Canada Freight Rates

Truckload Rates in Canada – December 2025

Canadian truckload rates remained under pressure through November and into early December, though weather-related disruptions briefly tightened conditions late in the month. The lift from pre-tariff shipping has fully unwound, and domestic freight demand remains soft. While Canadian capacity is structurally tighter than in the U.S. following earlier fleet contraction, broad economic softness, declining imports, and slower cross-border flows continue to weigh on rate performance. ACT Research’s December Freight Forecast highlights continued caution across both domestic and transborder markets.

Spot Market Rates

Intra-Canada Dry Van:

Intra-Canada dry van spot rates were largely flat to slightly lower through November and early December. Retail restocking has slowed, consumer demand remains restrained, and regional manufacturing activity is subdued. LoadLink’s Freight Index showed only modest improvement late in the year, indicating that underlying freight movement remains weak despite seasonal volatility.

Tighter capacity relative to the U.S. has limited the downside, but the overall market balance continues to favor shippers amid muted demand and soft industrial activity.

U.S. to Canada:

Northbound rates remained soft into December, reflecting slower U.S. freight activity, falling import volumes, and weaker cross-border consumer-goods and manufactured-input flows. Tariff uncertainty and cautious retail inventory management continue to suppress northbound demand.

ACT’s December outlook expects northbound pricing to remain flat to slightly weaker into early 2026, barring a meaningful rebound in U.S. goods demand.

Canada to U.S.:

Southbound rates were stable to slightly softer through November, with temporary firmness earlier in the fall giving way to slower export volumes. Winter weather disruptions briefly tightened conditions in early December, but dry van and reefer spot rates have largely drifted back toward late-summer baselines as volumes cooled and the load-to-truck ratio normalized.

Tariff-driven cost pressures and weak U.S. manufacturing demand continue to weigh on Canadian export freight, limiting sustained support for southbound pricing.

Outlook

Canadian truckload markets remain fragile entering the end of 2025. Domestic demand is subdued, cross-border volumes are soft, and recent weather-related tightening has not altered the broader rate trajectory. Tariff-related input cost inflation and slowing retail and manufacturing activity continue to restrict recovery potential.

Looking into 2026, the outlook remains heavily dependent on a recovery in U.S. freight demand and greater clarity around trade and tariff policy. Until those conditions improve, Canadian carriers are expected to remain focused on margin preservation, disciplined cost control, and selective capacity deployment—operating defensively in a market still defined by caution rather than growth.

To see how Canadian rates change in the future, and for detailed analysis and forecasts or truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal, see ACT's freight & transportation forecast.