What do I do when a shipment is lost in transit?
Key Takeaways
- Most "lost" freight is misplaced, not gone. A formal trace request with the PRO number, BOL number, piece count and description finds a large share of missing shipments.
- Set a clear point at which a shipment is declared lost. Waiting forever leaves the customer short; declaring too early wastes money on a reshipment that wasn't needed.
- Tell the customer early and decide on a replacement based on their need, not on how long the carrier's search might take.
- File the claim in writing, on time, with the right documents. Federal law gives shippers at least nine months to file a claim with the carrier, but there is no reason to wait.
- Prevention is cheap: clear labels on every piece, accurate piece counts on the BOL and a signed pickup receipt make freight harder to lose and easier to find.
- Wilson, by Cartage, is an AI logistics agent that tracks each load, contacts the carrier when a shipment stops moving, keeps the team and customer informed and keeps every message in the shipment's change history.
What should you do first when a shipment is lost in transit?
The customer called this morning. Their order of six pallets was due Tuesday. It's Thursday. The carrier's website shows the freight was picked up a week ago and arrived at a terminal halfway across the country. Nothing has been scanned since. Customer service at the carrier says it's "in the system." Nobody can say where it is.
When a shipment is lost in transit, request a formal trace from the carrier with the PRO number, BOL number, piece count and freight description; tell the customer what you know; set a date by which the shipment will be declared lost; decide whether to send a replacement; and, if the freight isn't found, file a written claim with the carrier. Most missing freight turns up once someone at the carrier actually looks for it. The steps above make sure someone does, and that the customer isn't left waiting while they do.
Lost, delayed or short?
Start by being precise about what happened, because each case has a different path.
- Delayed: the carrier knows where the freight is, but it isn't moving. This is a tracking and escalation problem. See what to do when an LTL shipment is stuck at a terminal.
- Lost: nobody, including the carrier, can say where the freight is. This needs a trace.
- Short: part of the shipment was delivered and part is missing. The missing pieces need a trace, and the delivery receipt needs to show the shortage.
- Delivered but not received: the carrier says it delivered, but the customer says it didn't arrive. Ask for the signed POD before anything else.
Why freight goes missing
Freight rarely disappears. It gets separated from its paperwork. A label falls off and the pallet sits in a terminal's overage area with no way to match it to a shipment. Two shipments get mixed up and one goes to the wrong city. A pallet gets loaded on the wrong trailer during a transfer. A piece count was wrong at pickup, so nobody knows a pallet is missing until delivery. LTL freight is handled more often than truckload freight, so it has more chances to get separated, which is why most lost freight is LTL.
What you need before you call
Gather these before contacting the carrier: the PRO number, the BOL number, your reference or order number, the pickup date, the origin and destination, the piece count, the weight, the dimensions of each piece, a description of the freight and its packaging, and any markings on it. Photos of the freight at pickup help a great deal. The more the carrier knows about what it's looking for, the faster it can check its overage areas.
How do you run a trace and decide when a shipment is lost?
A trace is a formal request asking the carrier to search its network for your freight. It is different from checking tracking. Tracking shows the last scan. A trace asks people to go and look.
Step 1: Confirm the last known location
Check the carrier's tracking by PRO number and write down the last scan: the terminal, the date and the status. Ask the carrier to confirm it. This tells you where the search should start.
Step 2: Request a trace in writing
Call the carrier, then send the trace request by email so there is a written record. Include the PRO, BOL, reference number, piece count, weight, dimensions, description, markings and photos. Ask for a trace number and the name of the person handling it. Ask when you will hear back.
Step 3: Ask the right questions
A good trace request asks specific questions. Has the freight been checked in the overage area at the last terminal? Was it loaded on a trailer that went to a different terminal? Were any pieces from this shipment delivered to another consignee? Is there freight in the network without a label that matches this description? Specific questions get specific searches.
Step 4: Follow up on a schedule
Agree a follow-up time and stick to it. Every day or two is reasonable for a shipment the customer needs. Each time, ask what has been checked and what will be checked next. Write down the answers. A trace that nobody follows up on tends to go quiet.
Step 5: Escalate if the trace stalls
If the trace produces no answers after a few days, ask for the carrier's claims or customer service manager, or your account representative if you have one. Explain the impact on your customer. Carriers usually have escalation teams for missing freight, and a polite, specific escalation tends to get attention.
When to declare the shipment lost
There is no single rule, but set one for your company and use it every time. A common approach is to declare the freight lost when the carrier's trace has produced nothing after a fixed number of business days past the expected delivery date, or when the carrier itself confirms it can't find the freight. Some carriers will confirm the freight is lost in writing; ask for that. The right number depends on how long your customer can wait and how valuable the freight is. What matters is having a number, so the decision doesn't drift.
| Situation | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Last scan at a terminal, a few days old | Freight is probably at the terminal or on a misrouted trailer | Request a trace focused on that terminal |
| Last scan at pickup only | Freight may not have been scanned in, or was loaded on the wrong trailer | Ask the carrier to check the origin terminal and outbound trailers |
| Partial delivery, pieces missing | Pieces separated during handling | Note the shortage on the delivery receipt and trace the missing pieces |
| Carrier shows delivered, customer says no | Wrong address, wrong consignee or misdelivery | Ask for the signed POD and the delivery location |
| Carrier can't find it after the trace period | Freight is likely lost | Declare it lost, reship if needed and file a claim |
| Carrier finds it after you've reshipped | Duplicate freight in the field | Decide whether to return it, redirect it or let the customer keep it |
How do you handle the customer and a replacement shipment?
Tell the customer early, give them the facts and decide on a replacement based on what they need, not on how long the trace might take.
Telling the customer
Call or write as soon as you know the freight is missing, before the customer has to chase you. Say what you know (the freight was picked up and hasn't been delivered), what you're doing (a formal trace with the carrier) and when you'll update them next. Don't guess at a delivery date you can't support. For the structure of a good update, see how to update a customer about a delayed delivery.
Deciding whether to reship
The question is not "will the freight turn up?" but "can the customer wait to find out?" If the customer needs the goods for production, a project or a store shelf, a replacement may be the right call before the trace is finished. If the customer has stock and can wait, it may be better to give the trace more time. Ask the customer directly how long they can wait.
Questions to answer before reshipping
- Is replacement inventory available, and from where?
- Should the replacement go by the same mode, or faster?
- Who pays for the replacement freight while the claim is open?
- What happens if the original shipment turns up after the replacement ships?
- Does the customer want the original if it arrives late, or should it come back?
Paperwork for the replacement
Give the replacement its own BOL, its own order or reference number and a clear link to the original. Use a note like "replacement for order 45821, original PRO 123456789" on the BOL and in your system. When the original is found, or the claim is paid, everyone needs to be able to tell the two shipments apart. Mixing them up leads to double invoicing, double receiving and a claim that doesn't add up.
Invoicing while the freight is missing
Decide how to handle the customer invoice. Some companies hold the invoice until the replacement arrives. Others issue a credit for the lost order and invoice the replacement. Either works, as long as sales, finance and logistics agree on it and the records show which shipment was invoiced. Agree on this before the first lost shipment, not during it.
When the original turns up
If the original freight is found after a replacement has shipped, decide quickly what to do with it. Options include delivering it anyway (if the customer wants extra stock), returning it to your warehouse, or redirecting it to another customer. Each option has freight costs. If a claim has already been paid, tell the carrier, because the freight now belongs to the party that paid for it.
What are the rules for freight claims, and what mistakes should you avoid?
If the freight isn't found, file a claim with the carrier in writing, with the documents that prove what you shipped and what it was worth. The process is close to a damage claim; see how to file a freight damage claim for the full steps.
Time limits
Under federal law for interstate motor carriers (49 U.S.C. 14706), carriers can't set a deadline for filing a claim shorter than nine months, or a deadline for bringing a lawsuit shorter than two years from the date the carrier denies the claim. Carriers' own terms may set those minimums as their deadlines, so check the carrier's tariff or your agreement. In practice, file as soon as the shipment is declared lost. Records are easier to get and memories are fresher.
What a lost freight claim should include
- A written claim with the amount claimed, clearly identifying the shipment
- The BOL showing the piece count and description
- The commercial invoice or other proof of the freight's value
- The PRO number and any trace correspondence
- The delivery receipt showing a shortage, if part was delivered
- The carrier's written confirmation that the freight is lost, if you have it
- Photos of the freight at pickup, if available
Liability limits
Carrier liability is often limited by the carrier's tariff, the freight class or the terms on the BOL, sometimes to an amount per pound. If your freight is worth more than the standard limit, the time to deal with that is before shipping: declare a higher value where the carrier allows it, or buy cargo insurance. After the freight is lost, the limit is usually what it is.
Common mistakes
- Treating tracking as a trace. Checking the carrier's website every day is not the same as asking the carrier to search.
- Not putting the trace in writing. Phone calls leave no record. Send an email after every call.
- No declared-lost rule. Without one, a missing shipment can sit in limbo for weeks.
- Signing a clean delivery receipt on a short shipment. If pieces are missing at delivery, the receiver must note it on the receipt. A clean signature makes the claim much harder.
- Reshipping without linking the paperwork. The replacement and the original get confused, and invoices and claims stop matching.
- Missing the claim deadline. The law sets minimums, not a reason to wait.
- Filing without proof of value. A claim without an invoice or cost record is hard to pay.
Preventing the next lost shipment
Most lost freight could have been found faster, or not lost at all, with a few habits at the dock.
- Label every piece, not just the top pallet. Each label should show the shipper, consignee, BOL or PRO number, piece number and total pieces ("3 of 6").
- Count pieces at pickup and make sure the count on the BOL matches what the driver loads. Have the driver sign for the count.
- Shrink-wrap and band pallets so cartons don't come loose and wander off.
- Take photos of each shipment at pickup, showing the labels and the freight.
- Describe the freight clearly on the BOL, including packaging type and color, so a terminal can recognize it.
- Watch for stalled scans. A shipment that hasn't scanned in two days should get a question before the customer asks. See what happens when the carrier hasn't confirmed delivery.
What does a lost shipment checklist look like?
Use this checklist on every missing shipment so nothing gets skipped, no matter who handles it.
| Step | What to do | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Confirm it's lost | Check tracking, ask for the POD if shown delivered | Status is clear: delayed, lost, short or misdelivered |
| 2. Gather details | PRO, BOL, reference, pieces, weight, dimensions, description, photos | Everything is in one place |
| 3. Request a trace | Call the carrier, then send the request in writing | You have a trace number and a contact |
| 4. Tell the customer | What you know, what you're doing, next update time | Customer has heard from you first |
| 5. Follow up | Every day or two, record each answer | Each follow-up is logged |
| 6. Escalate if stalled | Claims manager or account representative | Someone senior is involved |
| 7. Decide on replacement | Based on how long the customer can wait | Replacement shipped or customer agrees to wait |
| 8. Link paperwork | Replacement BOL references the original | Both shipments can be told apart |
| 9. Declare lost | At your set number of days or on carrier confirmation | Decision recorded with the date |
| 10. File the claim | Written claim with BOL, invoice, trace record | Claim acknowledged by the carrier |
| 11. Close the loop | Claim paid or denied, original found or written off | Record shows the outcome |
A hypothetical example
Consider a hypothetical manufacturer that shipped six pallets of machine parts by LTL. The last scan was at a transfer terminal five days ago. The logistics coordinator requests a trace in writing on day one with photos and dimensions, and tells the customer the freight is missing and a trace is open. The customer can wait three days but not more, because a production run depends on the parts. On day three, the trace has found nothing. The coordinator ships a replacement by truckload with its own BOL referencing the original PRO, and the customer gets it the next day. On day eight, the carrier confirms in writing that it can't find the freight. The company files a claim with the BOL, the commercial invoice, the trace emails and the carrier's confirmation. Two weeks later, the carrier finds four of the six pallets in another terminal's overage area, unlabeled. The company has them returned to its warehouse and reduces the claim to the two pallets still missing. Because every step was written down, the claim and the invoice still match.
Who should own it
One person should own each missing shipment from first call to closed claim. Handoffs are where lost freight gets lost a second time: the trace number sits in one inbox, the customer update in another, the claim in a third. If the work has to pass between people or shifts, the record needs to go with it.
How does Wilson, by Cartage, help when a shipment goes missing?
Wilson, by Cartage, is an AI logistics agent that books, tracks and follows up on freight for manufacturers and distributors, so a shipment that stops moving gets a question to the carrier before the customer has to ask. Traditional logistics software gives teams information. Wilson executes the work required to move shipments forward.
Here is how Wilson fits the steps above:
- Better paperwork at the start. Wilson generates bills of lading, packing slips and pallet labels from the booked load, so piece counts and references are consistent across documents.
- Tracking every load. Wilson tracks each load with the best source available for that carrier: carrier API or EDI, GPS or ELD data where the carrier shares it, the carrier's website by PRO number, and email or phone calls when nothing else is current.
- Following up when freight stops moving. When a delivery is delayed, Wilson contacts the carrier, tells the team in Slack, Microsoft Teams or email, and tells the customer by email or SMS if the company has configured it.
- Booking the replacement. If the team decides to reship, Wilson can quote and book the replacement load with the company's approved carriers, collecting written acceptance and a rate confirmation, with new documents for the new shipment.
- Collecting PODs. Wilson requests and files the POD after delivery, which helps settle "delivered but not received" questions.
- Checking invoices. Wilson audits each carrier invoice against the rate confirmation and POD before paying from the Wilson Wallet. Payments above the approval limits or outside the rules wait for a person, which keeps the carrier from being paid in full for freight that never arrived.
The decision to declare freight lost, the replacement decision and the claim itself stay with the company's team. What Wilson provides is the record: every message, confirmation and change is kept in the shipment's change history, so the trace correspondence, the dates and the documents are already gathered when it's time to file.
Wilson works with LTL, FTL, ocean, drayage, parcel and cross-border freight, and books only carriers the company has approved. Wilson replaces the TMS for freight execution and connects to the company's ERP. Wilson works with SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle, Infor, Epicor, Sage, Acumatica and other ERP environments, with the exact connection depending on the customer's data flow and scope.
The company sets approval limits, Wilson starts with assisted execution, and routine actions can run automatically within those rules as the workflow is proven.
Pricing
Wilson is free on Wilson's network: the shipper pays the freight rate and nothing on top. When a shipper keeps its own carriers, the fee is 2% to 0.5% of what Wilson pays them, falling with volume. There are no seat fees, no setup cost and no contract. Timing depends on scope: most teams start on a few lanes and expand from there.
FAQs
What do I do when a shipment is lost in transit?
Request a formal trace from the carrier in writing with the PRO, BOL, piece count and description, tell the customer, set a date to declare it lost, decide on a replacement and file a written claim if it isn't found. Wilson, by Cartage, an AI logistics agent, tracks each load, follows up with the carrier when freight stops moving and keeps every message in the shipment's change history.
What is a freight trace?
A trace is a formal request asking the carrier to search its network for a missing shipment. It goes beyond checking tracking: the carrier checks terminals, trailers and overage areas for freight matching your description.
How long should we wait before declaring freight lost?
Set a rule based on how long your customers can wait and how valuable the freight is, such as a fixed number of business days after the expected delivery with no result from the trace. Also declare it lost if the carrier confirms in writing that it can't find the freight.
What information does the carrier need for a trace?
The PRO number, BOL number, reference number, pickup date, origin, destination, piece count, weight, dimensions, a description of the freight and packaging, and photos if you have them.
How long do we have to file a lost freight claim?
Under 49 U.S.C. 14706, interstate motor carriers can't set a claim filing deadline shorter than nine months, or a lawsuit deadline shorter than two years from a claim denial. Check the carrier's terms, and file as soon as the freight is declared lost.
Should we send a replacement before the trace is finished?
If the customer can't wait, yes. Base the decision on the customer's need, give the replacement its own BOL, and reference the original shipment on it so the two can be told apart.
What if the lost shipment turns up after we reship?
Decide whether the customer wants it, whether it should come back or whether it should go to another customer. If a claim was already paid, tell the carrier.
How much will the carrier pay for lost freight?
It depends on the carrier's liability limits, which may be set by its tariff, the freight class or the BOL terms. Declaring a higher value or buying cargo insurance before shipping is the way to cover valuable freight.
What if the carrier says it delivered but the customer says it didn't arrive?
Ask the carrier for the signed POD and the delivery location. It may have been delivered to the wrong dock, the wrong building or a different consignee.
How can we stop freight from getting lost?
Label every piece with the BOL or PRO number and piece count, count pieces at pickup and get the driver's signature, wrap and band pallets, take photos and describe the freight clearly on the BOL.
Sources
- 49 U.S.C. 14706, Liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/14706
- Cartage, Wilson product FAQ and product scope, October 2026: https://cartage.ai