EDI 204, 990 and 214 for Small Carriers

What EDI is, in one paragraph

EDI (electronic data interchange) is a set of fixed, machine-readable formats that shippers, brokers and carriers use to send each other freight documents without anyone retyping them. North American trucking mostly uses the ANSI X12 standard, where each document type has a three-digit number. A small carrier usually meets three of them first: the 204, the 990 and the 214.

The 204, 990 and 214

EDI 204: the load tender

The 204 (Motor Carrier Load Tender) is the customer offering you a load. It carries the shipment ID, the pickup and delivery stops with addresses and appointment windows, the freight (pieces, pallets, weight), reference numbers such as PO and BOL numbers, and often the rate. It is the EDI version of a rate confirmation email.

EDI 990: your answer

The 990 (Response to a Load Tender) tells the customer whether you accept or decline the 204. Many shipper portals expect it within a set time, and some treat silence as a decline.

EDI 214: status updates

The 214 (Shipment Status Message) reports what happened: arrived at pickup, loaded, departed, arrived at delivery, delivered, or delayed with a reason code. Large shippers use 214s to track your performance, so late or missing ones can cost you freight.

You will also see the 210 (freight invoice) and 997 (functional acknowledgement, a receipt that says “your file arrived and could be read”).

Reading a 204 without a manual

An X12 file looks like a wall of codes, but each line (segment) starts with a short label. The ones that matter in a 204:

• B2: the shipment identification number, the customer’s reference for the load.
• L11: reference numbers, such as PO, BOL or pickup numbers. Get these right; billing will need them.
• S5: the start of each stop, with its sequence and whether it is a pickup or a delivery.
• G62: dates and times, usually the appointment window for the stop above it.
• N1, N3, N4: the facility name, street address, and city, province or state, and postal code.
• AT8: weight and quantity of the freight.

What a small carrier actually needs

Big carriers connect to each trading partner through a VAN (value-added network) or a direct AS2 connection. That costs setup time and monthly fees, and it rarely makes sense for a carrier receiving EDI tenders from one or two customers.

The common small-carrier path is simpler: the customer or broker emails the 204 file, or a portal sends it to an inbox, and your software reads it. What to check:

• It turns the 204 into a load with every stop, appointment and reference number, without retyping.
• It flags a tender it cannot read cleanly for review, rather than creating a load with a missing stop.
• It handles changes and cancellations for a load you already have, instead of creating a duplicate.
• Ask whether 990 and 214 replies are sent for you, or still need the customer’s portal. Some customers accept portal updates instead of EDI replies.

Zonox reads X12 204 tenders that arrive by email on the Growth plan, alongside tenders sent as ordinary emails and PDFs on every plan. Anything it is unsure about goes to a review list. Connections through a VAN or AS2 are on the roadmap rather than live today, and Zonox does not send 990 or 214 replies yet.

If your tenders arrive as PDF rate confirmations instead, read what to check on a rate confirmation.