The booking workflow problem
Booking is the most varied step in the ocean workflow. Each Tier 1 carrier publishes its own portal, its own commercial product set (instant-quote spot products, contract-rate channels, value-added add-ons), and its own amendment fee schedule. Some carriers publish a contractual loading guarantee with per-container compensation if cargo is rolled; others publish "priority loading" without compensation; one publishes nothing on the spot side at all. Cancellation cut-offs vary by carrier and often by country, with no single global rule.
Alliance routing adds another variance layer. A booking placed on carrier A may sail on carrier B's vessel under a vessel-sharing agreement or slot-exchange cooperation, with different cut-offs, tracking feeds, and equipment pools. The forwarder's commercial commitment to the consignee (ETA, equipment grade, on-time guarantee) is set at booking time and has to align to whichever alliance member operates the actual sailing.
The result: an ops desk handling six or seven carriers cannot apply one mental model, and the wrong product choice or missed cut-off costs real money per shipment.
How it varies by carrier
Booking varies more than any other ocean task. Alliance routing, spot product terms, and compensation mechanics all differ. These are the top-line differences; each carrier's booking page has the full workflow.
Maersk
Maersk Spot is the only Tier 1 spot product with a published two-way commitment: load on the booked vessel within 3 days of ETD or pay a compensation fee, plus an optional Rollable option with a per-FFE compensation fee for non-time-sensitive cargo. The mechanical 7-day cancellation cut-off (Cancellation Fee at or above 7 days, the higher No-Show Fee under 7 days) is enforced without grace, and the $50 Manual Booking Amendment Fee on email, phone, or chat (introduced in North America in September 2020 and extended globally) pushes every amendment to the digital channel.
MSC
MSC has been independent since 1 February 2025 (ex-2M). Instant Quote on myMSC is a quoting and booking tool, not a guaranteed-loading product: no Maersk Spot equivalent, no Rollable, no published global cancellation cut-off. The booking-time choice between Suez (1,900+ direct port pairs) and Cape (1,800+) cannot be changed without re-booking, and slot exchanges with the Premier Alliance on 9 Asia-Europe services and a separate ZIM VSA on Asia/US East Coast and Asia/US Gulf put cargo on partner tonnage.
CMA CGM
Ocean Alliance Day 10 Product (April 2026, approximately 394 vessels across 41 weekly services). SpotOn drives over 60% of CMA CGM spot volume with an instant quote, a 24-hour price lock (72 hours with Lock My Price), priority loading, and priority equipment release, but no contractual loading guarantee with compensation equivalent to Maersk Spot. Per-country cancellation fees apply (Singapore $80/container under 7 days, France EUR 200/container; Germany and France first amendment free then EUR 25), and the multi-brand SCAC structure (CMDU, ANNU for ANL, APLU for APL) routes different brands through different local agency teams.
Hapag-Lloyd
Gemini partner to Maersk, with a three-product choice that is more granular than other Tier 1 carriers: Quick Quotes Spot includes a loading guarantee at origin and transshipment plus an equipment guarantee within a 2-day ETD window; standard Quick Quotes provides longer rate validity without a loading commitment; Shipping Guarantee is an add-on for standard Quick Quotes. From 1 April 2025, Quick Quotes Spot-specific cancellation, no-show, and amendment fees were retired in favour of local rules (Spain EUR 80/booking for manual amendments, EUR 35 pre-GIFU vs EUR 75/TEU post-GIFU roll-overs; US USD 25/container within 3 days of FCL cut-off).
ONE
Premier Alliance lead with HMM and Yang Ming since 9 February 2025 (FMC Agreement No. 201435, 5-year term). ONE QUOTE (Descartes Kontainers, launched 23 February 2021) explicitly excludes DG and special cargo, has no published loading guarantee, and excludes schedule ETD/ETA from contract terms. A separate MSC slot exchange on 9 Asia-Europe services is NOT alliance membership, and Premier Alliance reliability sits at 54.2% (March/April 2026 Sea-Intelligence GLP #177), the lowest of the major groupings, demanding wider ETA buffers than Gemini- or Ocean-Alliance-routed cargo.
COSCO
Ocean Alliance (extended to 2032). COSCO does not operate a branded spot product equivalent to Maersk Spot or SpotOn: SynCon Hub combines booking and rates in a single flow, but product-level terms (rollable compensation, equipment guarantee, price validity) are not laid out on a single product page. The single largest 2026 watchpoint is the USTR Section 301 Annex I operator-fee suspension expiring 9 November 2026 (initial rate USD 50 per net ton, escalating); COSCO is the only Tier 1 carrier directly in Annex I scope, with HSBC and Seatrade Maritime estimating USD 1.5 to 2.1 billion in annual exposure if the suspension lapses.
Evergreen
Ocean Alliance. GreenX (powered by BlueX Trade, launched February 2020, 240+ ports across 80+ countries) advertises '100% secured space' but does not publicly document the compensation mechanics when the guarantee is not honoured: treat as strong intent without assuming Maersk Spot equivalence. As a Taiwanese operator (TWSE 2603), Evergreen is NOT in Section 301 Annex I scope; exposure is Annex II only on Chinese-built tonnage from the CSSC GSI orderbook (also suspended through 9 November 2026), and IMT (Italia Marittima, 100% EMC-owned) routes Mediterranean bookings under a Trieste address.
How it varies by TMS
The TMS layer covers forwarder-side data exchange consistently across the seven Tier 1 carriers. CargoWise users connect through eAdaptor (XML over SOAP) and submit through each carrier's portal or EDI: Maersk.com, myMSC, My CMA CGM, the Hapag-Lloyd Online Business Suite, ONE eCommerce, SynCon Hub or COP, and ShipmentLink. GoFreight uses REST APIs against the carrier-side endpoints where they exist (CMA CGM at api-portal.cma-cgm.com, Hapag-Lloyd's DCSA-aligned API at api-portal.hlag.com, ONE at developers.one-line.com); for COSCO and Evergreen, GoFreight typically operates browser-based against SynCon Hub and ShipmentLink. Magaya routes through its Open API or Magaya Connect with carrier-API mappings. Logi-Sys runs over EDI via INTTRA (e2open) for high-volume IFTMIN flows.
What is not solved at the TMS layer: each carrier's branded spot product (Maersk Spot, CMA CGM SpotOn, Hapag-Lloyd Quick Quotes Spot, ONE QUOTE, Evergreen GreenX) is portal-native and does not expose instant-quote pricing fields to third-party TMSs. The spot booking flow runs on the carrier's UI; the TMS holds the booking record after confirmation. DCSA Booking 2.0 is rolling out (Hapag-Lloyd's Commercial Schedules API live since June 2025; ONE and Evergreen on Booking 2.0 Beta), but production booking submission still routes through carrier portals or EDI in most flows. Expedion agents bridge the gap by reading from the TMS via its native API, driving the spot product on the carrier's portal where required, and writing the confirmation back so contract and spot booking records line up.
How Expedion handles booking
Seven capabilities cover the full booking workflow across every Tier 1 carrier. Each one maps to friction patterns documented on the per-carrier booking pages.
Compare each carrier's branded spot product (Maersk Spot, MSC Instant Quote, CMA CGM SpotOn, Hapag-Lloyd Quick Quotes Spot, ONE QUOTE, Evergreen GreenX; SynCon Hub combined-flow on COSCO) against the forwarder's contract rates, factoring in each product's published commitment terms (loading guarantee, rollable compensation, equipment priority, price validity) rather than blurring distinctions across carriers. Surface the trade-off to the reviewer when the spot rate exceeds defined thresholds or the commitment terms warrant the spot premium.
Submit through Maersk.com, myMSC, My CMA CGM, the Online Business Suite, ONE eCommerce, SynCon Hub or COP, and ShipmentLink; or via EDI through INTTRA, Infor Nexus, or CargoSmart; or via DCSA Booking 2.0 Beta where it is live (Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen). Field validation runs against the active carrier's rules before submission.
Read each booking confirmation to identify whether the actual operating vessel is the booking carrier or an alliance partner: Gemini (Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd), Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen), Premier Alliance (ONE, HMM, Yang Ming), or one of the slot-exchange cooperations (MSC and Premier Alliance on 9 Asia-Europe services; MSC and ZIM on Asia/US East Coast and Asia/US Gulf; Ocean Alliance and ONE on Transatlantic). Adjust tracking integration to poll the operating carrier's feed in parallel and flag the operating carrier to the reviewer for customs and terminal handling preparation.
Route every amendment through the digital channel (portal or EDI) by default, avoiding the $50 Maersk Manual Booking Amendment Fee, the EUR 80/booking Hapag-Lloyd Spain manual fee, and equivalent manual fees on other carriers. Calculate per-country amendment and roll-over fees from each carrier's published tariff (CMA CGM EUR 25/amendment after first free in Germany and France; Hapag-Lloyd EUR 35 pre-GIFU vs EUR 75/TEU post-GIFU in Spain; US USD 25/container within 3 days of FCL cut-off) and surface the cost to the reviewer before submission.
Track every active booking against the carrier's published cut-off where one exists (Maersk's mechanical 7-day rule, with the higher No-Show Fee triggered under 7 days; Maersk Brazil's 3-reschedule auto-cancellation), and escalate to the local office for confirmation where no consolidated schedule is published (MSC, ONE, COSCO, Evergreen, where fees may surface only after the fact via invoice). For Maersk Spot bookings on rollable-friendly lanes, recommend Rollable at booking time rather than amending or cancelling later.
For US-bound bookings, surface the USTR Section 301 suspension status and the 9 November 2026 expiry date at booking time. COSCO is the only Tier 1 carrier directly in Annex I (operator fee, USD 50 per net ton initial) scope; Evergreen exposure is Annex II only (the higher of USD 18 per net ton or USD 120 per container on Chinese-built tonnage), applying to vessels from its CSSC GSI orderbook. Both annexes are suspended through 9 November 2026, so no fees apply during the window; sailings dated after the expiry should treat the suspension as a contingency.
Use carrier-specific or alliance-specific Sea-Intelligence GLP baselines when generating customer-facing ETA commitments (Gemini 85.0%, MSC standalone 73.4%, Ocean Alliance 67.6%, Premier Alliance 54.2% per GLP #177, April 2026 ALL arrivals) rather than a generic industry average. Wider delay buffers apply automatically on the lower-reliability groupings, and bookings with tight delivery windows are flagged for reviewer attention.
Related pages
Booking by carrier: Maersk · MSC · CMA CGM · Hapag-Lloyd · ONE · COSCO · Evergreen
Hubs: Carriers hub · Solutions hub
Other solutions: Shipping instructions · Bill of lading · Documentation · Tracking
Frequently asked questions
Can AI agents handle the spot-versus-contract decision, or is that human territory?
The decision routing is automated. Agents pull the live spot quote (Maersk Spot, CMA CGM SpotOn, Hapag-Lloyd Quick Quotes Spot, ONE QUOTE, Evergreen GreenX, MSC Instant Quote) and compare against the forwarder's contract rates for the lane, factoring each product's published commitment terms (loading guarantee, rollable compensation, equipment priority, price validity). Routine bookings under defined value and volume thresholds clear agent-prepared and forwarder-approved without escalation. The human checkpoint is reserved for high-value shipments, bookings where the spot premium exceeds the contract rate by a meaningful margin, time-critical cargo where the carrier's commitment terms are weak (ONE QUOTE has no loading guarantee; GreenX's compensation mechanics are not publicly documented), or bookings on lanes with unusual operating-carrier exposure.
How does Expedion handle alliance operating-carrier effects on booking?
Each booking confirmation is parsed to identify the actual operating carrier, which may differ from the booking carrier under vessel-sharing or slot-exchange cooperations. The patterns vary by alliance: Gemini (Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd) operates a hub-and-spoke network where a Maersk booking may load on a Hapag-Lloyd vessel through a hub transshipment; Ocean Alliance vessel sharing means a CMA CGM, COSCO, or Evergreen booking may execute on any of the four members' tonnage (CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen); Premier Alliance (ONE, HMM, Yang Ming) plus the separate MSC slot exchange on 9 Asia-Europe services means an ONE booking may sail on HMM, Yang Ming, or MSC tonnage. Tracking integration polls the operating carrier's feed in parallel with the booking carrier's, and the operating carrier is flagged to the reviewer for customs and terminal handling preparation.
What happens when a booking gets rolled?
Detection is via DCSA tracking polling against the operating carrier's feed, parsed for rolled-cargo events and revised vessel and voyage assignments. Carrier-specific compensation rules vary materially: Maersk Spot publishes a Rollable Compensation Fee per FFE for the Rollable option and a separate Loading Guarantee compensation if Maersk fails to load within the 3-day window; Hapag-Lloyd Quick Quotes Spot's fallback when the loading guarantee cannot hold is 'loading priority' on the next available sailing, with no published compensation; CMA CGM SpotOn provides priority loading without a published compensation mechanism; ONE QUOTE explicitly excludes schedule ETD/ETA from contract terms and has no published rollable compensation; GreenX advertises '100% secured space' but does not publicly document the compensation mechanics. The agent calculates the applicable compensation, files the claim where one applies, and triggers automated rebooking with customer notification.
Which TMSs can Expedion integrate with for booking specifically?
CargoWise via eAdaptor (XML over SOAP), GoFreight via REST against carrier-side APIs where they exist (CMA CGM at api-portal.cma-cgm.com, Hapag-Lloyd at api-portal.hlag.com, ONE at developers.one-line.com) or browser-based against portals where they do not, Magaya via Open API or Magaya Connect with carrier-API mappings, Logi-Sys over EDI via INTTRA (e2open) for IFTMIN flows. Carrier-specific spot-product fields (Maersk Spot, CMA CGM SpotOn, Hapag-Lloyd Quick Quotes Spot, ONE QUOTE, Evergreen GreenX) are not standard across TMSs because each spot product is portal-native and does not expose instant-quote pricing fields to third-party systems. Agents drive the carrier's portal for the spot flow and write the confirmation back to the TMS so the booking record lines up with contract bookings.
Do amendment fees automate, or do they need human approval?
Routing automates by default. Every amendment is sent through the digital channel (portal or EDI) to avoid the manual-amendment fees published by several carriers ($50 on Maersk; EUR 80/booking on Hapag-Lloyd Spain). The per-country fee is calculated from each carrier's published tariff before submission (CMA CGM EUR 25/amendment after first free in Germany and France; Hapag-Lloyd EUR 35 pre-GIFU vs EUR 75/TEU post-GIFU in Spain; US USD 25/container within 3 days of FCL cut-off; Maersk transport-plan amendments are subject to re-rating at current market rates). Amendments under defined per-shipment fee thresholds clear agent-prepared and forwarder-approved automatically; amendments above the threshold, amendments that affect the customer's commercial commitment, and amendments routed through carriers with no consolidated published cancellation schedule (MSC, ONE, COSCO, Evergreen) are surfaced to the reviewer with the calculated fee and operating-carrier context.