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Understand Last Free Day (LFD)

Here's how Last Free Day reporting works in OpenTrack.

What is Last Free Day (LFD)?

Last Free Day (LFD) is the deadline to move a container before demurrage (or, for rail, additional storage fees) is incurred. OpenTrack reports three underlying LFDs:

  1. Terminal LFD: Last Free Day at the ocean port terminal. Applies only to containers without a destination rail leg (non-IPI).

  2. Rail LFD: Last Free Day at the final rail terminal. Applies only to containers with a destination rail leg (IPI).

  3. Line LFD: Last Free Day reported by the Steamship Line. Can apply to either the ocean terminal or the final rail terminal, depending on the shipment's destination.

If you just want the single most relevant date to act on, use OpenTrack's Smart Destination LFD, which shows the earliest of the LFDs reported by relevant sources for that container (details on the logic below).

When will LFD populate? Our logic, explained

Tracking timing: why it matters for all LFD types

LFD populates when a container is tracked before it reaches Full Outgated status, ideally before it becomes Available. If a container is added to tracking after it has already left the terminal, OpenTrack does not capture the milestone data needed to report LFD.

Best practice: track containers as early as possible in the shipment lifecycle, ideally before vessel arrival, to maximize the chance any of these LFDs are captured.

Smart Destination LFD logic

OpenTrack computes Destination LFD as follows:

  • Non-rail (non-IPI) containers: the earliest of Terminal LFD or Line LFD

  • Rail (IPI) containers: the earliest of Rail LFD or Line LFD

We default to the earliest reported value to be conservative: if multiple sources report an LFD for the same container, the earliest one wins.

What happens when different sources report different LFDs?

To be conservative, we default to the earliest one. You can always see the different LFDs (Terminal, Rail, Line) in three places:

  1. The LFD Explainability popup (hover the "zoom in" icon next to the LFD in the container detail);

  2. As columns in Explore;

  3. And in the API.

Carrier & Terminal LFD Specs

Coverage maps by LFD type

We can also report Line Last Free Day directly from arrival notices you receive from the steamship line. Learn more about our Arrival Notice Processor here.

Which carriers don't report Line LFD?

Some ocean carriers do not make Line LFD available through standard automated tracking. Some of the big ones are:

  • CMA CGM

  • Hapag-Lloyd

  • ZIM

See the Line LFD Coverage Map for the complete carrier-by-carrier breakdown.

Additional Services to Expand Line LFD: Premium LFD Add-on

For Hapag-Lloyd, ZIM, and CMA CGM, OpenTrack offers Premium LFD Extraction, an add-on that uses AI Agents to retrieve the real carrier-reported Line LFD directly from carrier portals and emails, instead of relying on a calculated estimate.

  • Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM: Premium LFD Extraction fully solves this gap for all customers, regardless of your role on the shipment.

  • CMA CGM: requires an LOA (Letter of Authorization) and being a notify party on the master bill.

Reach out to your OpenTrack CSM or support@opentrack.co to enable Premium LFD Extraction.

Custom LFD formulas for other carriers

If OpenTrack's reported LFD doesn't match your contracted free days with a carrier outside Hapag/ZIM/CMA, you can set up a custom formula instead. Some examples:

  • If the Port of Discharge is Savannah, the Ocean Carrier is OOCL, and the customer is Target, then generate the Last Free Day by adding 7 days to the DISCHARGED milestone date.

  • If the Final Destination is Chicago and the Rail Carrier is CN, then generate the Last Free Day at Rail Station by adding 48 hours to the AVAILABLE AT RAIL FACILITY milestone date.

To customize your LFD formulas, reach out to us and let us know what your contracts specify.

What happens if no source reports LFD?

OpenTrack can generate one, either using a custom configuration or a sensible default.

When an LFD is generated, you'll see the stars icon which you can hover for an explanation of how it's calculated.

No contract on file? We use sensible default terms:

  • Terminal LFD default formula: deactivated by default (opt in via OpenTrack customer success). Takes the Discharged date, adds 4 days, then adds another day.

  • Rail LFD default formula: activated by default. Takes the Available At Rail Facility date and adds 24 hours.

What if there's a Terminal LFD on a container with an IPI (inland rail) destination?

We capture the Terminal LFD on rail containers when the terminal reports it, since it is useful in specific scenarios such as land bridge operations. For through-bill rail containers, the Terminal LFD is meaningless: the real LFD to use is the Rail LFD, and the terminal reports an arbitrary value since it will never be used.

Where to find each LFD in the platform

Explore

  • Destination LFD: enable the column, or use the filter.

  • Terminal LFD: enable the Last Free Day column, or use the Port LFD filter.

  • Rail LFD: enable the Last Free Day (Rail) column.

  • Line LFD: enable the Line Last Free Day column.

Container Detail Summary (when you click a container number)

For non-Rail (non-IPI) containers:

  • Under the Ocean heading you'll find Last Free Day, a Smart LFD selecting the earliest between Terminal or Line LFD.

For Rail (IPI) containers:

  • Under the Rail heading you'll find Last Free Day at Rail Facility, a Smart LFD selecting the earliest between Rail or Line LFD.

Line LFD isn't broken out separately here — you'll see it surface as the Terminal or Rail LFD only if it's earlier than the value from another source.

API

  • Destination LFD has no dedicated field; replicate it using the logic above. More on consuming LFD via our API.

  • Terminal LFD: lastFreeDay

  • Rail LFD: lastFreeDayAtRailFacility

  • Line LFD: lineLastFreeDay

How do I see the source of an LFD?

OpenTrack makes it easy to see the source of every LFD we report. Click here to learn more about OpenTrack LFD Explainability.

Still have questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to us via Intercom or at support@opentrack.co.

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