Track Container Milestones with Webhooks

Build a complete container journey timeline by subscribing to Terminal49 transport milestone webhook events from origin through to final destination.

A container’s journey from origin to destination passes through a predictable sequence of milestones. Terminal49 sends a webhook event for each milestone so you can build a real-time timeline without polling.

The container journey

For containers with transshipments, feeder vessels, or inland rail moves, additional milestone events fire at each intermediate point.

Events in journey order

Origin to vessel

Event	Milestone
container.transport.empty_out	Empty container picked up at origin
container.transport.full_in	Full container gated in at port of lading
container.transport.vessel_loaded	Loaded onto vessel
container.transport.vessel_departed	Vessel departed port of lading

Transshipment (if applicable)

Event	Milestone
container.transport.transshipment_arrived	Arrived at transshipment port
container.transport.transshipment_discharged	Discharged at transshipment port
container.transport.transshipment_loaded	Loaded onto next vessel
container.transport.transshipment_departed	Departed transshipment port

Destination

Event	Milestone
container.transport.vessel_arrived	Vessel arrived at port of discharge
container.transport.vessel_berthed	Vessel berthed at port of discharge
container.transport.vessel_discharged	Container discharged from vessel
container.transport.available	Available for pickup
container.transport.full_out	Picked up from terminal
container.transport.empty_in	Empty returned

Rail (if applicable)

Event	Milestone
container.transport.rail_loaded	Loaded onto rail
container.transport.rail_departed	Rail departed
container.transport.rail_arrived	Rail arrived at inland ramp
container.transport.rail_unloaded	Unloaded from rail
container.transport.arrived_at_inland_destination	Arrived at final inland destination

Build a milestone timeline

Each transport event webhook includes a transport_event object in the included array with the event type, timestamp, and location:

app.post("/webhooks/terminal49", async (req, res) => {
  const { data, included } = req.body;
  const event = data.attributes.event;

  if (!event.startsWith("container.transport.")) {
    return res.sendStatus(200);
  }

  const transportEvent = included.find((obj) => obj.type === "transport_event");
  const container = included.find((obj) => obj.type === "container");
  const shipment = included.find((obj) => obj.type === "shipment");

  const milestone = {
    containerNumber: container.attributes.number,
    bolNumber: shipment.attributes.bill_of_lading_number,
    event: event,
    timestamp: transportEvent.attributes.timestamp,
    timezone: transportEvent.attributes.timezone,
    location: transportEvent.attributes.location_locode,
    voyageNumber: transportEvent.attributes.voyage_number,
  };

  await saveMilestone(milestone);

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

Transport event timestamps are stored in UTC. Use the timezone field to convert to local time. See Event Timestamps for details.

Common patterns

• Customer portal — display a visual timeline showing where each container is in its journey
• Dwell time tracking — measure time between vessel_arrived and full_out to identify port delays
• Transit time analysis — compare vessel_departed to vessel_arrived across carriers and routes
• Exception detection — alert when a container has been at a milestone for longer than expected
• Export visibility — track empty_out through vessel_departed for outbound shipments

Related

• Event catalog — full list of events with descriptions
• Container statuses — how Terminal49 derives container status from milestones
• Rail integration — details on rail-specific tracking data
• Routing data — vessel and container route information