Can You Find Your Own Lost LTL Freight Shipment?
A recent phone call between myself and an LTL freight carrier:
Me: Hi, I’m trying to find this shipment that is missing and wondering if your terminal has searched it’s storage trailers for it?
Her: Okay, can you give me the pro# and a good description? Pictures if possible?
Me: No problem [description given & pictures sent]
— 5 minute hold —
Her: Oh! I have this! It’s on our storage trailer, we didn’t know what it was but it’s definitely it!
Me: That’s great! Can you send it out tonight?
You can find your lost freight if you know where to look. Here’s how…
How LTL Freight Works:
This is how LTL Freight carriers work
LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) freight doesn’t move in a straight line from point A to point B. Instead, it’s routed through a hub-and-spoke system, where freight is picked up at local terminals (the “spokes”), consolidated into trailers, and sent to central hubs. At hubs, shipments are unloaded, sorted, and reloaded with other freight heading toward their next destination.
This system is efficient but involves multiple handling points, which also creates multiple opportunities for errors. Shipments can go missing at:
Local Terminal – Misrouted or left behind on the dock or storage trailer.
Hub – Placed in the wrong zone or transferred incorrectly.
Reload – Put on the wrong outbound trailer.
Delivery – Dropped at the wrong customer, or marked incorrectly as delivered.
Here is what can happen:
Comes off the truck at the local terminal, set aside on the dock or (worse) in the storage trailer and left behind.
Offloaded at the hub but moved to the wrong area or put into another trailer.
Reloaded into the wrong trailer at a hub.
Delivered to the wrong customer
In ¾ of these scenarios your shipments ends up at the incorrect spoke terminal. Often it arrives there “unmanifested” because the tracking system used by the freight carrier was told it went somewhere else. So the computer says it’s at point B but really it’s at point C. There can be hundreds or thousands of shipments moving through these terminals on a daily basis and the folks there likely have no idea what it is. We’ll get to strategies to prevent this in just a sec.
The Search:
When a carrier realizes a shipment is missing, they mark it “All Short” and initiate a search. This usually falls to the OS&D department (Overages, Shortages, and Damages). These folks investigate missing shipments daily.
Their process typically includes:
Contacting every terminal the shipment touched.
Checking the origin and hub for storage trailers or misloads.
Issuing a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) across the network with shipment details and photos.
Making final calls to likely terminals.
If the search fails, the last step is filing a freight claim.
“Bird-Dogging” Your Lost Freight
Bird-dog: a gundog trained to hunt or retrieve birds.
What I’ve started doing is what I call “bird-dogging”. Instead of waiting around and hoping the freight carrier is working on finding the missing goods, I make the calls myself...and you should too. Out of the last 4 bird-dog attempts I’ve come back to the camp with a bird twice...that is to say I found the missing freight. That’s 50%! While I’m sure my record won’t stay in tact at that level, the hour or so invested in this (when it works) pays huge dividends!
Our customers save a ton of time filling out claims forms (which they love to do)
They save a lot of time and money not having to re-make or purchase another shipment
Our customer’s customer is happy because they get their product
Even the freight company is happy because it’s one less unknown shipment off their dock.
In the end, everyone wins.
Who do you call?
I have followed the carriers’ own formulas only since I am much more motivated and knowledgeable about that particular shipment, I have had better success.
Always start with the origin terminal’s OS&D person...is the freight on a storage trailer? On my last bird-dog that was it, 5 minutes and we found the freight.
Next, call destination OS&D
Check the transit notes on the website, what terminals did it stop at? Google those numbers and call them next
Then, call customer service and ask them to read you all the terminals the shipment reloaded at and where was it last “manifested”. In other words, find the scene of the crime then call that terminal
When you get to the crime scene terminal, ask them what other terminals they loaded out to that night and call them.
Before you go completely Nancy Drew on me, I would suggest only sinking about 1 hour into this. You should be able to cover all your terminals in that amount of time. Beyond that you are spinning your wheels.
Closing Argument
Your best bet to avoid “all short” freight is clear labeling and proactive tracking. If you see your shipment stall in transit, don’t wait — start making calls and ask the right questions. You may catch the issue before it snowballs.
If all else fails and the freight has vanished, file a claim promptly and keep detailed records of all communication.
At TFWWI, it’s our mission to simplify freight. We support customers with OS&D searches, lost freight recovery, and proactive strategies that lower costs and prevent future issues.
Let TFWWI handle your next shipment with accuracy and care.