Annual For-hire Trucking Survey, 2019

Released: 2021-04-14

In 2019, just over 134,000 for-hire trucking companies were active in Canada. These companies generated $67.8 billion in operating revenue from trucking and related services, while their operating expenses totalled $59.8 billion. As a result, the operating profits of these companies stood at $7.9 billion.

Companies that primarily haul general freight generated operating revenue of $44.1 billion and operating expenses of $39.0 billion. In contrast, companies that primarily haul specialized freight generated $23.7 billion and $20.1 billion, respectively.

Intraprovincial shipments accounted for the largest share of total operating revenue from trucking by Canadian carriers, at 43.6% ($27.2 billion), followed by interprovincial shipments, at 19.9% ($12.4 billion). Lastly, international movements into Canada represented 17.7% ($11.1 billion) and international movements out of Canada accounted for 18.7% ($11.7 billion) of the total operating revenue from trucking.

Employee salaries, wages and benefits were the largest expense, accounting for 25.3% of total operating expenses. Vehicle fuel expenses represented 15.1% of total operating expenses, and payments to owner–operators accounted for 22.1%.

At the provincial level, trucking companies in Ontario generated the most revenue ($24.4 billion), followed by companies in Alberta ($11.9 billion) and Quebec ($11.8 billion).

Contact information

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