Cabotage, explained for truckers.
Updated September 27, 2026 · City DD Dispatch Desk
Cabotage is hauling a load that starts and ends inside a country your truck isn't based in. A Canadian truck can't take a load from Seattle to Portland, and a US truck can't take one from Vancouver to Calgary. Both countries allow a limited domestic move only when it's tied directly to an international trip.
- International loads: fine
- Domestic loads in the other country: not allowed
- Exceptions are narrow and tied to the international trip
Which loads a Canadian truck can take.
- Surrey, BC → Portland, OR
- Portland, OR → Vancouver, BC
- Calgary, AB → Salt Lake City, UT
- Seattle, WA → Portland, OR
- Sacramento, CA → Reno, NV
- A quick local load while you wait for a backhaul
Flip it for a US truck in Canada: Seattle → Calgary is fine. Vancouver → Calgary on its own is not.
One move, tied to the international trip.
Both countries allow a foreign truck a limited domestic move, but only as part of an international trip. It isn't a way to pick up extra domestic work.
The details
United States: a foreign-based truck may carry cargo between US points only if that carriage is incidental to the truck's immediately prior or following international trip (19 CFR 123.14).
Canada: the CBSA restricts a foreign-based truck or trailer to one point-to-point move immediately before or after its international use, moving in a way that fits that international trip (CBSA Memorandum D3-1-5).
The conditions are specific and they're enforced at the border. If you're not sure a move qualifies, don't book it until you've checked with CBP or the CBSA.
The usual ways it goes wrong.
- Taking a domestic load while waiting for a backhaul.
- A broker offering a domestic load to a Canadian truck without checking.
- Load boards showing domestic loads to everyone, whatever the truck's base.
- Treating a second or third domestic move as "incidental".
A customs problem, and an immigration one.
A driver working a domestic load in the other country isn't only breaking customs rules. It can also be an immigration problem, and put the driver's ability to cross the border at risk.
The details
Drivers who aren't citizens or permanent residents of the country they're driving in should check that country's immigration rules: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for Canada, and CBP for the United States.
We check origin and destination on every load.
Before we offer you a load, we check where it starts and ends against where your truck is based. We don't offer a Canadian truck a domestic US load, or a US truck a domestic Canadian one, and we plan backhauls that keep you international, like Portland to Vancouver.
Cross-border dispatch- CBSA Memorandum D3-1-5: International commercial transportation
- 19 CFR Part 123: CBP relations with Canada and Mexico
- CBP CTPAT alert: cabotage rules violations (May 2025)
General information, not advice. Check the rules with the agency before you run.
Why we say this
Requirements change and this page may not be current: confirm anything regulatory with the relevant agency or your own advisor before you run. We'll flag what we see during setup, but the obligation sits with the carrier and its authority.
Answered straight.
What is cabotage in trucking?
Hauling a load that starts and ends inside a country your truck isn't based in. For a Canadian truck, that's a load between two US points; for a US truck, a load between two Canadian points.
Can a Canadian truck take one domestic US load on the way home?
Only if it's incidental to the truck's international trip, and US rules read that narrowly. A separate domestic load picked up for extra money isn't. Check with CBP before relying on it.
Can a US truck make a move inside Canada?
Canada allows a foreign-based truck one point-to-point move immediately before or after its international trip, in a way that fits that trip. More than that, or a move unrelated to the international load, isn't allowed.
What happens if a driver breaks cabotage rules?
It can mean penalties for the carrier and trouble at the border for the driver. For companies in CBP's trusted-trader program (CTPAT) it can also put that status at risk; CBP has specifically warned CTPAT members about cabotage violations.
Do cabotage rules apply to box trucks and hotshots?
Yes. The rules are about where the truck is based and where the freight starts and ends, not the size of the truck.
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