Is container drayage good work for a GTA owner-operator?
Container drayage can be good work for a GTA owner-operator who wants local work. At CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan, it means short runs between the ramps and docks across the GTA. Time at ramp gates and at docks is part of the day. Signed on with a carrier, your freight comes from the carrier, not from a load board.
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What does container drayage work look like?
Ramp to dock and back. You pull a container off the ramp, deliver it, and bring the empty back. Exports run the other way.
Off the ramp
Pull the loaded container at CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan and deliver it to the dock. The empty goes back to the ramp or to a depot the shipping line names.
Back to the ramp
Pick up the empty and the shipper loads it at the dock. Then take it back to the ramp before the rail cutoff.
Live unload or drop
Wait while the dock unloads the container. Or leave it on a chassis and come back for the empty when the dock is done.
We haul 53 foot domestic containers, dry and reefer, on the truck legs between the ramp and the dock. We do not book the rail. Delivery runs across Peel, York, Halton, Toronto and Durham, and out into the rest of Ontario.
What do you need to haul containers?
Your own tractor. For containers, you pull on our chassis. Add a valid licence, a clean abstract, your own operating authority and insurance, and drayage or Ontario truckload experience.
The railways set their own rules at the gate. At CN Brampton, every driver must be pre-registered with CN, and the gate checks identity with a biometric reader.
At CPKC Vaughan, the rules sit in CPKC's intermodal tariff. The trucking company registers with CPKC, and each driver registers at each terminal. Drivers bring their own chassis unless the customer's quote provides one. With us, you pull on our chassis.
Safety gear is required outside the cab. CN's Brampton yard rules call for a hard hat, safety footwear, safety glasses and a reflective vest.
See each ramp from the shipper's side: CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan.
- Registered with CN
- Registered with CPKC
- Our chassis, matched to the container
- Hard hat and vest
- Safety footwear and glasses
How does waiting fit into the day?
Time at ramp gates and at docks is part of container drayage. With us, detention and waiting time are paid.
A live unload keeps the truck at the dock while the container is emptied. A drop frees the truck, but it means coming back for the empty.
On the shipper's side, waiting time shows as its own line on the rate confirmation where it applies. Detention is measured from the appointment time written on the rate confirmation.
How shippers see it is explained in truck detention and waiting time.
- At the ramp gate
- At the dock, on a live unload
- Back for the empty, on a drop
Load board or signing on with a carrier?
On a load board, you find and book each drayage load yourself. Signed on with a carrier, the carrier brings the freight and books the ramp side.
You find every load
You search, price and book each container yourself. Each shipper or broker brings its own terms and its own paperwork.
The carrier finds the freight
The carrier brings the customers, books the pickups and handles the paperwork. You run the moves dispatch gives you.
Dispatch books the ramp
We book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup. Settlements go by direct deposit.
Pick a load board if you want to choose every load and run your own bookings. Sign on with a carrier if you would rather have dispatch bring the work.
How do you apply?
Apply on the drivers page. We confirm your licence, your abstract, your operating authority and your insurance.
Verification
We confirm your licence, your abstract, your operating authority and your insurance.
Settlements
By direct deposit, on a settlement schedule set with you at onboarding.
Who contracts you, and who your agreement is with, is answered in the driver questions. No truck of your own? We also hire AZ company drivers on payroll. Every opening is on careers.
What does Setara Transport do?
Setara Transport is an Ontario carrier in business since 2006. Based in Vaughan, Ontario.
- Your application, with your tractor and your experience
- Your licence and abstract, for us to confirm
- Your operating authority and insurance, for us to confirm
- Book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup
- Settlements by direct deposit
- Detention and waiting time paid
- GTA pickup and delivery, Ontario lanes, and Ontario to Quebec, plus the drayage off the two ramps
Owner-operator questions.
Is container drayage worth it for an owner-operator?
Do I need my own chassis to haul containers?
Is waiting time paid?
How do I get paid?
What lanes would I run?
More for drivers.
Owner-operators and small carriers
What each side brings, and the applicationAZ company driver
Drive our truck, on payrollCareers
Every opening at Setara TransportGTA container drayage
CN Brampton and CPKC VaughanHow is waiting time counted?
Truck detention, from the shipper's sideWhat do drayage terms mean?
The words on the paperwork, in plain EnglishOwn a truck and want ramp work? Apply to drive.
Tell us about your tractor and your experience.