A container tracking system comprises a dispatcher workstation with a graphical user interface and a database. These are used to track the whereabouts of shipping containers in a storage and transfer yard. A mobile unit in the yard is attached to container handling equipment and monitors the container lock-on mechanism. When a container is locked on for a move, the mobile unit starts reporting positions and velocities to the dispatcher workstation over a radio channel. These positions and solutions are computed from a combination of GPS satellite navigation receiver solutions, inertial navigation, and local beacon markers. Reports stop when the container handling equipment unlocks from the container. The database then updates the new position for that container, and the graphical user interface can be used to "see" the container on a yard map.