Questions, answered.

Mile Marker Daily is a free daily newsletter covering trucking and freight news across Canada and the Canada–US cross-border corridor. Published Monday to Friday, each edition delivers the most important regulatory, market, and operational news of the day — readable in under five minutes.

Mile Marker Daily is written for working trucking professionals — carrier executives, fleet managers, freight brokers, logistics managers, and owner-operators who need to stay current without spending hours reading the full trade press. If you're running cross-border or domestic Canadian routes, this newsletter is built for you.

The Canada–US trade corridor is the busiest commercial border in the world by truck volume, and the rules, rates, and operating conditions on both sides change constantly. Most trucking publications cover Canada and the US separately, leaving cross-border carriers to assemble the picture themselves.

Mile Marker Daily was built specifically to track the news that actually moves freight across that border — regulatory shifts, infrastructure projects, capacity dynamics, and trade policy — in one place.

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The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — known as USMCA in the United States and T-MEC in Mexico — is the trilateral trade agreement that governs North American commerce, including cross-border freight. CUSMA shapes tariff rules, rules of origin requirements, and trade facilitation measures that directly affect the volumes and lanes that Canadian carriers depend on.

The agreement is scheduled for its first formal joint review in 2026, which the Canadian trucking industry is watching closely given its implications for trade flows.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) eManifest program requires carriers, freight forwarders, and importers to submit advance cargo and conveyance information electronically before goods arrive at the Canadian border. For highway carriers, pre-arrival information must typically be submitted at least one hour before arrival at the port of entry. Non-compliance can result in processing delays, monetary penalties, or refusal of entry.

US carriers crossing into Canada need a valid CBSA carrier code, a completed eManifest submission, and appropriate customs documentation for the cargo — typically a Canada Customs Invoice or commercial Bill of Lading. Drivers benefit significantly from holding a FAST card (Free and Secure Trade) to access dedicated lanes and expedite processing.

Carriers moving regulated goods such as food, pharmaceuticals, or agricultural products face additional CBSA inspection and documentation requirements beyond the standard highway carrier process.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history. It was originally targeted for a 2024 opening and has been subject to subsequent schedule revisions; refer to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority for the current target date.

Once open, the bridge will offer dedicated NEXUS and FAST lanes alongside modern customs facilities designed to significantly increase throughput on one of the busiest trade corridors in North America. It will operate alongside the existing Ambassador Bridge and Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.

Under Transport Canada's federal hours of service (HOS) regulations, commercial drivers may accumulate up to 13 hours of driving time and 14 hours of on-duty time within a 16-hour elapsed workshift, which must follow at least 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time (with at least 8 of those hours taken consecutively).

Drivers operate under either a 70-hour/7-day or 120-hour/14-day cycle, with reset provisions to start a new cycle. Provincial rules apply for intra-provincial operations and several provinces maintain variations from the federal standard, so carriers operating interprovincially should confirm which rules apply for each leg of their routes.

Canadian federal hours of service rules allow up to 13 hours of driving and 14 hours of on-duty time within a 16-hour elapsed workshift, with weekly cycles of 70 hours over 7 days or 120 hours over 14 days. The US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) allows 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour on-duty window, with weekly limits of 60 hours over 7 days or 70 hours over 8 days for most carriers.

Cross-border drivers must apply whichever jurisdiction's rules govern each segment of their trip — a driver cannot average the two or apply Canadian rules while operating in the US.

The National Safety Code (NSC) is a set of 16 standards governing commercial vehicle safety in Canada, developed by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). The NSC covers licensing, vehicle standards, hours of service, maintenance, and carrier safety ratings. While the NSC sets national benchmarks, enforcement and administration falls to individual provinces and territories — creating variation in how standards are applied across the country.

A Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR) certificate is required for commercial vehicle operators doing business in Ontario. It tracks a carrier's safety performance record and is used by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to identify high-risk operators. Carriers with a poor CVOR record can face audits, operational conditions, or suspension of their authority to operate in the province. US-based carriers operating regularly in Ontario should confirm whether they require their own CVOR.

Driver Inc. is a misclassification scheme in which trucking companies engage drivers as incorporated contractors rather than employees, allowing carriers to avoid payroll taxes, benefits, and employment standards obligations.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) have identified Driver Inc. as a significant compliance and competitive fairness issue — it undercuts carriers who operate lawfully and leaves drivers without basic employment protections. The federal government has increased enforcement activity and audit frequency in recent years.

Transport Canada's Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate requires federally regulated commercial motor vehicle drivers to use certified ELDs to record hours of service. The mandate has been in full enforcement since January 2023.

ELDs must be certified to the Canadian standard — US FMCSA-certified devices are not automatically accepted in Canada unless they also carry Canadian certification. Carriers operating cross-border need to confirm their ELDs are compliant on both sides of the border.

Federal and provincial weight limits in Canada generally allow gross combination weights of roughly 63,500 kg for standard B-train configurations under typical RTAC (Roads and Transportation Association of Canada) standards, varying by axle group, axle spacing, and provincial regulations. Some provinces permit higher weights under permit, particularly for resource industries.

Interprovincial weight harmonisation remains an ongoing policy issue, and carriers running multiple provinces should verify the most restrictive applicable limit for each route.

A spot rate is the price a carrier charges to move a single load on the open market, reflecting current supply and demand conditions on that lane. Spot rates fluctuate daily and can move significantly within a week.

A contract rate is negotiated in advance between a shipper and a carrier for a fixed period and volume — providing rate predictability for shippers and revenue predictability for carriers, but without the flexibility of the spot market.

The load-to-truck ratio measures the number of available loads posted on the spot market relative to the number of available trucks on a given lane or market. A ratio above 3.0 generally indicates a tight capacity market where carriers have pricing leverage; a ratio below 2.0 suggests excess capacity and shipper-favourable conditions.

DAT Freight & Analytics is the primary publisher of load-to-truck ratio data in the United States; in Canada, Loadlink Technologies publishes equivalent freight index and capacity metrics for the domestic and cross-border market.

A tender rejection rate is the percentage of contracted freight loads that carriers decline to accept at the negotiated contract rate, choosing instead to seek higher-paying spot market opportunities. Rising rejection rates are an early indicator that carriers are gaining market leverage and that spot rates are likely to follow. A rejection rate sustained above 10% is typically considered a signal of a tightening freight market.

Natural Resources Canada publishes official weekly retail diesel prices across 45 Canadian cities and a national average. GasBuddy.com provides real-time regional pump prices updated throughout the day. Prices in Canada vary significantly by province — Ontario and Alberta, for example, can differ by 15–20 cents per litre.

Mile Marker Daily includes Canadian diesel prices in cents per litre alongside US diesel benchmarks in every edition's market data section.

Several providers publish freight market data used as industry benchmarks. DAT Freight & Analytics operates the largest US load board and publishes widely cited spot rate indices and load-to-truck ratios. FreightWaves SONAR aggregates real-time freight market data across rates, capacity, and tender rejections. In Canada, Loadlink Technologies operates the largest Canadian load board and publishes the Canadian Freight Index covering domestic and cross-border lanes.

Most major trade publications, including Mile Marker Daily, draw on a combination of these sources when reporting on freight market conditions.

A long-combination vehicle (LCV) is a truck-trailer combination that exceeds standard provincial length limits — typically a tractor pulling two 53-foot trailers or a comparable high-capacity configuration. LCVs are permitted on designated highway networks in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario under permit, with driver certification requirements. They are not permitted in all provinces or on all road classifications.

Both terms describe driving without revenue-generating freight, but they refer to different configurations. Deadheading means driving a tractor with an empty trailer attached — usually after delivering a load and repositioning to the next pickup. Bobtailing means driving a tractor with no trailer attached at all, typically when moving between yards or heading to hook up to a loaded trailer.

Both consume fuel and driver time without generating revenue, and minimising them through efficient lane pairing is a key profitability lever. Bobtail insurance is a separate coverage category because standard commercial auto policies may not cover a tractor being operated without a trailer.

A reefer trailer is a refrigerated trailer equipped with a diesel-powered temperature-control unit, used to transport perishable freight — including food, pharmaceuticals, flowers, and other temperature-sensitive goods. Reefer loads typically command a rate premium over dry van freight due to the additional equipment cost, fuel consumption, and compliance requirements. Cross-border reefer operations are subject to Canadian and US food safety and temperature monitoring documentation rules.

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) is a company that manages freight and logistics operations on behalf of shippers, acting as an intermediary between shippers and asset-based carriers. 3PLs may operate as freight brokers, manage warehousing and distribution networks, or provide end-to-end supply chain management. The Canadian 3PL sector has grown significantly in the cross-border market as shippers look to outsource the complexity of managing carrier relationships, customs brokerage, and regulatory compliance.