Roadrunner adds Canada-to-US truck service and announces 5.9% rate rise

Roadrunner has announced a Canada-to-US less-than-truckload service alongside a general rate increase averaging 5.9%, FreightWaves reported. The carrier unveiled the outbound Canadian offering on Friday, extending its cross-border operations beyond its existing US-to-Canada lanes. The rate adjustment is scheduled to take effect on 2 November and is expected to average 5.9% across general tariff codes and lanes.

The new service links shippers across Canada with approximately 40 major US metropolitan markets. Roadrunner will move the freight entirely by truck through direct linehaul services, without using rail for any part of the journey. According to FreightWaves, the offering builds on the carrier’s long-haul, metropolitan-market network, which uses independent drivers and more than 40 terminals to provide less-than-truckload transport.

Dave Black, Roadrunner’s vice president of strategic sales, described the Canadian outbound service as the next stage of expansion following a period focused chiefly on strengthening the company’s US network. He said the carrier’s proprietary Smart Network was designed around direct, long-distance movements between metropolitan areas. Roadrunner attributes fewer handling stages, shorter transit times and real-time shipment visibility to that approach, while also claiming that avoiding unnecessary transfers improves accountability and reduces opportunities for delays.

The pricing announcement accompanies that network expansion. Nathalie de Champlain, Roadrunner’s chief transformational officer, said the general rate increase would help the company continue investing in its network and service offering. She attributed the adjustment to higher costs arising from market conditions and said it would support further spending on network efficiency and service quality.

FreightWaves noted that Roadrunner’s increase follows recent rate changes by other carriers. For Canadian shippers, the service adds a truck-only outbound option to a network that already handled freight moving in the opposite direction. The announced coverage centres on major US metropolitan destinations, with the carrier presenting direct linehaul transport and reduced handling as the principal features of its expanded cross-border offering.