New Jersey to Toronto trucking
A full truck or a few pallets to Toronto or anywhere in Ontario, customs clearance included.
- One request for transport and customs
- Answer usually within 1 business day
- Free, no commitment
Customs rules change — confirm with the official sources on this page or with a licensed customs broker before you ship.
This lane at a glance
Period: October 2025 to September 2026 (12 months), compared with the 12 months before.
In short. Goods from New Jersey cleared in Ontario (excluding works of art): CAD 4.2 billion in the 12 months to September 2026 (+1.1% on the year before). Largest group: Chemicals and pharmaceuticals, 37.2%. Usual crossing: Thousand Islands Bridge. Newark–Toronto: about 800 km. Statistics Canada figures; page checked November 11, 2026.
- Newark
- I-80 · I-81
- Thousand Islands Bridge
- Toronto
- Goods from New Jersey cleared in Ontario (excluding works of art)
- CAD 4.2 billion+1.1% vs. the 12 months before
- Goods from Ontario going to New Jersey (excluding works of art)
- CAD 4.7 billion-0.5% vs. the 12 months before
Top goods cleared into Ontario
- Chemicals and pharmaceuticals37.2%
- Plastics and rubber10.0%
- Food, beverages and tobacco10.0%
- Machinery and electrical equipment9.2%
- Base metals: steel, aluminum and others8.1%
Chemicals, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, are 37.2% of what New Jersey ships to Ontario, far ahead of plastics, food and machinery. That means more paperwork than on other lanes: dangerous goods rules for regulated chemicals, Health Canada rules for drugs and cosmetics.
- Usual border crossings
- Peace Bridge (Buffalo–Fort Erie)
- Lewiston–Queenston Bridge
- Thousand Islands Bridge (Alexandria Bay–Lansdowne)
- Typical road distance
- Newark–Toronto: about 800 km
- Buffalo–Toronto: about 160 km, the last leg
- Main highways
- I-80 west and I-81 north, then I-90 to Buffalo or I-81 on to the Thousand Islands.
- Typical transit time
- Usually 1 to 2 business days for a full truck, plus customs. A typical time, not a guarantee.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 12-10-0099-01, customs basis, in Canadian dollars. Figures and shares exclude works of art and antiques (HS section XXI). See the table
How a New Jersey-to-Ontario truck shipment works
Describe the shipment
Tell us the pickup city in New Jersey, the delivery address in Ontario, what the goods are and roughly how many pallets. If they are chemicals, drugs or cosmetics, say so: the carrier and the paperwork depend on it.
Pickup in New Jersey
Your supplier prepares the commercial invoice, any certification of origin and, for dangerous goods, the shipping document and safety marks. The carrier picks up in Newark, Edison or elsewhere in the state and heads northwest.
Customs filed before the border
Before the truck reaches the border, the carrier sends its ACI eManifest to the CBSA, at least one hour before arrival (30 minutes for a FAST carrier), and your customs broker sends the release request, linked to the carrier's cargo control number, with any Health Canada information the goods need.
At the border
The driver reports at the Peace Bridge, Lewiston–Queenston or the Thousand Islands Bridge, and the CBSA officer releases the goods or refers them for an examination. Then the truck continues to your address in Ontario.
Duties and final accounting
Your broker then files the final accounting in CARM, within 5 business days of release in most cases, and you pay the duties and taxes by the due date on your statement. With RPP security, the goods are released before you pay.
What the price depends on
A New Jersey-to-Ontario truck is quoted shipment by shipment, because rates move with fuel, the season and how much trailer space carriers have that week. Dangerous goods narrow the choice of carriers. Ask for a quote that keeps the freight, the customs brokerage fee, and the duties and taxes apart.
- Pickup and delivery points
- Full truckload or shared LTL space
- Weight, pallet count and dimensions
- Dangerous goods handling, if the chemicals are regulated
- Temperature control, for some drugs and cosmetics
- Fuel surcharge
- Customs brokerage, billed separately
- Duties and taxes, owed to the CBSA
Popular lanes into Ontario
Popular lanes from Quebec to the U.S.
New Jersey to Ontario: questions
Which border crossing does a truck from New Jersey use?
Most trucks from northern New Jersey head west on I-80 and north on I-81, then cross either at Buffalo, at the Peace Bridge or the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, or at the Thousand Islands Bridge for eastern Ontario. The carrier picks the crossing; the customs release works the same way at each.
My goods are chemicals: what changes?
If they are classed as dangerous goods, they travel under Transport Canada's dangerous goods rules once in Canada: correct classification, a shipping document and safety marks on the packages and the truck, handled by trained people. Tell us in the form, so the quote comes from a carrier that takes dangerous goods. Some chemicals are also controlled precursors: a Class A precursor needs a Health Canada import permit.
Can I truck pharmaceuticals from New Jersey to Ontario?
Yes, but drugs and other health products are regulated under the Food and Drugs Act and its regulations, and Health Canada's rules apply before the CBSA releases them. Controlled substances need a permit as well. Check Health Canada's requirements for your product before you book the truck.
What about cosmetics from New Jersey?
Cosmetics are part of the same chemicals group. Sold in Canada, each product must be notified to Health Canada within 10 days of first sale and labelled in English and French. See importing cosmetics.
How long does a truck from Newark to Toronto take?
Typically 1 to 2 business days for a full truck, plus customs: Newark is about 800 km from Toronto. LTL takes longer because the pallets go through the carrier's terminals, and dangerous goods can narrow the choice of carriers. Our partner gives you an estimate with the quote.
Do goods from New Jersey come in duty-free?
Only goods that qualify as originating under CUSMA's rules of origin, and only if you claim it: being shipped from New Jersey is not enough. You need a certification of origin, completed by the exporter, the producer or you as the importer, and GST applies either way. Some U.S. goods can also owe Canada's counter-surtaxes; see U.S. surtax remission and proving origin.
- Sources:
- Table 12-10-0099-01: Merchandise imports and exports, customs-based, by HS section, provinces and U.S. states (Statistics Canada)
- Border wait times: United States to Canada, busiest land crossings (CBSA)
- Memorandum D3-4-2: Highway Pre-arrival and Reporting Requirements (CBSA)
- Memorandum D17-1-4: Release of Commercial Goods (CBSA)
- Memorandum D17-1-8: Release Prior to Payment Privilege (CBSA)
- Memorandum D17-1-5: Accounting for Commercial Goods (CBSA)
- Memorandum D11-4-2: Proof of Origin of Imported Goods (CBSA)
- Dangerous goods (Transport Canada)
- Importation and exportation of health products (Health Canada)
- Memorandum D19-9-2: Importation and Exportation of Cannabis, Controlled Substances and Precursors (CBSA)
- Notification of Cosmetics (Health Canada)
Ready to move your freight?
One request covers the truck and the customs clearance. We usually reply within 1 business day.
Keep reading
The next steps most people take from here.
Importing
The whole path to importing commercial goods into Canada, in order.
Read →Importing cosmetics
The Health Canada notification, labels and ingredient rules.
Read →Certificate of origin
Which proof of origin the CBSA accepts under each trade agreement, and when you need none.
Read →Duty recovery review
A free review of 12 months of entries to find duty you can still get back.
Read →