Commercial · GTA & Southern Ontario
Container Unloading, Loading & Lumper Services in Toronto
Container unloading is the job nobody plans for until a floor-loaded 40-footer with 2,200 cartons is at the dock and the receiving team has other work to do. We keep lumper crews on staff for exactly that: hand-unloading floor-loaded containers, palletizing to your spec, wrapping, labelling and staging. The same crews load export containers, blocking and bracing the cargo before the seal goes on.
This page is the labour service on its own, at our Toronto warehouse or with a lumper crew sent to your dock anywhere in the GTA.
- Crews
- In-house lumper crews — no day-labour agencies
- Where
- Our North York warehouse or your dock (GTA)
- Containers
- 20′, 40′, 40′HC, 45′ · 53′ trailers
- Turnaround
- Floor-loaded 40′ palletized in roughly half a shift
Service request
Request lumper crews or a container slot
Tell dispatch what is arriving and what the crew should do with it: the form asks the warehouse questions up front, so the quote comes back without a round of emails. Loading and unloading are pre-selected.
- Container size, carton or pallet count and weights, asked up front
- Add palletizing, wrapping or storage to the same request
- Priced by dispatch, as soon as possible
Prefer to talk? +1 (365) 829-5000
Container unloading (devanning / destuffing)
A palletized container is a forklift job: doors open, pallets off, count, done. A floor-loaded container — cartons, bags, tires, furniture, rolls or mixed SKUs stacked to the roof without pallets — is a labour job, and it is the one that stalls receiving departments. Our crews unload by hand onto pallets at the dock, sorting by SKU, PO or consignee as they go, then wrap, label and stage. Counts are reconciled against the packing list before the container leaves, and damage or shortage is photographed on the spot so a claim against the supplier or carrier has evidence from the moment the doors opened.
Typical throughput for a floor-loaded 40′ high-cube of standard cartons is half a shift for a crew, palletized to 48″ × 40″ at your specified height. Mixed or fragile loads take longer and are quoted accordingly.
- Hand unloading of floor-loaded cartons, bags, tires, furniture and mixed freight
- Forklift unloading of palletized containers
- Sorting by SKU, PO, consignee or store
- Palletizing to your spec (pallet size, height, ti-hi), stretch-wrap and corner boards
- Labelling — SSCC, carton labels, retailer compliance labels
- Count reconciliation, photos and exception report
Container loading (stuffing) for export
Export loading is where damage claims are won or lost. We plan the load before the container arrives — weight distribution across the axles, heavy items low and forward, void filling, and a securement plan appropriate to the cargo and the voyage. Pallets, crates, machinery and loose goods are loaded, blocked and braced with lumber, airbags or strapping, and the finished load is photographed from the doors before the seal is applied. For ocean shipments we record the verified gross mass (VGM) inputs so your forwarder can file on time.
Southern Ontario exporters use us in two ways: they deliver product to our warehouse and we consolidate and stuff the container there, or we position an empty at their plant and send a crew to load it. Either way the loaded container is drayed to CPKC Vaughan or CN Brampton against the rail cut-off. Crating, skidding and ISPM-15 lumber for the securement are covered on our crating & export packing page.
How much fits: pallets per container
For load planning the numbers below are the standard single-stack counts for 48″ × 40″ pallets. Double-stacking, mixed pallet sizes and Euro pallets change the figures, and we will build a load plan for your actual cargo rather than a rule of thumb.
| Equipment | Internal length | 48×40 pallets (single stack) | Typical max payload* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20′ dry | 5.9 m / 19′4″ | 9–10 | ≈ 21,000 kg |
| 40′ dry | 12.0 m / 39′5″ | 20–21 | ≈ 26,000 kg |
| 40′ high-cube | 12.0 m / 39′5″ | 20–21 (taller stacks) | ≈ 26,000 kg |
| 45′ high-cube | 13.5 m / 44′5″ | 24 | ≈ 26,000 kg |
| 53′ road trailer | 16.1 m / 52′8″ | 26 | Ontario road limits apply |
Lumper services at your facility
If the container is already at your dock, we send the crew instead. Lumper services are booked by the container or by the hour, with a minimum call-out, anywhere in the GTA — Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Scarborough, Etobicoke and Markham are routine. Crews bring their own wrap, corner boards and hand equipment; you supply the pallets and a forklift, or we bring pallets at cost. Recurring accounts get a standing crew schedule matched to their inbound container plan.
Almost no logistics company in Toronto advertises lumper crews because almost none employ them. We do, because container handling is the centre of our business rather than a side service.
How it works
From booking to proof of delivery
- 01
Send the packing list
Container size, cargo description, floor-loaded or palletized, carton count and your palletizing spec. We quote by the container or by the hour.
- 02
Dock or dispatch
The container docks at our warehouse via our own drayage, or a crew is dispatched to your facility at the booked time.
- 03
Unload / load
Crew works the container with count, sort, palletize and wrap — or plan, stuff, block and brace for export.
- 04
Report & release
You receive the count reconciliation, photos and exception report; freight ships out or the sealed container goes to the terminal.
Lumpers on the road
Lumper crews dispatched straight to your location
The crews that destuff containers at our dock all day also travel: a lumper crew arrives at your warehouse, plant or store with everything the job needs and works your dock the way we work ours. You book the crew; they bring the muscle, the method and the equipment.
A trained crew, not a temp roster
The same employees who unload floor-loaded containers at our dock every day — they know carton flow, stacking patterns and how not to wreck freight or backs.
Equipment rides with them
Pallet jacks, stretch wrap, corner boards, banding tools and pallets on request. If your site has nothing but a dock door, the job still runs.
Palletizing at your location
Loose freight palletized to your spec right on your dock: counted, stacked, wrapped, labelled and staged wherever you want it.
Whatever the dock needs
Destuffing, loading, restacking a refused load, rework, container stuffing for export — tell dispatch what the day looks like and the crew handles it.
Crews cover the GTA daily and Southern Ontario by arrangement — same-day calls are often possible, so phone dispatch before you assume it is too late.
In the field
Before and after: one floor-loaded 40′
The same container, the same morning. It arrives floor-loaded to the roof; our lumper crews hand-unload, palletize, wrap and strap it — and it ships out as clean pallets.
Before: loose cartons floor-loaded to the roof. 
After: the same freight as wrapped, strapped pallets — ready to ship out. 
Export side: loaded, braced with plywood and ready for the seal.
What's included
Everything on the invoice, nothing hidden
- In-house lumper crew (no agency labour)
- Hand or forklift unloading of any container or trailer type
- Sorting by SKU, PO, consignee or store
- Palletizing, stretch-wrap, corner boards and labelling
- Count reconciliation against the packing list with photos
- Export load planning, stuffing, blocking and bracing
- VGM inputs and pre-seal photos for ocean exports
- Drayage to and from CN Brampton, CPKC Vaughan and the Port of Toronto
Built for
Who uses this service
- Importers receiving floor-loaded containers from Asia and Europe
- E-commerce and retail brands that need cartons palletized and labelled
- Forwarders and NVOCCs needing a devanning partner in Toronto
- Exporters loading machinery, palletized product or mixed cargo
- GTA warehouses short on labour for container days
Service area: GTA & Southern Ontario
Our facility
Our warehouse in Toronto
A working dock minutes from the intermodal terminals: containers received live or dropped, freight unloaded by our own crews, storage on our racks, and straight trucks loading for delivery — there whenever a shipment needs it.
- Operating warehouse in North York, Toronto
- Dock-level receiving, container live-unload or drop, racked and floor storage, staging for outbound.
- Lumper crews on staff
- Floor-loaded 40′ containers are hand-unloaded, palletized and wrapped by our own people — not day labour.
- Straight trucks for delivery
- Warehouse-to-door distribution across the GTA & Southern Ontario, including inside and white-glove delivery.
- Minutes from the intermodal terminals
- ≈15 min to CPKC Vaughan, ≈30 min to CN Brampton, ≈25 min to the Port of Toronto — short drays, fewer chassis days.
FAQ
Container Loading & Unloading: frequently asked questions
What is a lumper?
What does container destuffing cost in Toronto?
How long does it take to unload a floor-loaded 40-foot container?
Can you unload containers at my warehouse?
Do you provide blocking and bracing for export containers?
Do you offer palletization and commercial shrink wrapping as a standalone service?
Can you fix broken pallets or restack damaged cargo?
Can you handle the drayage as well as the unloading?
Related services
Often booked together
Service request
Request lumper crews or a container slot
Same form as at the top: tell dispatch what the freight needs, and the quote follows as soon as possible.
Prefer to talk? +1 (365) 829-5000