A container terminal at dusk with gantry cranes and stacked shipping containers, the infrastructure behind Canada's freight statistics
22 numbers · every one primary-sourced

Canadian freight & trucking
statistics, 2026.

The reference page for Canadian freight numbers — industry size, border trade, the driver shortage, port volumes and rail — cited to Transport Canada, Statistics Canada, the US BTS and the port authorities themselves. Free to cite with attribution.

Compiled by Aleksandrs Smetanins, President, Qeep Logistics · Last verified July 26, 2026

Monthly market updateAsk us about the data
$96.5B
Transport & warehousing GDP, 2024
US$712.8B
US–Canada freight value, 2025
3.47M TEUs
Port of Vancouver record, 2024
316,000
Truck drivers employed in Canada
The big picture

Canada’s freight economy in one paragraph.

Journalists, researchers and bloggers: quote freely with attribution and a link. Every figure below links straight to the document it comes from.

On this page
  • How big is the Canadian trucking and freight industry?
  • Canada–US cross-border trade statistics
  • Truck driver workforce and shortage
  • Canadian port and container statistics
  • Rail and intermodal freight in Canada
  • Canadian spot market and freight demand

Transportation and warehousing contribute $96.5 billion a year — 4.3% of GDP — with roughly 152,000 trucking businesses and 316,000 truck driversmoving 46% of the country’s $1.55 trillion in merchandise trade by road. The US–Canada trade lane alone was worth US$712.8 billion in 2025, and trucks carried 55.7% of it. Meanwhile the Port of Vancouver set a record 3.47 million TEUs, railways moved 329.2 million tonnes, and the industry still faces a projected 40,400 unfilled jobs by 2030. The details — and the sources — are below.

Industry size

How big is the Canadian trucking and freight industry?

$96.5 billion

Canada's transportation and warehousing sector directly contributed $96.5 billion to the economy in 2024 — 4.3% of national GDP.

Source: Transport Canada, Transportation in Canada 2024 Annual Report

152,000

Approximately 152,000 trucking businesses were operating in Canada as of December 2024.

Source: Transport Canada, Transportation in Canada 2024 Annual Report

$138.6 billion

Total trucking transportation output in Canada reached $138.6 billion in 2022, up 18.2% from $117.3 billion in 2021. Own-account (private fleet) trucking made up 30.4% of the total.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Transportation Economic Account, 2022

46%

46% of Canada's $1.55 trillion in 2024 merchandise trade moved by road — ahead of marine (21.1%), air (11.6%) and rail (10.5%).

Source: Transport Canada, Transportation in Canada 2024 Annual Report

The border

Canada–US cross-border trade statistics

US$712.8 billion

Freight moved between the United States and Canada was valued at US$712.8 billion in 2025, down 6.4% from 2024.

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data Annual Report 2025

55.7%

Trucks carried 55.7% of all US–Canada trade value in 2025 — far ahead of pipeline (13.4%) and rail (12.6%).

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2025

US$94.2 billion

Detroit was the top US–Canada truck crossing in 2025 at US$94.2 billion (23.7% of truck trade), followed by Port Huron (US$87.3B) and Buffalo–Niagara Falls (US$70.1B).

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2025

~3 million trucks

Nearly 3 million trucks cross the Windsor–Detroit corridor every year, carrying roughly one quarter of all Canada–US traded goods — more than $300 billion in annual trade.

Source: Truck News (Newcom Media), 2026

The people

Truck driver workforce and shortage

316,000

Just over 316,000 truck drivers were employed across Canada at the 2021 Census — about 43% of the entire trucking and logistics workforce.

Source: Trucking HR Canada, The New Road Ahead (2024)

40,400

Under the baseline scenario, 40,400 trucking and logistics jobs will be vacant in Canada by 2030.

Source: Trucking HR Canada, The New Road Ahead (2024)

13,900

There were roughly 13,900 vacant truck driver positions in Q1 2025 — a 3.5% vacancy rate, down 24% year-over-year but still about 1.5× the all-economy average.

Source: Trucking HR Canada Labour Market Snapshot, via Inside Logistics, 2025

4%

Women represent only 4% of Canada's truck drivers (up from 3% in 2016), while immigrants account for 30% of the sector's workforce.

Source: Trucking HR Canada, The New Road Ahead (2024)

The gateways

Canadian port and container statistics

3.47 million TEUs

The Port of Vancouver's four container terminals handled 3.47 million TEUs in 2024, up 11% from 2023, as total cargo hit a record 158 million metric tonnes (+5%).

Source: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, 2024 year-end statistics

1,464,320 TEUs

The Port of Montreal handled 1,464,320 TEUs in 2024 (down 4.8%), within total traffic of 35.41 million tonnes (+0.2%).

Source: Montreal Port Authority, 2024 results

509,273 TEUs

The Port of Halifax handled 509,273 TEUs in 2024, down 6.8% from 546,163 TEUs in 2023, with total cargo of 9.60 million tonnes.

Source: Halifax Port Authority data, via Maritime Magazine, 2025

23.1 million tonnes

The Port of Prince Rupert moved 23.1 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, with intermodal volumes at Fairview Container Terminal up 5% year-over-year.

Source: Prince Rupert Port Authority, 2024 cargo statistics

The rails

Rail and intermodal freight in Canada

329.2 million tonnes

Canadian rail freight tonnage rose 1.1% to 329.2 million tonnes in 2024.

Source: Statistics Canada, Rail Transportation 2024

$21.6 billion

Canadian rail operating revenues rose 3.6% to $21.6 billion in 2024, including $19.5 billion in freight revenue.

Source: Statistics Canada, Rail Transportation 2024

~20,000 route-miles

CN's network spans roughly 20,000 route-miles across Canada and mid-America, connecting ports on three coasts and moving more than C$250 billion worth of goods a year.

Source: CN, corporate overview, 2026

$380 billion

Canada's railways move roughly $380 billion worth of goods annually and invested $2.9 billion in network safety and capacity in the latest reported year.

Source: Railway Association of Canada, Rail Trends 2024

The spot market

Canadian spot market and freight demand

Spot market data shifts monthly — these are the latest published figures at the time of our last update. For the running commentary, see our monthly freight market update.

+44%

Canadian spot market load volumes in April 2026 were 44% higher than a year earlier, with a truck-to-load ratio of 1.86 trucks per load.

Source: Loadlink Technologies, Canadian Freight Index, April 2026

59%

Cross-border loads made up 59% of Canadian spot market postings in April 2026, with outbound Canada-to-US volumes up 122% year-over-year.

Source: Loadlink Technologies, Canadian Freight Index, April 2026

Methodology & citation policy

Quoted as published.
Never rounded, never extrapolated.

Statistics on this page are compiled from publicly available primary sources — government agencies, port authorities and industry associations — and each figure links directly to the document it comes from. Numbers are quoted as published. Spot-market figures change monthly and carry their reporting month.

Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to cite this page with attribution and a link to qeeplogistics.com. Found an error or a newer figure? Tell us and we’ll correct it.

Where Qeep fits

Qeep Logistics is a Toronto-based freight brokerage and 3PL working inside these numbers every day — container drayage at Toronto’s rail ramps, transloading, LTL, full truckload and daily Canada–US cross-border freight. If you’re a journalist looking for a working logistics operator to comment on Canadian freight, or a shipper who wants these market forces working for you, get in touch.

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