Trucking to Canada from Los Angeles and Long Beach

How trucking to Canada works from Southern California

Trucking to Canada from Southern California is a long northbound run that ends with two electronic filings meeting at the border: the carrier's ACI eManifest and the importer's release request, usually submitted through the Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS). When both are in place and linked, most shipments clear at the first Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) office without the driver waiting on paperwork.

We coordinate the Southern California side. We pick up from the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles or your facility, transload or consolidate in Long Beach when needed, and hand the freight to authorized partner carriers that move it into Canada and deliver it. Your Canadian customs broker or importer handles the release, and we coordinate data and timing with them.

Unlike the Mexico border, shipping to Canada by truck does not normally mean changing trucks at the line. A carrier with the right authority and an admissible driver can run from the handoff to the Canadian consignee. For the overall model and a comparison with Mexico, see our cross border trucking overview.

Filings for trucking to Canada at a glance

Southbound U.S. export rules, Canadian import reporting and release, and the trade agreement each have their own filing and owner.

ACI eManifest: what the carrier sends the CBSA

ACI eManifest is the CBSA's advance reporting system, and highway carriers must transmit both conveyance and cargo data electronically before a truck reaches the Canadian border. The CBSA must receive and validate that data at least one hour before the shipment arrives.

The conveyance data describes the truck, trailer and driver. The cargo data describes each shipment and carries a cargo control number (CCN) that begins with the carrier's CBSA-assigned code. When a freight forwarder consolidates several shipments on one trailer, the forwarder transmits house bill data for each one.

The partner carrier that crosses into Canada files the eManifest, so the shipment data we pass along has to match what is on the trailer. Piece counts and weights confirmed when we load the trailer in Long Beach go to the partner carrier and the broker together, which keeps the manifest, the release request and the freight consistent.

PARS: getting the release ready before the truck arrives

PARS, the Pre-Arrival Review System, lets the importer or its customs broker submit release information before the goods reach the border so the CBSA can review it in advance. Under CBSA Memorandum D17-1-4, PARS can be submitted up to 45 calendar days before the goods arrive.

The release request must quote a cargo control number, and the CBSA does not transmit a release decision until the linked cargo has arrived. In practice, the carrier gives the broker its PARS number (a CCN, often printed on sequential barcode stickers) before departure, the broker submits the release against it, and the border officer sees both when the truck arrives.

A PARS submitted late, linked to the wrong CCN, or rejected for missing data is the most common reason a Canada-bound truck waits at the border. We do not tender the load to the partner carrier for the crossing until the broker confirms the PARS has been submitted.

Setting up the Canadian importer and broker

Every commercial import into Canada needs an importer, and that importer needs a Canada Revenue Agency Business Number with an import-export (RM) program account. The CBSA says the account is free and usually available within minutes. The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Client Portal is the CBSA's official system of record for importers, where RM accounts can be registered and duties and taxes are assessed and paid.

Using a licensed Canadian customs broker is optional, but most commercial shippers use one. Even with a broker, the CBSA holds the importer responsible for the accounting documentation and for paying duties and taxes. If the goods are food, the importer generally needs a Safe Food for Canadians licence before the shipment reaches the border, and other goods may need permits or meet marking rules.

If you are a U.S. seller shipping to Canadian customers, decide early who will be the importer of record. That choice determines who pays duties and the GST, who appoints the broker, and whose RM account appears on the release.

U.S. export rules and USMCA on Canada-bound freight

Most U.S. exports to Canada do not need Electronic Export Information. The International Trade Administration lists shipments from the U.S. to Canada of any value as exempt, unless a mandatory filing requirement applies, such as an export license.

When EEI is required, 15 CFR 30.4 requires the filer to give the carrier the filing citation no later than one hour before the truck reaches the U.S. border. Controlled items and goods requiring a license are the usual cases, so confirm with your exporter or forwarder before assuming the exemption applies.

USMCA, known in Canada as CUSMA, can eliminate Canadian duty on goods that meet its rules of origin. The certification of origin has no prescribed form and can be completed by the importer, exporter or producer, provided it includes the nine minimum data elements. Goods that simply ship from the U.S. do not automatically qualify; origin depends on where and how they were produced.

A shipment from Long Beach to Canada, step by step

1. 01
   Confirm the importer and broker

   Identify the Canadian importer of record, its RM account and its customs broker, and send the broker the commercial invoice and packing list.

2. 02
   Build the load

   We pick up from your facility or pull the ocean container. For sea freight we can transload into a 53' trailer or consolidate several orders, recording counts and weights.

3. 03
   Exchange carrier and broker data

   The partner carrier provides its PARS number. The broker submits the PARS release request linked to it and confirms acceptance.

4. 04
   Line-haul north

   We tender the load to the partner carrier, which moves it north and transmits the ACI eManifest at least one hour before reaching the border.

5. 05
   Border processing

   The CBSA matches the eManifest and the release. The truck is released or referred for examination.

6. 06
   Delivery in Canada

   The partner carrier delivers to the consignee. We relay status from handoff to delivery.

Cabotage limits in Canada and the U.S.

Cabotage means carrying goods between two points within a country with a foreign carrier or driver, and both Canada and the U.S. restrict it. These rules decide which trucks and drivers can handle which parts of a shipment.

In Canada, the CBSA allows U.S.-based trucks and trailers to carry only goods that are part of a shipment entering or leaving Canada. A U.S. truck can deliver U.S. goods to Canada and pick up a Canadian load bound for the U.S., but it cannot pick up and deliver goods solely within Canada except in specific circumstances set out in CBSA Memorandum D3-1-5. Violations can bring fines, impoundment and loss of access.

In the U.S., Canadian drivers face the mirror-image rule. CBP's guidance is that a foreign driver may only take goods loaded in the United States to Canada or Mexico, so a Canadian truck that delivers in Southern California can take a Canada-bound load home but cannot haul domestic U.S. freight. That return-trip demand is one reason Canada-bound capacity from the West Coast varies through the year. If your shipment includes a stop in the U.S. and a stop in Canada, plan the domestic stop on a separate move.

Northbound to Canada, southbound to the U.S.: PAPS and ACE

Freight coming from Canada into Southern California follows a parallel U.S. process. The crossing carrier transmits an ACE e-manifest to CBP, and the shipment usually clears under PAPS, the Pre-Arrival Processing System, which is the default shipment type for truck freight entering the U.S.

A PAPS number begins with the carrier's four-letter SCAC, followed by digits the carrier assigns, and the U.S. customs broker files the entry against it. Under 19 CFR 123.92, CBP must receive the truck's cargo information no later than one hour, or 30 minutes for some shipments, before arrival at the first U.S. port.

After the partner carrier clears the border, we can take the freight into Long Beach for warehousing or cross-docking, or deliver it by full truckload or LTL anywhere we serve.

Ocean cargo through Long Beach bound for Canada

Asian imports sold to Canadian buyers sometimes land at Los Angeles or Long Beach instead of a Canadian port. That cargo can move in-bond to the U.S. port of exportation without U.S. formal entry or duty, using a Transportation and Exportation in-bond arranged by your broker.

Under 19 CFR 18.1, in-bond freight must reach the port of exportation within 30 days. We hold bonded carrier authority and can pull the container with bonded drayage or hold it in bonded warehousing while the Canadian release is prepared. Our guide to in-bond shipments covers the rules in detail.

Checklist before tendering a load for trucking to Canada

• Canadian importer of record identified, with a Business Number and RM account.
• Canadian customs broker appointed, or the importer ready to submit the release itself.
• Commercial invoice with full descriptions, values and country of origin, sent to the broker.
• Packing list whose piece counts and weights match the freight.
• USMCA (CUSMA) certification of origin ready if preference will be claimed.
• EEI filing confirmed as not required, or filed with the ITN provided to the carrier.
• Food licence, permits or marking requirements checked for regulated goods.
• PARS submitted and accepted against the partner carrier's cargo control number.

Brokers who want a single U.S. contact for pickup, loading and handoff can read how we work with customs brokers and freight forwarders.

Frequently asked questions