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Getting Started with Container Tracker

Welcome to Container Tracker! This guide will help you quickly understand how to track containers, view their history, and manage your tracking data effectively.

🚀 Installation

Before you begin, make sure to install the Container Tracker Google Sheets add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace:

👉 Install Container Tracker from Google Workspace Marketplace

What is Container Tracker?

Container Tracker is a Google Sheets add-on that automatically tracks ocean containers across multiple carriers including MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, ONE (Ocean Network Express), Yang Ming and Evergreen. It provides real-time updates on container location, status, and key milestones throughout the shipping journey.

How Container Tracking Works

Automatic Tracking

These carriers are tracked automatically:

For these carriers, Container Tracker automatically checks the carrier's tracking data for you.

  1. Submit a Container: Enter the container number and select the carrier
  2. Automatic Updates: The system periodically checks the carrier's tracking data for updates
  3. Real-time Events: New tracking events are automatically added to your container's history
  4. Lifecycle Tracking: The system continues monitoring until the container is delivered

Benefits:

Manual Tracking

For any other carrier, or as a backup method:

  1. Manual Entry: Add containers and manually input tracking events
  2. Screenshot Import: Paste a screenshot of the carrier's tracking page and let AI extract the events for you (see below)
  3. Flexible Updates: Add individual events as they occur

Benefits:

Tracking Your First Container

  1. Open any spreadsheet and click the Container Tracker icon in the right-hand side panel (it's not in the Extensions menu). If the side panel is hidden, click the arrow at the bottom right of the window
  2. Click "Submit container for tracking"
  3. Enter the container number (e.g., MSCU1234567)
  4. Select the carrier from the dropdown
  5. Click Submit

The container will now appear in your "View tracked containers" list and will be monitored automatically.

Viewing Container History

To see the detailed tracking history of a container:

  1. Navigate to "View tracked containers"
  2. Click on any container in the list
  3. View the complete event timeline with:
    • Event descriptions (e.g., "Gate In", "Loaded on Vessel", "Discharged")
    • Dates and times
    • Locations and vessel information
    • Additional details for each event

Export to Google Sheets

You can export any container's history directly to your spreadsheet:

  1. Open the container's history view
  2. Click "Export to Sheet" in the top actions
  3. A new sheet will be created with all event data in a tabular format
  4. Use this for reporting, analysis, or sharing with stakeholders

Understanding Milestones

Milestones represent key stages in your container's journey. Instead of viewing dozens of individual events, the Milestones View shows only the most important checkpoints:

Key Milestones:

How to View Milestones:

  1. Open a container's history
  2. Click "View as milestones"
  3. See a clean, summarized timeline of major events
  4. Export milestones to a sheet for easy tracking of multiple containers

Milestones make it easy to quickly understand "where is my container?" without wading through technical details.

AI Summary

The AI Summary feature provides a natural language summary of your container's journey:

  1. Open any container's history
  2. Click "🤖 View Summary"
  3. Read an AI-generated summary that includes:
    • Current container status and location
    • Key journey milestones
    • Estimated or actual arrival dates
    • Notable delays or issues
    • Next expected steps

Example Summary:

"Your container MSCU1234567 is currently at the Port of Los Angeles, where it was discharged from the vessel MSC MAYA on December 1st. The container is now awaiting pickup at the terminal. Based on the tracking history, it departed from Shanghai on November 20th and had a smooth transit. The container should be ready for collection within the next 2-3 business days."

This is perfect for quickly briefing stakeholders or understanding status at a glance.

Importing from Screenshots

For manually tracked containers, you can quickly import events using carrier tracking page screenshots:

How to Use Screenshot Import:

  1. Open a manually tracked container's history
  2. Click "📷 Import from screenshot"
  3. Take a screenshot of the carrier's tracking page on their website
  4. Paste the screenshot into the import window (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V)
  5. Click "Import Events"
  6. AI analyzes the image and extracts all tracking events automatically

What Gets Extracted:

This feature saves hours of manual data entry while ensuring accuracy.

Managing Archived Containers

Once a container is delivered or no longer needs active monitoring, you can archive it:

Archive a Container:

  1. Go to "View tracked containers"
  2. Click the "â‹®" (more options) button next to the container
  3. Select "Archive"
  4. The container moves to your archived list

View Archived Containers:

  1. In "View tracked containers"
  2. Click "View Archived" toggle
  3. Browse all previously archived containers
  4. Unarchive any container by clicking "⋮" → "Unarchive"

Why Archive?

Exporting Data to Sheets

Container Tracker makes it easy to work with your data in Google Sheets:

Export Tracked Containers List:

  1. Navigate to "View tracked containers"
  2. Click "Export to Sheet" in the header
  3. A sheet named "Tracked Containers" is created with all active containers

Export Container History:

  1. Open any container's history view
  2. Click "Export to Sheet"
  3. A sheet named "History - [Container Number]" is created with:
    • Container information (carrier, type, ETA)
    • Complete event timeline with all details

Export Milestones:

  1. View container milestones
  2. Click "Export to Sheet"
  3. Get a clean summary of major milestones in spreadsheet format
  4. Perfect for tracking multiple containers side-by-side

All exported data is formatted and ready for analysis, reporting, or integration with your existing workflows.

Best Practices

For Automatic Tracking:

For Manual Tracking:

For Reporting:

Need Help?

Start tracking your first container today and experience automated ocean freight visibility!