The DCSA Commercial Schedules standard gives shippers and freight forwarders a single, consistent way to retrieve routing information from carriers via API, in one format, across all carriers that have implemented it.
The problem with how schedules work today
If you are a shipper or freight forwarder managing containerised cargo across multiple carriers, getting reliable, up-to-date schedule information is often more complicated than it should be.Today, most shippers retrieve vessel schedules the same way they always have: by logging into each carrier's portal, running searches manually, and attempting to compare routing options across different interfaces that each present information differently. Some shippers rely on freight platforms or logistics service providers to aggregate this data, but even those platforms depend on fragmented, inconsistent data feeds from carriers.The result is a process that is slow, error-prone, and difficult to automate. When a shipper wants to plan a shipment, they are often working from schedule data that is incomplete, stale, or formatted in ways that do not map easily to their internal planning systems.Booking decisions made on the basis of poor schedule data lead to predictable problems: discrepancies between expected and confirmed routings, manual amendments, and avoidable delays.The core issue is not the data itself, carriers have it. The issue is that there has been no agreed standard for how that data should be structured and shared.
One standard API for consistent commercial schedule data
The DCSA Commercial Schedules standard defines a common API interface through which carriers can make schedule information available to BCOs, logistics service providers, and technology platforms and any interested party in a consistent, machine-readable format.Once a carrier implements the standard, any party whose systems are built to consume the DCSA Commercial Schedules API can retrieve schedule data from that carrier using the same interface they use for any other conformant carrier. No carrier-specific integration. No separate portal. No reformatting.The standard conveys schedule information directly into your systems.
The DCSA Commercial Schedules Standard has three end-points:
- Point to point schedule: Provides end-to-end routing options (legs, transit times, transhipments) between origin and destination.
- Port schedule: Provides all vessel arrivals and departures for a specific port or terminal around a given date.
- Vessel schedule: Details the full port call rotation timetable (ETDs/ETAs) for a specific vessel, voyage, or service line.
Less manual work, fewer booking errors and better data
For a shipper or freight forwarder, the practical change is significant. Instead of manually checking carrier websites and reconciling data across different formats, your systems can retrieve schedule information directly and automatically from any carrier that has implemented the standard.Schedule data can be refreshed multiple times a day, so the routing information your planners and systems are working from reflects the most current carrier data rather than a snapshot taken days ago.When you are ready to book, the point-to-point routing response already contains the specific vessel, service, and voyage information you need for the chosen option. That data can be passed directly into a booking request — eliminating the manual re-keying and the booking amendments that result from routing discrepancies.
Nine carriers are live and available to access today
The DCSA Commercial Schedules standard is currently live with nine carriers. Together, they represent the majority of global container shipping capacity.
This means that if you work with any of these carriers, the option to integrate with the standard API is already available. You do not need to wait for further implementation, you can reach out to your carrier contact today to discuss how to access their DCSA-conformant Commercial Schedules API.For shippers and platforms who work with multiple carriers, the value compounds: one integration architecture, consistent data structure, and the same workflow regardless of which carrier you are querying.
Three steps to get started
If you are a shipper, freight forwarder, or technology platform looking to integrate with the DCSA Commercial Schedules standard, the starting point is straightforward.
- Contact the carrier or carriers you work with and ask for access to their DCSA Commercial Schedules API. Conformant implementations follow the DCSA OpenAPI specification, which is publicly available.
- Your technical team can review the DCSA Commercial Schedules interface standard documentation on dcsa.org to understand the API structure, available endpoints, and data fields.
- If you are building a platform or integrating a new system, the standard vessel schedule endpoint supports querying by service code, vessel IMO number, UN location code, voyage reference, and date range. This gives youspec the flexibility to retrieve exactly the data your system needs.
A standard that is live, adopted and ready for the demand side
The DCSA Commercial Schedules standard is not a future state. It is live, it is implemented, and it is in use. Nine of the world's major container carriers have built conformant APIs.What happens next depends in large part on the demand side. The more shippers and freight forwarders actively request and use standardised schedule data from their carriers, the more the industry moves away from fragmented, portal-by-portal data retrieval toward something that actually works at scale.If you are responsible for how your organisation accesses carrier schedule data — whether you are in logistics operations, supply chain technology, or procurement — this is worth a conversation with your carrier.Learn more
Discover the DCSA Commercial Schedules standard