Retail & consumer goods
Peak-season capacity without the broker markup or the broken promises.
DC appointment compliance. Store-ready pallets. Tight delivery windows at Walmart, Costco, Loblaw, and the majors. 200 company-owned tractors that don’t disappear when the spot market tightens.
The retail freight challenge
Retail distribution centers don’t care about your carrier’s problems. The appointment window is the appointment window. Miss it by 30 minutes and you’re rescheduled — if you’re lucky. Otherwise the load is refused.
Cross-border retail freight adds customs clearance time to an already tight schedule. A shipment from a Canadian CPG manufacturer to a US distribution center has to clear the border, transit to the DC, and arrive within a window that may be as narrow as two hours. If the carrier’s customs documentation causes a 90-minute border delay, that appointment is gone.
Peak season makes everything worse. When every carrier’s trucks are committed and spot rates spike 30-40%, shippers who rely on brokers suddenly can’t find capacity. The trucks that were available last month are now covering higher-paying loads. That’s when having your own carrier — with their own fleet, their own drivers, and a commitment to your freight — pays for itself.
How we serve retail & CPG
The carrier your DC compliance team won’t have to chase.
Appointment compliance
We plan backward from your DC appointment time — factoring in border-crossing time, FAST vs. standard lane, traffic, and a buffer. The truck arrives on time because the schedule was built to make it happen.
Peak-season capacity
200 company-owned tractors. We don’t subcontract your freight during peak season because our trucks got a better offer. Your capacity is your capacity — contracted, committed, delivered.
LTL consolidation
Not every CPG shipment fills a truck. Our 15,000 sq ft Brampton warehouse consolidates pallets from multiple shippers into full loads — so you get FTL pricing without FTL volume.
Cross-border retail compliance
CT-PAT and FAST certified. CARM-compliant dispatch procedures. Electronic manifests filed before dispatch. Your freight clears the border on schedule because the documentation was right before the truck left.
Dry van & reefer
150 dry vans for general retail freight. 150 reefers for food, beverage, and temperature-sensitive CPG. Same carrier, same dispatch, same phone number for both.
Dedicated fleet
For CPG shippers with consistent weekly volumes: assigned trucks, assigned drivers, fixed rates. Eliminate spot-market variability and get a carrier that learns your operation.
Retail & CPG freight
Need capacity that doesn’t disappear when the market tightens?
or call (905) 799-1525 · email info@alphatransltd.com