Highlight Motor Group

What Highlight Motor Group does

Highlight Motor Group (legally Highlight Motor Freight Inc., DBA Highlight Group of Companies) is a privately held trucking and logistics company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Concord, Ontario. The company provides cross-border LTL and full truckload freight services between Canada and the United States, operating as a bonded carrier in both countries. Its service portfolio spans transborder freight, domestic Canadian lanes (Central and Western Canada), USA Midwest and West Coast service, temperature-controlled transport (refrigerated, heated, frozen), tridem (tri-axle) service for dense cargo, hazmat transport for consumer goods, expedited freight with tailgate capability, local cartage, and warehousing/distribution. The company serves shippers in retail, manufacturing, and logistics across primary segments including cross-border shippers, temperature-sensitive freight, heavy/dense cargo, retail and consumer products, hazmat, expedite/emergency, and warehousing customers.

The company's physical asset base is substantial for a private mid-market carrier: a 300+ truck fleet of modern Volvo VNL 760/860, Peterbilt, and Kenworth T680 tractors (no more than three years old) supported by 53-foot dry van, Thermo King/Carrier reefer, heated van, and straight-truck trailers. It operates four mega terminals in Concord/Toronto, Parsippany NJ, Aurora/Chicago, and Santa Fe Springs/Los Angeles, providing 700,000+ square feet of warehousing and cross-dock capacity, plus an in-house repair shop with 22 bay doors at the Concord headquarters. Its technology stack includes GPS tracking on all power units and trailers, in-cab navigation and messaging with POD signature capture, electronic logbooks (ELD-compliant), remote reefer temperature monitoring with automatic email alerts, and an integrated software system connecting sales, dispatch, fleet, and management. The company holds SmartWay Partner, Hazmat, Canada-U.S. Customs Bonded, C-TPAT, and ELD certifications.

The business model is transaction-fee freight services (LTL/Truckload) supplemented by managed warehousing/distribution revenue and premium expedite pricing, with go-to-market executed through an enterprise field-sales motion involving named Sales Executives and Business Development Managers supported by a self-service quote-and-track website. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; invoice terms are 30 days with a 3% credit card processing fee. The company is led by founder Kirk Kalinitchenko (President & CEO, a former highway driver), with Bob Cascagnette as VP of Sales and Paul Fries as General Manager of the Chicago terminal. In January 2020, Highlight raised $55 million in equity from Crédit Mutuel Equity alongside bringing in a minority shareholder to fund continued growth.

Name

Highlight Motor Group

Legal name

Highlight Motor Freight Inc.

Website

https://highlightmotor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Highlight Motor Group is a privately held Canadian cross-border trucking and logistics carrier operating LTL, truckload, temperature-controlled, hazmat, and warehousing services across North America via four mega terminals and a 300+ truck fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trucking & Logistics Services

NAICS

General Freight Trucking (4841), General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance (48412), Specialized Freight Trucking (4842)

SIC

Trucking (No Local) (4213), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional Next-Day LTL Carriers (TLADAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dry Van (General Freight) TL Carriers (TLADADAA)

Keywords

• Trucking services
• Freight transportation
• Logistics solutions
• Warehousing storage
• Cross-border shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. LTL and Truckload Freight Transportation: Core revenue stream from Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) and full Truckload freight services across Canada and USA. Services include dry van and temperature controlled transportation with scheduled daily departures.
2. Warehousing and Distribution Services: Short and long-term storage services, cross-docking, pick and pack, custom crating and packaging services from facilities in Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago and Los Angeles
3. Expedite Services: Specialized expedited trucking with tailgate loading/unloading capabilities for emergency requirements, charged at premium rates
4. Hazmat Transportation: Certified hazardous materials transport for consumer goods including paints, fragrances, charcoal and food flavourings requiring special handling
5. Local Cartage: Pick-up and delivery fleet services providing door-to-door service and final mile delivery throughout Greater Toronto Area, New York and Los Angeles

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Highlight Motor Group provides asset-based road freight transportation and logistics services using its own fleet of trucks and trailers. Core offerings include less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload, cross-border Canada–U.S. shipping, temperature-controlled (reefer) transport, hazmat hauling, expedited service, local cartage, and tridem hauling, supported by company-operated warehousing facilities. Customers are shippers that need end-to-end road freight services across Ontario, nationally within Canada, and across the Canada–U.S. border.

Product overview

Highlight Motor Group operates as a trucking and logistics company offering a unified transportation platform built around freight services. The core portfolio consists of LTL and Truckload Service, Transborder/Cross-Border Service (Canada-USA bonded carrier), Temperature Controlled Service (reefer and heated), and Warehousing & Distribution (700,000+ sq. ft.). Supporting these are specialized services including Tridem (Tri-Axle) Service for heavier payloads, Hazmat Transport, Expedite Service, and Local Cartage. The equipment fleet comprises Dry Van trailers, Reefer trailers (Thermo King and Carrier), Heated Van trailers, and Straight Trucks with liftgates. Services operate through a network of terminals in Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, with dedicated service lanes covering Western Canada, Central Canada, and USA Midwest & West Coast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Service Consolidated LTL freight service for shippers whose cargo does not require a full trailer, moving palletized goods within Ontario, across Canada and cross-border into the United States.
• Full Truckload Service Dedicated full-trailer capacity for single-shipper loads requiring point-to-point movement across Canadian and cross-border lanes.
• Cross-Border Canada–U.S. Shipping Cross-border linehaul service moving freight between Canadian provinces and U.S. destinations, with customs-aware routing and dedicated cross-border capacity.
• Temperature-Controlled (Reefer) Transport Refrigerated trucking service for temperature-sensitive cargo such as food, beverage and pharmaceutical shipments, using reefer-equipped trailers and temperature monitoring.
• Hazmat Freight Service Compliant transportation of hazardous materials with required documentation, placarding and trained drivers to meet regulatory requirements.
• Expedited / Time-Critical Freight Priority, time-sensitive pickup and delivery for urgent shipments requiring dedicated capacity and faster transit.
• Local Cartage / Final-Mile Delivery Short-haul pickup and delivery service within metropolitan and regional areas, supporting first- and last-mile freight distribution.
• Tridem Hauling Heavy-haul tridem-axle service for high-volume or heavier payloads that exceed standard trailer capacity, particularly relevant under Ontario weight regulations.
• Warehousing and Storage Company-operated warehousing services providing short- and long-term storage, consolidation and distribution support alongside linehaul transportation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Five consecutive years (2016-2020) recognized as one of Canada's Top 500 Fastest Growing Companies
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Import LogisticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2019Partnership with Import Logistics for the Chicago (Aurora), Illinois facility opened May 28, 2019. Import Logistics is a long-standing business specializing in warehousing, logistics, and supply chain solutions. Highlight Motor Group acts as the in-house trucking company for Import's customers, sharing customs bonded warehousing space.
• Flow WaterminorOthersCombined donations during COVID-19 pandemic. Flow Water donated Spring Water while Highlight provided transportation and distribution services, delivering donations to hospitals including Sunnybrook Hospital (Toronto), Southlake Hospital (Newmarket), and hospitals in New York.
• Palmer MarketingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDesign partner for trailer wrap campaigns including frontline hero tribute wraps on trailers and city trucks during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Turbo ImagesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner for output and installation of custom trailer wraps including frontline hero tribute designs, Salvation Army awareness campaign, and Bikers Battling Cancer truck branding.
• Kenworth Truck Centre (Vaughan, Ontario)coreOthersMajor truck supplier providing Kenworth T680 trucks for fleet expansion. Mark King, Grant Easton & Vince Tarola from Kenworth Truck Centre provided service and on-time delivery during challenging times.
• Volvo Trucks North AmericacoreOthersLong-standing equipment partner (15+ years) supplying Volvo VNL 760 and 860 tractors. Volvo Trucks North America team delivered new trucks on time during COVID-19 pandemic.
• StoughtoncoreOthersTrailer manufacturer supplying custom-wrapped refrigerated trailers (reefers). Highlight ordered 2022 Stoughton reefers with custom Highlight design wraps for temperature-controlled freight services.
• 3MminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Turbo Images and 3M to raise awareness for The Salvation Army through trailer branding campaign.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Mullen Group: Canadian diversified transportation and logistics company with LTL, truckload, warehousing, and specialized freight operations, directly comparable in geography, service mix, and mid-market customer orientation.
• Manitoulin Transport: Canadian LTL, truckload, and logistics provider with extensive U.S. and Canadian terminal network, comparable in service mix (LTL, TL, warehousing, specialized freight) and customer base to Highlight.
• Day & Ross: Canadian LTL and logistics carrier operating across Canada and the U.S. Northeast with cross-border expertise, directly comparable to Highlight's LTL and transborder service model and similar mid-market positioning.
• Challenger Motor Freight: Canadian headquartered truckload and LTL carrier with cross-border lanes into the U.S., similar size and asset-based operating model to Highlight, and overlapping cross-dock and warehousing services.

Broad incumbents

• XPO: Major North American LTL provider with a broad terminal footprint and overlapping LTL/truckload offering, serving many of the same enterprise shipper customers as Highlight.
• Schneider National: Large North American truckload, intermodal, and logistics carrier, comparable to Highlight on full truckload and cross-border services while operating significantly larger scale and asset base.
• Old Dominion Freight Line: Largest U.S. LTL carrier with national service center network, competing with Highlight for U.S. LTL and end-market freight while operating at significantly greater scale and route density.
• Saia Inc. U.S. LTL carrier with regional terminal network offering next-day and transcontinental LTL service, comparable to Highlight's LTL and regional next-day positioning but at materially larger scale.
• ArcBest: U.S. LTL and asset-light logistics provider (ABF Freight plus managed transportation), offering overlapping LTL, truckload, and supply chain services relevant to Highlight's customer overlap.
• TForce Freight (TFI International): North American LTL segment of TFI International, one of the largest LTL and logistics operators in Canada and the U.S., offering overlapping LTL, expedited, and cross-border services to a broader customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/highlightmotor
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/highlightmotor
• Facebookfacebook.com/HighlightMotorFreight
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlight-motor-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/highlightmotor
• TikToktiktok.com/@highlightmotor

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highlight Motor Group