Ocean Freight from Toronto: FCL & LCL Container Shipping Worldwide

FCL vs. LCL: how to choose

Full container load (FCL) means the container is yours: loaded and sealed at our warehouse or your plant, unopened until it reaches the consignee. Less-than-container load (LCL) means your pallets share a container with other shippers' cargo, consolidated at a container freight station (CFS) before sailing and deconsolidated at destination. FCL is priced per container regardless of how full it is; LCL is priced per cubic metre (or per weight-measure tonne, whichever is greater).

The crossover point is usually around 12–15 cubic metres — roughly eight to ten standard pallets. Below that, LCL is cheaper. Above it, a 20′ container costs about the same and gives you faster transit, no co-loaded cargo and one seal from door to door. Fragile, high-value or dangerous goods almost always belong in FCL even at low volumes.

What ocean freight from Toronto costs

Every ocean freight quote from Toronto has the same anatomy. The ocean freight itself is the largest line but rarely the whole story. Rail from the GTA to the port (or carrier haulage that includes it) comes next. Then the terminal handling charge at the Canadian port and at destination, the documentation and bill of lading fee, the export declaration, the drayage from our warehouse to CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan, and any packing, crating or consolidation done before loading. Seasonal surcharges — peak season, bunker adjustment, emergency space — are quoted at the carrier's current tariff.

For LCL, add the CFS receiving and consolidation charges at origin and the deconsolidation and delivery-order fees at destination; these are what make small LCL shipments feel expensive per cubic metre. We itemize all of it. A cost breakdown with worked examples is in our article on shipping container costs from Toronto.

Transit times from Toronto

Rail from the GTA to Montreal takes one to two days, to Halifax three to four, and to Vancouver or Prince Rupert five to seven. Ocean transit from there depends on the trade lane and the carrier's rotation. The figures below are typical port-to-port times; add rail at origin, consolidation for LCL, and customs and delivery at destination for a door-to-door estimate.

Container types we book

Standard dry containers cover most cargo: 20′ for dense goods, 40′ and 40′ high-cube for volume, 45′ high-cube where the carrier offers it on the lane. Open-top and flat-rack containers are booked for machinery and over-height or over-width pieces, with the securement designed and installed by our crews. Reefers are booked for temperature-controlled cargo with pre-trip inspection and genset drayage arranged through the carrier. Heavy 20′ loads are checked against the rail and road weight limits on the specific routing before booking so an overweight box never has to be re-worked at the terminal.

• 20′, 40′, 40′HC, 45′HC dry
• Open-top and flat-rack for out-of-gauge cargo
• Reefer with genset drayage
• Shipper-owned containers (SOC) accepted on request
• Dangerous goods with IMDG declaration and placarding

Container shipping from Toronto: how the move runs

Cargo is collected on our straight trucks or delivered to our North York warehouse by your carrier. Our crews receive and count it, pack or crate what needs protection, and — for FCL — load, block and brace the container on our dock before it is sealed and photographed. For LCL, pallets are consolidated with the week's other shipments for the same destination and tendered to the CFS. The container is drayed on our chassis to CPKC Vaughan or CN Brampton against the rail cut-off, moves to the port on the carrier's rail service, and sails on the booked vessel. At destination our partner agent handles customs, deconsolidation and delivery.

For imports the chain runs in reverse and ends with our own drayage truck at the GTA terminal and our own crew at the dock — see container drayage Toronto and container unloading.