First, confirm it is actually Flexport and not your store. Then contain the damage and communicate. Here is exactly how to do that during a Flexport outage, plus what usually breaks and how long incidents tend to last.
How do I confirm Flexport is actually down?
Check two independent sources before changing anything in your store. First, StatusBird's live Flexport status page, which is based on independent checks every 2 minutes. Second, Flexport's own status page at www.flexport.com/. If the official page still shows green, do not assume you are wrong: vendors often acknowledge incidents well after they start. If both look clean, the problem is more likely your store's configuration or a specific integration.
What does a Flexport outage look like?
- The Flexport app or portal is unreachable or fails to load shipment data
- Shipment milestones and container tracking stop updating
- Quote requests and booking approvals fail to submit
- Document uploads for customs clearance error out
- For fulfillment customers, orders stop syncing and tracking numbers stop posting
What breaks in your store
A Flexport platform outage mostly hits inbound supply chain visibility rather than your storefront: you lose sight of where container and air shipments are, and cannot review or approve customs documents, quotes, or bookings in the portal. If you use Flexport for fulfillment, order syncing, label generation, and tracking for outbound customer orders can also stall, delaying fulfillment. Physical freight keeps moving, but decisions that depend on the platform, like booking approvals or document uploads, get blocked.
For context, Flexport has had no major incidents in the last 90 days of StatusBird's independent monitoring (100.0% availability), so a real outage is unusual. That makes it easy to mistake one for a problem on your end, which is why confirming first matters.
What to do during the outage
- Email your Flexport account manager or operations contact directly, since freight operations continue outside the platform.
- Track containers on the ocean carrier's own website using the container or bill of lading number.
- Send urgent customs documents by email to your Flexport ops team rather than waiting on portal uploads.
- For fulfillment orders, ask support whether urgent orders can be pushed manually while syncing is down.
- Log pending approvals and bookings so you can action them immediately once the portal returns.
Frequently asked questions
Is my container stuck because the Flexport platform is down?
No, a software outage does not stop vessels, planes, or trucks. What you lose is visibility and the ability to act in the portal, so track directly with the ocean or air carrier and coordinate anything urgent with your Flexport operations contact by email.
I have a customs deadline and cannot upload documents to Flexport. Will my shipment get held?
Email the documents straight to your Flexport customs or operations contact with the shipment reference, since brokers can process clearance outside the portal. Flag the deadline explicitly so the team prioritizes it, and keep proof of when you sent everything.
After the outage
Once Flexport recovers, verify the affected workflows end to end rather than trusting the status page. Note the start and end times while they are fresh: if you are on a paid Flexport plan with an SLA, documented downtime is what a service credit claim is built on. See how to claim SLA credits for the process.
How this data is measured
StatusBird checks Flexport's status every 2 minutes, around the clock, independently of the vendor. The availability figure counts major and critical outages only; minor degradation is excluded so numbers are not skewed by vendors that report small blips near-continuously. Grades run from A+ to F. See the live numbers on the Flexport reliability page and current status on the Flexport status page, or browse all 84 service grades.
Know before your customers do
StatusBird monitors Flexport and 83 other services online stores depend on, plus your own storefront, every 2 minutes. When something goes down you get an SMS, email, or Slack alert with plain-English context, usually before the official status page catches up. Start monitoring free, no card required for the free plan.