How to Track a Shipment from China: Numbers and Statuses

To track a shipment from China, first find out which number belongs to it, because that depends on how it travels. Express parcels have one courier number from pickup to delivery. Air, sea and rail freight move under a transport document first (an air waybill, a bill of lading or a container number) and get a last-mile courier number only after import clearance. Enter any of them on our tracking page: it recognises the format and opens the carrier's own tracker and 17TRACK.

Which number will you get?

Shipments on our duties-paid China–Europe rail line are a special case. The train takes about 16–19 days, and during that leg your coordinator reports progress. Once the goods clear import customs in Europe, with duties and taxes already paid, UPS delivers them under its own number, which you can follow on the UPS tracking page like any other UPS parcel. The same pattern, a main leg followed by a courier number, applies to air freight.

Express: one number from pickup to delivery

When we ship by express, the courier collects the parcel in China and keeps the same number until it is signed for. DHL Express waybills have 10 digits, most UPS numbers start with 1Z and have 18 characters, FedEx Express numbers usually have 12 digits, and EMS and China Post items use the 13-character postal format ending in CN. Each carrier has its own page explaining its formats and statuses: UPS, FedEx, DHL and EMS / China Post.

Air freight: the air waybill, then a last-mile number

Air freight travels on an air waybill. Its 11-digit number begins with the airline's three-digit prefix, and in a consolidation the forwarder also issues a house air waybill for each shipper. Airline milestones such as booked, departed and arrived appear against that number. After import clearance, the cartons are handed to UPS, FedEx or DPD for delivery, which is when their label numbers start to move. Until then a last-mile number can show only "Label created", which is normal.

Sea freight: bill of lading and container number

For a full container, the bill of lading and the 11-character container number (four letters, then seven digits) both work on the shipping line's tracker. Expect milestones such as gate-in at the loading port, loaded on vessel, transshipment, discharge, gate-out and the empty container's return. For LCL, your cartons share a container with other shippers' cargo, so the container number follows the whole box, not your goods; your coordinator tracks your house bill of lading through devanning and delivery. Our container tracking page explains each status.

Why does tracking go quiet?

A tracking event appears only when someone scans the cargo or a system records a milestone. Between those points nothing new shows, even though the shipment is moving.

• During a flight connection or a long sailing, the next scan is at the next airport or port.
• In customs, the record stays at "arrived" or "held" until the goods are released.
• On the China–Europe rail line, the UPS number moves only after the rail leg and import clearance.
• Consolidated air and sea shipments often show milestones for the whole consolidation, not each carton.

If nothing has changed for longer than the transit time you were quoted, send us the number. Our tracking questions cover the most common cases.

How to read the statuses

Most carriers use similar words. "Label created" means a label exists but the carrier hasn't received the goods. "In transit" or "departed" means the cargo is on its way to the next hub. A customs or clearance status means the goods are in import clearance; if documents or duty payment are needed, the carrier usually contacts the receiver. "Out for delivery" and "delivered" end the journey. An "exception" means something needs attention, such as an address problem or a customs query.

When you contact us, give the number and the destination, and say whether it is an express parcel, an air or sea shipment, or a last-mile number. That tells us whose system to check first.