown.
• 24 Hour Email Support

Terminal49 Free removes the paywall on basic visibility and replaces scattered updates with a single source of truth. Surface containers that need attention, communicate faster, and avoid costly surprises.

Read the full announcement | Register for Terminal49 Free

Terminal49 brings you data from multiple sources: shipping lines, rail carriers, terminals, and AIS. For the first time, you can see all that data in one easy dashboard, organized intelligently to help you understand your shipment.

If one source is missing a milestone, it’s filled in from the other sources (when available).

If multiple sources have provided data for a milestone, you can compare their details - as well as see which one we chose to use for our container and shipment level data.

Try it yourself

Go to any shipment details page (/shipments/:id), scroll down to your containers, and expand the container details.

You should now be able to see the Unified Event View in the "all events" tab.

If you want more detail about a particular event, you can click it to expand. We often get data from multiple sources for the same event, and this view makes it very easy to compare!

While we have consolidated all milestone/event data into this view, there is some other data from the terminal that doesn't quite fit. You can go to the "container updates" tab to see the latest info about holds, fees, and availability at the POD terminal.

Rail Carrier data is included in the All Events tab, but some of our customers prefer it over other sources of data, so we have kept a separate tab with just rail data.

What Changed

• Combines milestones from all data sources into one unified view
• Adds AIS milestones (previously not available in the dashboard)
• Adds terminal milestones (previously not available in the dashboard - note that these are different than “container updates”, which were and are available in the dashboard in a different table).
• Shows “transport events”, which are the more processed versions of the milestones (previously not available in the dashboard). This in particular makes it easier to spot issues in the data.
• Allows admins to add, invalidate, and edit milestones - which means we can solve tickets faster
• Improved visual design, which helps you understand your entire journey and detect possible issues

We are pleased to announce the expansion of our terminal network to include ports in Mexico. This strategic enhancement provides importers with comprehensive visibility for all container shipments entering Mexico.

Highlights:

• Real-time visibility into eight key Mexican terminals that account for over 80% of the country's container volume.
• Automated tracking updates for containers at Mexican ports, eliminating manual checks
• Complete container lifecycle visibility from origin to Mexican destination in a single platform
• Detailed information on container status, including vessel arrival and departure times, as well as notifications for available pickups, and more.

Why Mexico, Why Now?

Mexico's ports are seeing remarkable growth:

• 2.95 million TEUs handled in just the first four months of 2024 (18.2% increase)
• Pacific Coast ports processed 2.14 million TEUs (19% growth)
• Manzanillo (Mexico's busiest port) up 14.5%
• Lázaro Cárdenas surged 35%

As Mexico becomes an increasingly important shipping destination, we've added these key terminals to help you track your containers seamlessly through this growing trade lane. [ source ]

Newly Integrated Mexican Terminals:

• SSA Mexico (SSAMX)
• Contecon Manzanillo (CMSA)
• Terminal Internacional de Manzanillo (TIMSA)
• Hutchison ICAVE (ICAVE)
• Terminal Portuaria de Contenedores (LCT)
• International Terminal (EIT)
• APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas (APMT)
• APM Terminals Yucatán (TCY)
• Altamira Terminal Portuaria (ATP)

Benefits for Importers

• Consolidated visibility across all terminals in a standardized interface
• Proactive notifications for container status changes and exceptions.
• Reduced demurrage/detention costs through improved planning capabilities
• Simplified coordination with Mexican customs brokers and trucking companies

To begin using this new functionality, track containers as usual; no additional setup is needed. Mexican terminal data has been fully integrated into your existing systems and will function normally.

Please refer to our comprehensive Terminal 49 Data Matrix for detailed information on the available data for each terminal.

Today, we're launching Global Search on the Terminal49 dashboard. This new feature significantly improves your workflow by allowing you to instantly find details of shipments, containers, or tracking requests directly from any page.

Previously, locating specific shipments or containers required navigating through separate filtering pages, disrupting your workflow and causing potential confusion. 

Now, with Global Search, simply enter, or paste a bill of lading, booking, container, or reference number into the search bar at the top of any page, and immediately see detailed results without leaving your current view.

Global Search Highlights:

• Instant Results: Real-time search results appear as you type.
• Search from Anywhere: Accessible on any page within Terminal49—no more navigation between filtering pages.
• In-line Previews: Quickly view essential data without leaving your current view.
• Recent Searches: Easy access to previously searched items.
• Organized Results: Clearly grouped into Shipments, Containers, and Tracking Requests.
• Tracking Status: Instantly confirm if a shipment or container has already been tracked in Terminal49.

Try It Yourself! Just press Ctrl/⌘ + K anywhere within Terminal49 to start experiencing seamless, intuitive searching.

Added

Global Search bar (Ctrl/⌘ + K) is now available across the dashboard. It lets you search for a B/L number, container number, or tracking request without leaving your current page.

Feature highlights

• Real‑time suggestions as you type
• Keyboard navigation to move through results without touching the mouse
• Recent search history stored per user
• In‑line previews showing key data at a glance
• Results grouped by type: Shipments, Containers, Tracking Requests

What changed? 

We saw that search is one of the most‑used actions in Terminal49, but many of you had to open the Shipments page first, then click around to find a record. Global Search removes those extra steps. Now you can jump straight to any shipment, container, or tracking request from anywhere, and if you dont want to use your mouse we provide a full keyboard navigation.

Introducing the Terminal49 Changelog!

We’re excited to introduce the Terminal49 Changelog—your go-to place for tracking (hah) all updates, improvements, and fixes in our platform.

Why a Changelog?

Transparency is key, and we want our users to stay informed about everything happening behind the scenes. Whether it’s an API enhancement, a dashboard update, or a performance improvement, you’ll find it all here.

What You Can Expect

• Regular Updates: We push changes to our platform daily, and we plan to post an update at-least once a week.
• Categorized Changes: Updates are grouped under API updates, dashboard improvements, documentation, fixes etc.
• Deep Linking & Filtering: Quickly find relevant updates and share direct links to specific changes.
• Markdown Support: Rich formatting to make updates clear and readable.
• First Update: The Changelog is Live!

This is our first official post in the new Terminal49 Changelog. From now on, all product updates, big and small, will be documented here.

Stay tuned—this is just the beginning! 🎉