What Is a Blind Shipment?
01 Sept 2026
A blind shipment keeps your supplier and your customer from seeing each other. This requires paperwork to be done in a way that does not indicate the identity of one party or another.
A blind shipment is freight arranged so that one party, or both, do not know where the freight actually originated from or is shipping to. The supplier does not learn who the end customer is, or the customer does not learn who made the goods, or neither knows anything about the other.
The main purpose is to stop the two businesses from working together directly and cutting out another party who is involved. In many cases, a manufacturer may be outsourcing the production of a certain item but does not want its customer to be aware of that.
What is a blind shipment?
The situation is actually quite common, and many distributors participate in this practice on a regular basis. They may buy from a manufacturer and sell to a customer, and the freight goes straight from one to the other to cut down on handling expenses and additional transit time.
The problem is that a shipment carries a paper trail. The bill of lading names the shipper and the consignee, the carton may carry the manufacturer’s label, and the packing slip inside usually names whoever printed it. Any of these can be a giveaway of where the freight is actually coming from.
A blind shipment removes that. The freight moves directly, and the documents are structured so the parties you want to be separated stay separated.
Single blind vs double blind
The difference is how many parties are being concealed.
In a single blind shipment, one party is hidden. Most often, the end customer does not see the original supplier because the distributor does not want to be bypassed. The supplier still knows where the freight is going.
In a double blind shipment, neither end knows the other. The manufacturer does not know who the buyer is, and the buyer does not know who made the goods. Both see only the intermediary on their own paperwork.
| Single blind | Double blind | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is hidden | One party, usually the supplier | Both, from each other |
| Bills of lading | Two | Three |
| Who coordinates | Shipper or broker | Distributor or broker |
| Risk of exposure | Moderate | High. More documents, more chances to slip |
How the paperwork works
A single blind needs two bills of lading. One is used at pickup and shows what the shipper should see. The other is used at delivery and shows what the receiver should see.
A double blind needs three. One for pickup, showing the intermediary as the consignee. One for delivery, showing the intermediary as the shipper. And a third, correct in every detail, which never goes to either trading party.
Blind shipments can be confusing for all parties, which is why it is important to be very specific about which paperwork should be shown at which location.
The carrier is not blind
A common misunderstanding is that the carrier is kept in the dark along with everyone else. They are not, and they cannot be.
The carrier needs to know where to pick up and where to deliver, so they must be aware of the blind shipment, but they must be careful not to present the wrong paperwork at the wrong location. The third bill of lading on a double blind exists precisely so the carrier has an accurate document while the trading parties each get their own version.
What actually blows a blind
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is more than just paperwork that can make a blind shipment go sideways.
A packing slip inside the carton. The bill of lading is perfect, and the customer opens the box to find the manufacturer’s document sitting on top of the goods.
Labels on the freight. Carton branding, pallet labels, a shipping label from a previous leg, or a stencil on a crate.
The driver. A casual answer to “where did this come from?” at the receiving dock undoes the whole arrangement. Drivers are not being careless. Either no one told them it was a blind shipment, or they were confused about the arrangement. In the real world, a language barrier with drivers can add to the confusion.
Tracking. Standard carrier tracking often shows origin terminal details that identify the pickup location.
The wrong document at the wrong stop. Three versions of a bill of lading in a cab is an obvious way to hand over the wrong one.
Only the last of those is a paperwork problem. The rest involve the freight itself and the people handling it, which is why getting the documents right is necessary in addition to getting all the right parties on the same page about how the shipment is supposed to work.
Getting the billing right
Billing is the leak that gets overlooked because it happens after the freight has arrived and everyone has stopped paying attention.
If the invoice goes to the wrong party, the remittance details or supporting documents name the concealed company, or the freight charges appear on a document the customer sees, the arrangement is undone weeks later by an accounts department.
Setting up a blind shipment
Declare who is being concealed and whether that needs a single or double blind.
Create the proper paperwork ahead of time. Paperwork needs to be in hand before the carrier picks up or delivers, depending on which end is blind. Be very specific about which paperwork should be presented at which location.
Confirm in writing which document goes to which party and confirm the carrier and driver have been properly briefed.
Give your broker or carrier the complete picture, including the real names and addresses at both ends.
Check the freight itself when possible. Packing slips, labels and carton branding. This is the step that gets skipped, and it is the one that most often fails.
Arranging blind freight
LT2 Logistics arranges blind and double blind shipments across the United States and into Canada. LT2 is capable of producing bills of lading on behalf of any customer with the information necessary for the blind shipment to occur.
Double blind in particular is not something a shipper runs alone, and it is a good illustration of what a broker actually does. It needs three coordinated documents, two conversations held separately, a carrier briefed properly and a driver who knows what they are carrying into. Someone has to hold the whole picture, and that is the job.
If you are protecting a supplier relationship and need the arrangement to hold, call us at (262) 888-3553 before the freight is booked. We will set the documents up, brief the driver and tell you what to check on the freight itself. More on how bills of lading work, and more on how our brokerage works.
