ArcBest Expedite Customer API

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: ArcBest Expedite Customer API
  version: v1
  summary: Quote, book and track ArcBest Expedite (Panther Premium Logistics) time-critical freight.
  description: >-
    The ArcBest Expedite Customer API lets a shipper request an expedite rate quote, submit a
    booking request against a returned quote, poll the booking status until an ArcBest operator
    confirms it, and search booked shipments by reference number.


    Flow published by ArcBest: (1) POST ClientId + ClientSecret to /authorize; (2) use the returned
    AccessToken as an `Authorization: Bearer <token>` header; (3) POST the quote to /quotes;
    (4) show QuoteResponse.Products.ExpediteOptions to the end user; (5) POST the UnifiedQuoteNo
    and ResponseNo to /quotes/booking-request/expedite; (6) poll GET /quotes/booking-request/status
    until it returns "Shipment Booked" with the order number; (7) track with /shipments/search.


    PROVENANCE: this document was DERIVED by API Evangelist from ArcBest's own publicly downloadable
    API definition bundle - the Swagger-Codegen static HTML reference "ArcBest Expedite Customer API"
    and the PDF "Customer Expedite Quote and Book Instructions and JSON Examples (August 2024)",
    both shipped inside
    https://arcb.com/sites/default/files/API/Arcbest-Expedite-Customer-Quoting-Booking-API-2024-8.zip
    (verbatim copies in this repo under docs/). Paths, HTTP methods, operationIds, tags, parameter
    names and types, response codes and descriptions are transcribed verbatim from that bundle.
    Request and response body schemas are NOT reproduced here beyond what ArcBest published as JSON
    models (json-schema/arcbest-expedite-quote-request-model.json,
    json-schema/arcbest-expedite-quote-response-model.json); the live swagger.json is auth-gated
    (HTTP 401 at https://api.arcb.com/expedite/customer/swagger/v1/swagger.json, probed 2026-09-04).
    Nothing here is invented.
  contact:
    name: ArcBest API Support
    email: api@arcb.com
    url: https://arcb.com/technology/shippers/API
  termsOfService: https://arcb.com/terms-of-use
  x-generated-from: provider-published Swagger-Codegen HTML reference + provider PDF instructions
  x-method: derived
  x-source:
    - https://arcb.com/technology/shippers/API/expedite-setup-documentation-download
    - https://arcb.com/sites/default/files/API/Arcbest-Expedite-Customer-Quoting-Booking-API-2024-8.zip
    - docs/arcbest-expedite-customer-api-definition.html
    - docs/arcbest-expedite-customer-quote-book-instructions-2024-08.pdf
  x-derived-on: '2026-09-04'
servers:
  - url: https://api.arcb.com/expedite/customer
    description: Production. Stated verbatim in the ArcBest customer instructions PDF ("post your client id and secret to https://api.arcb.com/expedite/customer/authorize"). GET on /authorize returns HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed, probed 2026-09-04, confirming the endpoint is live and POST-only.
  - url: https://test.api.arcb.com/expedite/customer
    description: Test / sandbox. "We prefer that you begin integration against the test URI https://test.api.arcb.com/expedite/customer/" - ArcBest customer instructions PDF, August 2024.
tags:
  - name: Authorize
    description: Exchange a ClientId and ClientSecret for a bearer access token.
  - name: Quotes
    description: Submit expedite rate quotes, request bookings against them, and poll booking status.
  - name: Shipments
    description: Look up booked shipments and the shipment status code vocabulary.
security:
  - bearerAuth: []
paths:
  /authorize:
    post:
      operationId: authorizePost
      summary: Exchange client credentials for an access token
      description: >-
        POST the ClientId (32 characters) and ClientSecret (64 characters) issued by ArcBest support.
        Returns an access token of roughly 1000 characters, to be sent on every other call as
        `Authorization: Bearer <accesstoken>`.
      tags: [Authorize]
      security: []
      requestBody:
        required: true
        description: Client credentials issued by ArcBest support.
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              properties:
                ClientId:
                  type: string
                  description: 32-character client identifier issued by ArcBest support.
                ClientSecret:
                  type: string
                  description: 64-character client secret issued by ArcBest support.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  AccessToken:
                    type: string
                    description: Bearer access token, approximately 1000 characters.
  /quotes:
    post:
      operationId: quotesSubmitQuote
      summary: Submit an expedite rate quote request
      description: >-
        Submit a quote request. The response carries Products.ExpediteOptions, which must be shown
        to the end user; the chosen option's UnifiedQuoteNo and ResponseNo are what a booking request
        is placed against.
      tags: [Quotes]
      requestBody:
        required: true
        description: Quote request. ArcBest publishes the request model as JSON at json-schema/arcbest-expedite-quote-request-model.json.
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
  /quotes/booking-request/expedite:
    post:
      operationId: quotesBookExpediteQuote
      summary: Submit a new expedite booking request
      description: >-
        Submitting a booking request will not immediately book the quote. Please check the booking
        request status to determine if the booking request was successful and retrieve your order
        number.
      tags: [Quotes]
      requestBody:
        required: true
        description: Booking request carrying the UnifiedQuoteNo ("P000...") and ResponseNo of the chosen expedite option.
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
  /quotes/booking-request/time-critical-forwarding:
    post:
      operationId: quotesBookTimeCriticalForwardingQuote
      summary: Submit a new time-critical forwarding booking request
      description: >-
        Submitting a booking request will not immediately book the quote. Please check the booking
        request status to determine if the booking request was successful and retrieve your order
        number.
      tags: [Quotes]
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
  /quotes/booking-request/status:
    get:
      operationId: quotesGetBookingStatus
      summary: Get the status of a booking request
      description: >-
        The booking status may be one of the following - Quoted: a quote exists, but there is no
        booking request. Booking in Progress: the booking request has been received and is being
        processed. Shipment Booked: the booking request was successful. Unable to Fulfill. Unknown.
        When booked, the order number is returned in the format yyyymm12345, such as 20230470078.
      tags: [Quotes]
      parameters:
        - name: quoteNo
          in: query
          required: true
          description: The quote number.
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
        '400':
          description: BadRequest
        '401':
          description: Unauthorized
        '404':
          description: NotFound
  /shipments/status-codes:
    get:
      operationId: shipmentsGetShipmentStatusCodes
      summary: List shipment status codes
      description: Returns the shipment status code vocabulary used across tracking responses.
      tags: [Shipments]
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
  /shipments/search:
    post:
      operationId: shipmentsGetShipmentsByReferenceNumbers
      summary: Search shipments by reference numbers
      description: >-
        After /quotes/booking-request/status returns the pro number, track the shipment with this
        operation. ArcBest publishes the tracking model as JSON at
        json-schema/arcbest-expedite-tracking-model.json.
      tags: [Shipments]
      requestBody:
        required: true
        description: The reference numbers to search on.
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: array
              items:
                type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
components:
  securitySchemes:
    bearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: >-
        Access token returned by POST /authorize, sent as `Authorization: Bearer <accesstoken>`.
        Credentials (ClientId/ClientSecret) are issued by ArcBest support, not self-serve.