Montreal, QC to Lakeland, FL freight

Lanes/

The Montreal to Lakeland corridor runs south across the U.S.–Canada border.

Direction

Canada to U.S.

Equipment on this lane

Dry van-led, with open deck and reefer demand

Carrier availability

Vetted carriers cover this corridor

Marketplace activity

Posted by brokers on the Cargado marketplace

<div class="lane-viz"><div class="lane-viz-mapwrap"><img class="lane-viz-map" src="https://cargado-lane-maps.pages.dev/montreal-qc-to-lakeland-fl.svg" alt="Montreal, QC to Lakeland, FL freight route map on Cargado" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="620"></div><div class="lane-viz-panel"><div class="lane-viz-title">Transit time</div><div class="tr"><div class="trrow tot"><span>Transit</span><b>3 days</b></div><div class="trmi">1485 mi driving</div></div><a class="lane-cta" href="https://cargado.com/brokers/get-a-demo">Get a Rate <span class="arw">→</span></a><div class="lane-viz-fine">Estimated drive time by road, split at the border. Border dwell varies with documentation and crossing.</div></div></div>

This corridor connects the Montreal market (Montreal, Rougemont, Varennes, Laval, Boucherville, and Mirabel) with the Lakeland market (Orlando, Lakeland, Plant City, Apopka, Ocala, and Longwood), running south across the U.S.–Canada border. Brokers post this corridor to the Cargado marketplace.

What ships from Montreal

Freight out of the Montreal market leans toward food and beverage, metals and building materials and machinery and industrial equipment based on what brokers actually post there. You can read more on the freight types pages.

Equipment on this corridor

Dry van-led, with open deck and reefer demand. Browse equipment definitions in the glossary if a term is unfamiliar.

Where this lane picks up

Carriers on this lane pick up across the Montreal area: Montreal, Rougemont, Varennes, Laval, Boucherville, Mirabel, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Drummondville. Nearby markets that feed it include Plattsburgh, Cornwall, Burlington, Sherbrooke, Montpelier, and Tupper Lake.

Where this lane delivers

Carriers on this lane deliver across the Lakeland area: Orlando, Lakeland, Plant City, Apopka, Ocala, Longwood, Auburndale, and Bartow. It also reaches nearby markets like Tampa, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami, and Valdosta.

Customs on the U.S.–Canada leg

Entries are pre-filed electronically and cleared before arrival, and drivers need documentation in order at the booth.

Brokers post corridors like this to Cargado's marketplace, where vetted Mexico and Canada carriers bid and every counterparty is vetted before the first load moves.

More lanes from these markets

Every lane guide for Montreal, QC is listed on its lane hub, by direction and destination country.

The markets on this lane

Origin market

Montreal, QC

Montreal is a major container port and rail intermodal gateway for Eastern Canada, with the Port of Montreal handling 34.3 million metric tons in 2025. The region also has an all-cargo airport and an aerospace sector.

Industries: Port and container logistics, rail intermodal, aerospace, bulk cargo, air cargo

Seaport: Port of Montreal, handling containers, liquid bulk and dry bulk including grain. 1.52 million TEUs and 34.3 million metric tons in 2025 (operating). Source
Seaport: Contrecoeur container terminal expansion with integrated rail, road and marine infrastructure; construction underway since October 2025 and full operation targeted for 2030. Adds up to 1.15 million TEUs of annual capacity (about 60%), two berths (under construction). Source
Intermodal or rail yard: CN Montreal Intermodal Terminal in Saint-Laurent. Open 24 hours daily (operating). Source
Airport: Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and the all-cargo Mirabel airport. 249,403 metric tons of cargo at the two airports in 2024 (operating). Source

Distribution: Freight moves through the Port of Montreal, CN's Saint-Laurent intermodal terminal and the Montréal-Trudeau and Mirabel airports, with the Contrecoeur terminal expansion adding container capacity.

Destination market

Lakeland, FL

Lakeland and Polk County sit on I-4 between Tampa and Orlando, with a Class I intermodal terminal in Winter Haven, a cargo airport and a deepwater seaport about 45 miles away. Freight comes from regional distribution, phosphate chemicals, citrus and food and beverage, and air cargo. About 21.5 million consumers are within a five-hour drive.

Industries: Logistics and distribution, phosphate and chemicals, citrus and food and beverage, air cargo

Intermodal rail terminal: CSX container terminal off State Road 60 in Winter Haven. 318 acres, designed to process up to 300,000 containers a year (opened April 2014). Source
Rail-served logistics park: Central Florida Integrated Logistics Park in Winter Haven, close to the CSX intermodal facility. 1,500 acres of developable land, capacity for over 12 million sq ft. Source
Cargo airport: Lakeland Linder International Airport cargo area. No. 3 in Florida for cargo with about 903 million pounds, and 32nd of 151 U.S. cargo airports (September 2024 report) (operating). Source
Phosphate mining and processing: Phosphate mining in central Florida, including Polk County, across a region of about 1.3 million acres known as Bone Valley; the phosphate moves by rail to separate chemical plants that make fertilizer. About 1.3 million acres. Source
Seaport: Port Tampa Bay, adding six post-Panamax container cranes expected to be operational by the end of 2026. Nearly 263,000 TEUs in 2025 (operating). Source

Distribution: Logistics park land near the Winter Haven intermodal terminal, rail transload sites and an air cargo gateway.

Market profiles describe industries and facility types from public government, industry, port, railroad and industrial-park sources. They name no shippers, manufacturers, retailers or logistics companies.

Common questions about this lane

How do I find carriers for Montreal to Lakeland?

On Cargado, brokers post the corridor and vetted carriers bid on it. Every carrier is verified before it can bid, which replaces cold-calling unknown carriers.

What equipment is available on the Montreal to Lakeland corridor?

Postings here are mostly dry van, with some open-deck and reefer. If you need a type you do not see, post the load anyway. Carriers with matching equipment get notified automatically.

How does freight on this lane clear the border?

Entries are pre-filed and cleared before arrival; carriers bid with customs and the cross-border leg already priced in.

Moving freight on this lane?

Post it to 2,400+ vetted Mexico and Canada carriers, or check market rates built from real carrier bids before you quote.

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