MacroPoint API
Descartes MacroPoint is a supply chain visibility platform that delivers real-time shipment tracking across truckload, LTL, ocean, air, rail/intermodal, parcel, and pool distribution for shippers, brokers, 3PLs, and carriers. An unofficial API lets you programmatically create, update, and stop tracking sessions, pull location and status updates, and receive visibility callbacks—integrating MacroPoint directly with your TMS or ERP.
What is MacroPoint?
Descartes MacroPoint is a supply chain visibility platform from The Descartes Systems Group, serving roughly 24,000 customers worldwide. It provides real-time shipment tracking and control across multiple transportation modes, connecting shippers, freight brokers, 3PLs, and carriers through a network of hundreds of thousands of participating carriers and logistics providers. Customers use MacroPoint to track loads, monitor temperature and dwell, source capacity, and surface analytics—integrating it directly with their TMS or ERP.
Core product areas include:
- Real-time Visibility (multi-modal shipment tracking and status updates)
- OpsForce AI (agentic AI agents that improve visibility data quality)
- FraudGuard (carrier fraud detection and prevention)
- Analytics & Intelligence dashboards and Advanced Store Visibility (retail)
- Dock Appointment Scheduling, Temperature Tracking, and Proof of Delivery
- Capacity Sourcing across the connected carrier network
Common data entities:
- Tracking Sessions, Orders, Shipments, Loads, Stops
- Location Updates, ETAs, Status Events, Geofence Arrivals/Departures
- Carriers, Drivers, Dispatchers, Mobile App / ELD Connections
- Temperature Readings, Dwell, Detention, Proof of Delivery
- Appointments, Docks, Capacity Postings, Tenders
- Webhook Callbacks, Exception Alerts, Analytics Outputs
The MacroPoint Integration Challenge
Brokers and shippers run mission-critical tracking on MacroPoint daily, but wiring it into automated workflows across a multi-modal, multi-carrier network is non-trivial:
- XML-only, Basic-auth surface: The customer integration API uses Basic authentication with application/xml requests and responses, which adds friction for modern JSON-first stacks
- Session lifecycle complexity: Tracking sessions must be created, updated, and stopped/cancelled in precise order, and stale or duplicate sessions break visibility
- Webhook callback handling: Visibility updates flow back asynchronously via callbacks that require a public endpoint, retry handling, and idempotent processing
- Multi-modal spread: Truckload, LTL, ocean, air, rail/intermodal, parcel, and pool each carry different identifiers, tracking methods, and status models
- Carrier-side coverage variability: Tracking depends on driver mobile app, ELD, or telematics connections that differ carrier-by-carrier, so data completeness is uneven
- Mixed transport options: REST APIs and SFTP/FTPS flat-file uploads coexist, and choosing and maintaining the right path per integration is its own project
How Supergood Creates MacroPoint APIs
Supergood reverse-engineers MacroPoint's authenticated integration surfaces—the REST tracking API, webhook callbacks, and portal flows—to deliver a resilient, normalized API layer for your MacroPoint account across every mode you ship.
- Handles Basic auth and credential rotation securely in a managed session
- Translates XML payloads into clean JSON and manages the tracking-session lifecycle for you
- Ingests webhook visibility callbacks with retries, deduplication, and idempotent processing
- Normalizes location, ETA, and status events across truckload, LTL, ocean, air, rail, and parcel so you integrate once
Use MacroPoint with AI agents: MacroPoint MCP Server →
Getting Started
- Schedule Integration Assessment
Book a 30-minute session to confirm your modes, tracking-session volume, and authentication model.
- Supergood Generates and Validates Your API
We deliver a production-ready MacroPoint adapter tailored to your account, modes, and carrier coverage.
- Deploy with Monitoring
Go live with continuous monitoring and automatic adjustments as MacroPoint evolves.
API Endpoints
Authentication
/authenticateAuthenticate to a MacroPoint account using Basic credentials and establish a managed session for downstream calls.
Tracking
/create_tracking_sessionCreate a tracking session for a shipment or load with carrier, stops, and mode details so MacroPoint begins capturing location updates.
Tracking
/tracking_sessionsUpdate an existing tracking session's stops, carrier assignment, or reference numbers, or stop/cancel an active session.
Tracking
/tracking_sessionsList and retrieve tracking sessions with filters for status, mode, carrier, and reference number.
Visibility
/location_updatesPull location updates, ETAs, and status events for a shipment across truckload, LTL, ocean, air, rail, and parcel modes.
Capacity
/capacityQuery available carrier capacity and postings across the connected carrier network for sourcing and tendering.
Use Cases
Push tracking sessions straight from your TMS
- Create, update, and stop MacroPoint tracking sessions directly from load tender events - Sync carrier, stop, and reference data without re-keying into the portal - Auto-cancel duplicate or stale sessions to keep visibility clean
Stream real-time location and ETA events downstream
- Ingest location updates, ETAs, and status events via normalized webhook callbacks - Feed exception and dwell alerts into customer-notification and OTIF dashboards - Reconcile geofence arrivals and departures against appointment windows
Monitor temperature, dwell, and proof of delivery
- Pull temperature readings and excursion alerts for cold-chain shipments - Track detention and dwell against dock appointments for accessorial billing - Capture proof-of-delivery events to close out loads automatically
Source capacity across the connected carrier network
- Query available capacity and postings to fill open loads faster - Match carriers to lanes and modes programmatically - Trigger tenders and track acceptance without leaving your system
Technical Specifications
Authentication
Basic authentication handled in a managed session with secure credential rotation
Connectivity
REST tracking API plus webhook callbacks, with SFTP/FTPS flat-file paths supported where used
Response format
Native MacroPoint XML translated to normalized JSON across sessions, locations, and status events
Rate limits
Adaptive throttling tuned to your account to avoid MacroPoint-side limits on session and tracking calls
Session management
Automatic re-authentication, tracking-session lifecycle handling, and credential rotation
Data freshness
Near real-time location and status updates with optional scheduled batch syncs
Security
Encrypted credential vault, scoped access, SOC 2-aligned controls, and audit logging
Webhooks
Normalized callbacks for location updates, ETAs, status events, geofence arrivals, and exceptions
Latency
Sub-second reads on cached sessions; multi-second writes when creating or updating tracking sessions
Throughput
Horizontally scaled workers sized to high-volume, multi-modal tracking-session loads
Reliability
Retry, backoff, and idempotency keys for session creation, updates, and callback processing
Adaptation
Continuous monitoring of MacroPoint API releases, XML schema changes, and carrier-coverage drift
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Supergood normalizes tracking and visibility data across truckload, LTL, ocean, air, rail/intermodal, parcel, and pool distribution, so you integrate location, ETA, and status events once regardless of mode.
No. Supergood translates MacroPoint's XML payloads into clean, normalized JSON and manages Basic authentication for you, so your stack works with consistent JSON objects.
Supergood manages the full tracking-session lifecycle—create, update, and stop/cancel—mapping your load and tender events to the right calls and preventing duplicate or stale sessions.
Yes. MacroPoint sends visibility updates back via webhook callbacks. Supergood ingests these with retries, deduplication, and idempotent processing, then forwards normalized location, ETA, and status events to your systems.
No. Supergood works with your existing MacroPoint account and authenticated integration surfaces. No separate partner program enrollment is required to build against your own data.