Equipment Order

This transaction set documents a shipper’s request to order railcars for transportation purposes. A shipper (the sender) transmits an X12 422 to a railroad or car supplier (the receiver) to request specific equipment for moving freight. The BCQ (Beginning Segment for Shipper’s Car Order) segment establishes the order details and intent, while the N1 loop identifies parties involved—such as the shipper, consignee, and billing entity—along with their contact information and addresses. The LX loop structures the request by specifying origin and destination stations with dates, and the nested SCO (Shipper’s Car Ordered) segment lists each railcar being requested along with equipment specifications captured in the optional N7 (Equipment Details) segment.

Consider a grain exporter, Harvest Logistics, that needs to move corn from a storage facility in Nebraska to a port in New Orleans. Harvest Logistics prepares and sends an X12 422 to Union Pacific Railroad requesting 25 covered hopper cars for loading on September 15th at the Lincoln, Nebraska siding, with delivery required at the New Orleans dock by October 1st. The message includes the shipper’s details (Harvest Logistics), the consignee (Port Authority), and the billing party; for each of the 25 cars, it specifies equipment type (e.g., covered hopper, load capacity), and any special handling instructions. Union Pacific receives the 422 and uses it to schedule equipment availability and confirm the car order back to Harvest Logistics.