Issue #58: Canada Is Live. Market Rates Are Here. Cargado Just Leveled Up.
Canada coverage is live. Mexico quoting just got smarter. And we’re only getting started.
From the beginning, Rylan and I had a simple thesis: the way logistics companies operate cross-border freight is unnecessarily complicated.
We’ve both lived it — working in freight day in and day out, quoting a load out of Monterrey only to hit walls on pricing, carriers, or customs. Every single step of the process was fragmented, slow, and dependent on having a trusted partner in another country.
So we started building Cargado. Not as a brokerage. Not as a network of reps and phone calls. But as a platform.
One where you could quote and cover cross-border loads — without having to hire a full team or figure it out from scratch.
We started with Mexico. And now, we’re doing the same for Canada
.
Canada cross-border freight is now live 🇨🇦
Over the past year, we started to see more long-haul lanes between Mexico and Canada moving through our network — typically on high-value freight like auto parts and electronics.
So we quietly opened up support for that freight. That led to more Canadian carriers joining the platform. That led to more U.S.–Canada freight being requested by customers. And now, it’s official:
Cargado now supports freight moving between Canada and the U.S. or Mexico, with coverage spanning British Columbia to Newfoundland & Labrador.
You can:
Quote and cover freight from Toronto to Minneapolis, Vancouver to Saltillo, Monterrey to Montréal, and more
Match with carriers already running these lanes
Support your customers across the entire North American trade corridor
This isn’t a soft launch — it’s already live, in use, and scaling fast.
Why Canada trade matters more than ever
In 2023, Mexico surpassed both China and Canada to become the U.S.’s top trading partner — driven by reshoring, diversification away from Asia, and a new era of North American manufacturing. But Canada remains a powerhouse — and critically different in how that trade flows.
U.S.–Mexico:
$798B in total trade
The U.S. imports significantly more than it exports
Most trade is tied to supply chain shifts, not consumption
Think: assembly, parts, nearshoring, cost optimization
U.S.–Canada:
$793B in total trade
Much more balanced two-way trade
Canada is a consumer and a supplier, especially of raw materials, finished goods, and industrial commodities
Think: shared production, long-standing economic ties
Mexico–Canada:
$49B in bilateral trade
A growing lane for auto, produce, electronics, and textiles
Often overlooked — but critical for northbound Mexico freight
Top commodities that move cross-border
U.S. ➝ Canada:
🚗 Automobiles & parts
💻 Electronics
🏗 Machinery
🧴 Plastics
🩺 Medical equipment
Canada ➝ U.S.:
🚙 Auto parts & engines
🥫 Food & beverages
📦 Paper & wood products
🛢 Fuel & energy
🔧 Industrial equipment
Mexico ➝ Canada:
📺 TVs and electronics
🍅 Produce
🚛 Commercial trucks
🧵 Apparel and textiles
🔩 Electrical components
If your customers touch any of these categories, they’re likely shipping into or out of Canada already. Now, you can support that freight — without needing to build a Canada team first.
We built the carrier network before the feature set
We knew this wouldn’t work if we didn’t get the supply side right. So we started building early.
Mexican carriers already running into Canada
Canadian carriers looking for more U.S. and Mexico freight
U.S. carriers covering cross-border lanes out of Detroit, Buffalo, Laredo, El Paso, and more
We leveraged the Mexico ↔ Canada freight to prove out demand. Then expanded from there — all without compromising on quality.
Carrier access is free — but exclusive
A few things you should know:
The platform is completely free for carriers
It’s also invite-only
Carriers must provide three broker references
We actively monitor performance and remove underperformers
We don’t charge carriers, so we stay agnostic about who wins a load
We’re investing in better methods and tools to keep the network safe
This marketplace only works if people trust it. So we’re building for trust and quality, not just volume.
Cargado Market Rates — real data, not modeled guesses
We’ve now collected over 40,000 real bids from cross-border carriers using our platform — covering lanes between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.
We used that data to build Cargado Market Rates — a tool that gives you:
Instant cross-border rates, visible right inside the product
Percentile-based pricing for spot or RFP quoting
A smarter, faster way to quote with confidence
Let’s say you need a Dry Van quote from Monterrey to Chattanooga. The tool shows you:
Market (p50): $3,742
Low (p25): $3,579
High (p75): $3,967
Now your team can build pricing that wins freight — without back-and-forth, and without guessing.
Market Rates works especially well for Mexico RFPs, where accuracy matters and margin is tight.
We updated our pricing to match how you actually use the product
Early on, we charged by seat. That didn’t scale.
So we shifted to usage-based pricing:
Unlimited users
Tiers based on freight activity (quotes + postings)
Market Rates included in all tiers
Flexible structure that grows as you grow
No more worrying about logins. You only pay more when you’re doing more.
Where we’re going next
This isn’t the end — it’s just the inflection point.
We’re doubling down on:
Product expansion for quoting, coverage, capacity management, and ops
Carrier density at the southern border, throughout Mexico, and across Canada
Integrations to plug Cargado into the rest of your tech stack
The vision remains the same: help logistics companies operate cross-border freight without friction.
✅ If you’re already using Cargado, here’s what to do this week:
Post your Canada freight
Expand into underserved Mexico markets — Tijuana, Mexicali, Juárez, Chihuahua, Reynosa, Matamoros
Use Market Rates for Mexico quotes and RFPs
Watch your carrier engagement — we’re seeing record coverage and bid activity
✅ Post your Lanes.
If you run consistent freight, post the lane — not just the load. You’ll build:
Dedicated coverage
Repeat behavior
Stronger pricing and reliability over time
Lanes create signal. And signal attracts the right carriers.
If you’re not on Cargado yet:
👉 Reach out for a demo at cargado.com.
Quote it. Cover it. Grow the business.