The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has released Track & Trace 3.0.0, extending its container visibility standard to data generated by connected containers and refrigerated equipment — the industry body's latest step toward a single format for shipment data across carriers, terminals and forwarders.

The update adds two new event types to the standard: IoT events and reefer events. IoT events capture container geolocation, geofence crossings and door status. Reefer events cover temperature readings, setpoint adjustments, power status and alarms.

Until now, Track & Trace 2.2.0 — the current version — has covered only shipment, transport and equipment events. DCSA said the expansion responds to growing demand for more consistent smart container data across the supply chain.

A common format for connected cargo

The aim is a single exchange framework that carriers, terminals, inland operators, freight forwarders and technology providers can all use when sharing visibility data. That matters commercially. Reefer cargo — pharmaceuticals, perishables, high-value foodstuffs — is the freight most exposed to claims and dispute risk, and temperature or power alarms recorded in a standardised, machine-readable format give shippers and insurers a clearer evidentiary trail.

Similarly, geofence and door-status events offer shippers and forwarders earlier, more reliable triggers for downstream planning: drayage scheduling, warehouse slotting and detention-and-demurrage management all benefit from door-level certainty rather than terminal-level estimates.

"Extending it to connected containers and refrigerated cargo reflects DCSA's broader push to digitalise container shipping end to end, giving the industry a wider, more consistent view of a shipment as it moves," said Iker Echave, Head of Standards at DCSA.

Corrections and intermediaries

Beyond the new event types, version 3.0.0 improves how changes to shipments and related documents are represented, and introduces clearer ways to communicate corrected or withdrawn events. The standard now also supports event exchange through carriers, digital platforms and other intermediaries — an acknowledgment of how much visibility data today flows through third-party platforms rather than direct carrier channels.

DCSA said experience with Track & Trace 2.2.0 highlighted the need for these changes, with feedback from carriers, technology providers and users shaping the revision.

For organisations already implementing 2.2.0, the release means a migration exercise. DCSA has published a migration guide with version comparisons, value mappings and implementation guidance.

Staged rollout

Access is staged. Track & Trace 3.0.0 is initially available only to DCSA members and DCSA+ partners. DCSA plans to make the standard publicly available in the second half of 2027 — a timeline that gives carriers and software vendors roughly two years to build out IoT and reefer event support before the format becomes fully open.

For technology providers, the two-year window defines the build cycle; for shippers of temperature-controlled and high-value cargo, it sets a realistic horizon for when standardised reefer telemetry can be expected across multiple carriers rather than from bespoke integrations.