You have an arrival notice. Here is what to do next.
The notice says your container is on its way to, or already at, CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan. Before it can leave the ramp, your customs broker gets the customs release and your ocean line releases the box. Send us the notice and we book the pickup at the ramp, deliver to your door and return the empty.
What the arrival notice tells you.
The arrival notice comes from your ocean line or your forwarder. It says your shipment is about to arrive. For a rail move, it names the inland ramp where the container will wait for a trucker.
Many importers who buy on CFR or CIF terms get this notice with no trucker lined up. The seller paid the ocean freight, and sometimes the rail leg to the ramp, but the truck from the ramp to your door is often yours to book. That is the move we run.
Send the notice to your customs broker the day it arrives, so the customs release can start before the box reaches the ramp.
The railway sends its own notice when the box is ready for pickup. It may go to only one party. If that is not you, ask your forwarder or customs broker to pass it on.
- Bill of lading number
- Container number and size
- The ramp
- Seal number
- Vessel and arrival date
- Charges due to the line
- Free time or last free day
Every ocean line lays out its notice differently. Check your own.
Two releases before the box can leave.
Two releases must be in place before an import container can leave CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan: customs release from CBSA and the ocean line's release. Any railway storage must also be paid or guaranteed, and no other hold can be on the container.
The customs release
Your customs broker requests the customs release from CBSA. CBSA sends it electronically to the railway. Setara Transport is a carrier and does not clear customs.
The ocean line's release
Your ocean line releases the container once its charges are paid and the bill of lading terms are met. It then gives you or your customs broker a pickup number for the trucker.
Storage paid or guaranteed
If storage has started at the ramp, it must be paid or guaranteed before the box can go out the gate.
Check that the ramp on your customs paperwork matches the ramp on the notice. If they differ, the release can stall until the paperwork is corrected. Ask your customs broker or your forwarder to check it. A customs hold or exam keeps the box at the ramp and can add railway charges on top of storage.
Find the last free day.
The last free day is the last day the container can leave before the next charge starts. The railway and the ocean line can each have a different one.
Free time at the ramp is short and is set by the railway's tariff. Some clocks keep running on weekends.
Storage is billed by the railway. Demurrage is billed by the ocean line. Each one runs on its own clock. Once the box has left the ramp, the ocean line's detention, often called per diem, runs until the empty is returned.
Your contract with the ocean line may give you different free time, and your ocean line can tell you its last free day. Each charge is explained on storage, demurrage and per diem.
- The railway's last free day
- The ocean line's last free day
- Your detention free time
- Where the empty goes back
If the two last free days differ, put the earlier one on your quote.
What to send dispatch.
Setara Transport moves more than 100 containers a week through the CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan intermodal ramps. Send what you have. We tell you what is still missing.
- The arrival notice, or the container number from it
- The pickup number from your ocean line
- The ramp: CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan
- The last free day
- Release status: customs and the ocean line, done or still pending
- The cargo weight in each container
- The delivery address and receiving hours
- Live unload or drop at your dock
- Check what is still missing before a truck goes out
- Add the container's own weight to your cargo weight and confirm the right chassis before booking
- Book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup
- Deliver to your door across the GTA and Ontario
- Return the empty to the place your ocean line names
Heavy box? See heavy and overweight containers. Start a quote for CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan.
What happens after you send it.
You send the notice
Start a drayage quote or email dispatch. Tell us what is released and what is still pending.
We check the box
We look for both releases and any other hold. If something is missing, we tell you what it is and who to ask.
We book the pickup
Once the container is released, we book the pickup at the ramp: the gate appointment at CN Brampton or the pickup at CPKC Vaughan. The driver brings a chassis that suits the container's weight.
We deliver
To your door in the GTA or elsewhere in Ontario. Live unload with the driver waiting, or a drop if you have room for the box. Tell us which on the quote.
The empty goes back
We return the empty to the place your ocean line names. Detention stops when the empty is accepted back.
Send the notice to dispatch.
Send the details
The container number, the pickup number, the ramp, the last free day and the delivery address.
Reach dispatch
Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 18:00 Eastern.
Arrival notice questions.
Questions on chassis, detention and claims are answered in the FAQ for brokers, forwarders and shippers.
What is an arrival notice?
Who gets the customs release?
Where does the pickup number come from?
Can you pick up before the releases are done?
Why did I not get the railway's notice?
What if customs holds the container?
Do you move export containers too?
Who moves the container?
More on ramp pickups.
Storage and demurrage
The charges that build while a box waitsCN Brampton drayage
The CN ramp in Peel RegionCPKC Vaughan drayage
The CPKC ramp in York RegionHeavy and overweight containers
Heavy boxes on tri-axle chassisGTA container drayage
CN Brampton and CPKC VaughanToronto and GTA
Where we deliverContainer at the ramp? Send us the notice.
The container number, the pickup number, the ramp and the last free day.