If you’re in the shipping, warehousing, or supply chain business, you may be familiar with the acronyms ETD full form in shipping and ETA. Organizations and businesses base their plans and schedules on these two factors.

What are EDT and ETA in a Delivery?

ETD, in full form, in shipping can be the estimated time of departure of the shipper’s cargo on board the vessel or the estimated time of departure of the carrier itself. This is the estimated departure time of the item waiting to be shipped.

Similarly, the arrival could be a ship or a cargo for ETA. Typically, ETD full form in shipping refers to the estimated date of departure, and ETA refers to the estimated date of arrival of the ocean carrier or cargo. In most cases, times are not provided as delays or early arrivals of ships and cargo cannot be predicted.

ETD and ETA are indicative data only and are not binding on shipowners, clearer, or carriers.

Also Read: Things You Need To Know About ETA, ETD, ATD, ATA In Shipping

Where can I find the ETD and ETA for my shipment?

Estimated departure and arrival times are usually stated on the booking confirmation from the shipping company or freight forwarder. This is a confirmation of cargo booking by ship (or other means of transport). The booking confirmation includes the booking confirmation number, the description and quantity of the shipment being shipped, the equipment used, and the itinerary. Equipment means a type of container or pallet used to hold cargo. Typical itineraries include airline ETDs and ETAs.

Booking Confirmation 

Booking Confirmation is a valid contract between the carrier and also the shipper. Issued by the carrier or carrier to the shipper. A sender can be a sender or a receiver. Container reservation confirmations typically include the following information: 

1. Booker 
2. Booking Confirmation Number 
3. Shipper’s Name 
4. Empty Container Return Point 
5. Dangerous Goods Information 
6. ETD 
7. Vessel Name 
8. Port of Discharge 
9. ETA 
10. Transshipment Port (as applicable) ) 
11. Container number and description 
12. Truck driver details 
13. Booking date 
14. Authorized signature 

Booking Confirmation Number: The confirmation number will normally appear on all documents and correspondence.

How are ETD and ETA Calculated?

ETD full form in shipping and also ETA depend on factors such as the vessel’s schedule and ports of call for refueling and maintenance operations. They are subject to known conditions, such as labor unrest and berth congestion at the port of departure and various ports en route. The airline may change the specified ETD and ETA based on the abovementioned factors.

Also Read: What is Cargo Manifest In Shipping?

Weather and rough seas can also cause delays in ocean-going ship departures and arrivals. Some ship delay insurance companies may categorize these factors into land-based and ship-related factors. Shoreside factors refer to conditions that affect ship departures, such as labor unrest, traffic congestion, port traffic problems, and infrastructure collapse.

Ship-Related Factors are Factors that Influence a Ship’s Arrival at a Port, Such as

Examples include delays due to weather and engine failures while underway. While ETD and ETA are approximations, Actual Departure Time (ATD) and Actual Arrival Time (ATA) indicate the vessel’s actual departure and arrival times at the port.

What do Lead Time, ETD, and ETA mean?

In shipping and freight transportation, lead time is the total time required for a vessel or cargo to get from point A to point B (from the ship’s or cargo’s point of departure to its destination) is expressed numerically. That day. Accurate lead times are important when forecasting inventory.

Inventory forecasting predicts a company’s future needs. Use inventory levels, sales and demand, inventory lead times, and other factors to determine forecast numbers. Accurate and timely data helps create accurate forecasts. “Goods Preparation Days” indicate the days required for the supplier to prepare the goods and deliver them to the port for shipment. Transit days indicate the days required for the cargo to transit from the port of origin to the destination or port of discharge.

Also Read: A Guide to Verified Gross Mass (VGM) For Shipping

Clearance and delivery time indicate the days required for goods to clear customs from the port and be delivered to the customer’s facility. These days are the actual number of days required to move the shipment from its origin location within the supplier’s warehouse to the customer’s storage location.

Can I Claim Compensation for Delayed Departure?

When a shipper books cargo on an ocean-going vessel, the shipowner is responsible for transporting the cargo on the vessel named in the booking confirmation. The ship’s ETD will also be displayed on your booking confirmation.

In some cases, the estimated time of arrival will also be displayed. If the cargo cannot sail through the shipper’s fault, the carrier must take over the cargo on an alternative vessel within three days from the original reservation date. Shippers should confirm this in their contracts with shipowners.

Live Tracking of Ships and Cargo 

The old practice of notifying customers when goods arrive at a predefined location has been replaced by live tracking of goods. Before this, the customer was not able to see the predefined status of a vessel or goods between its two locations.

Live tracking provides a clear view of goods and vessels in transit, resulting in realistic ETDs and ETAs. Shipping companies can monitor the movement of cargo ships and avoid disruptions along the way. In addition to live cargo tracking, some companies offer additional services to their customers. Services provided by live cargo tracking include real-time monitoring of cargo temperature, humidity, or shock loads. 

It is very useful when transporting medical equipment, high-tech equipment, food, etc. Today, shipping companies have implemented effective transportation management systems (TMS) to provide live tracking of their ships and cargo. With a shipping company’s tracking portal, customers can see exactly where their shipped items are at any time. The trip’s ideal lead time (base date) is 15 days. Past data (average values) that can be calculated are as follows.

1. Delay due to labor strike: 
2. Three days Delay due to bad weather: 
3. Two days Delay due to congestion at the port of departure: 
4. One-day Delay due to congestion at the port of arrival: 
5. Two days Delay due to extension of bunker stop: 
6. One-day Delay due to ship engine failure: 
7. Two days Delay due to war or piracy: 
8. Three days