What a “clear DO” actually means, and why your container is still sitting there

One of the most common calls we take is a customer asking why their container has not moved when the transport is booked. Almost always, the answer is the delivery order.

The delivery order is the release, not the booking

A delivery order — usually issued electronically, so you may see it called an EDO — is the shipping line telling the terminal it is allowed to hand your container to a carrier. Without it, no truck leaves the terminal with your box, regardless of what slot anyone holds.

What makes a DO "clear"

A delivery order is clear when nothing is holding it. In practice that means:

• All shipping line charges are paid, including any terminal handling and documentation fees.
• Customs has released the consignment.
• Biosecurity has released it, or the required treatment has been done and cleared.
• There is no line hold, no invoice dispute and no paperwork mismatch.

Any one of these outstanding leaves the container where it is. The frustrating part for importers is that the DO can look issued while a hold sits behind it.

Why we quote lead times from the clear DO

We confirm your terminal slot within two days of booking, and deliver within two days of a clear delivery order. Both halves matter. The second clock does not start when you call us — it starts when the container is genuinely releasable, because that is the first moment anything we do can affect the outcome.

How to make it faster

Send us the delivery order the moment you have it, not the moment you think you will need us. If it is not clear yet, tell us what is outstanding — knowing that a biosecurity inspection is booked for Thursday lets us hold a slot for Friday instead of finding out on Friday that nothing can move.

The other thing that helps: watch your free time. Storage at the terminal and detention on the container both start running to their own schedules, and they do not care whose hold caused the delay.