Cavalier
Cavalier Transportation Services is a privately held asset-based LTL, freight brokerage, warehousing, and specialized transportation carrier operating 5 terminals across Canada and the US with 200+ employees, 100+ power units, and a proprietary CAVTrak tracking platform serving shippers between Ontario, Quebec, and Great Lakes states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersBolton, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cavalier does
Cavalier Transportation Services Inc. is a privately held, founder-owned asset-based logistics company founded in 1979 by George Ledson and headquartered in Bolton, Ontario, Canada. The company operates an integrated network of four core service lines: overnight less-than-truckload (LTL) transport between Ontario, Quebec, and Great Lakes states within a 500-mile radius of the Greater Toronto Area; freight brokerage providing Canada-US cross-border capacity through partner carriers; short- and long-term warehousing with over 250,000 sq. ft. of storage capacity; and specialized transportation covering flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazardous materials freight, plus a small-package expedited service. Cavalier runs five owned terminals (Bolton ON, Saint-Laurent QC, Syracuse NY, Rochester NY, and Addison IL), a fleet of 100+ power units with several hundred trailers, and a workforce of 200+ employees across Canada and the United States.
The company's underlying technology stack centers on CAVTrak, a proprietary customer login and shipment-tracking portal backed by documented API/EDI integration capabilities that allow shippers to embed Cavalier into their order-to-cash workflows. CAVTrak supports online pickup requests, real-time tracking, and account management, functioning as the technology layer across all four service lines. Revenue is generated on a transactional, quote-based fee model across each service line (LTL, brokerage, warehousing, specialized), with pricing handled through direct sales representatives at each terminal rather than public rate cards. Cavalier's go-to-market is sales-led and direct-to-shipper, supplemented by self-service digital intake forms, a toll-free sales line, and a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The customer base is segmented by geography (Ontario/Quebec/Great Lakes shippers) and by use case (specialized freight shippers), with no named enterprise logos or revenue concentration data disclosed in available sources.
Cavalier firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cavalier
- Legal name
- Cavalier Transportation Services Inc.
- Website
- https://cavalier.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cavalier Transportation Services is a privately held asset-based LTL, freight brokerage, warehousing, and specialized transportation carrier operating 5 terminals across Canada and the US with 200+ employees, 100+ power units, and a proprietary CAVTrak tracking platform serving shippers between Ontario, Quebec, and Great Lakes states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cavalier industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Freight Transportation & Logistics
- NAICS
- General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance (48412), Freight Transportation Arrangement (4885), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Specialized Freight Trucking (4842)
- SIC
- Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Trucking (No Local) (4213)
- akta.pro primary industry
- National/Regional LTL General Freight Carriers (TLADAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Regional Next-Day LTL Carriers (TLADAEAB), Cross-Border LTL (US-MX/US-CA) (TLADAEAI), Interregional/Long-Haul LTL Network Carriers (TLADAEAC), Truckload (TL) Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAB), Freight Brokerage (Truckload/LTL/Intermodal) (TLAIANAA), LTL Flatbed / Open-Deck & Over-Dimensional LTL Carriers (TLADAEAM)
Keywords
Where Cavalier is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bolton
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Cavalier business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- LTL Trucking Services: Less-than-truckload shipping services primarily between Ontario, Quebec, and Great Lakes states. Core revenue stream with daily service schedules within 500 miles of GTA.
- Freight Brokerage: Third-party logistics and freight brokerage services for broader North American coverage through partner carrier relationships.
- Warehousing and Distribution: Short and long-term warehousing services with 250,000+ sq. ft. of storage capacity at Canadian terminals.
- Specialized Transportation: Flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazardous materials certified equipment and personnel for specialized freight requirements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Quote-based pricing for LTL and truckload services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cavalier product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cavalier Transportation Services provides asset-based overnight less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping between Ontario, Quebec, and US Great Lakes states, with daily service schedules within 500 miles of the Greater Toronto Area. The company also operates freight brokerage for cross-border Canada-USA logistics, over 250,000 sq. ft. of short- and long-term warehousing capacity, and specialized transportation including flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazmat-certified freight services across North America through its own fleet and partner carrier network.
Product overview
Cavalier offers a unified logistics platform with four interconnected core service lines: Overnight LTL Transport provides daily scheduled less-than-truckload shipping across Ontario, Quebec, and the Great Lake States; Freight Brokerage enables cross-border Canada-USA logistics through carrier partnerships; Warehousing & Distribution offers over 250,000 sq. ft. of storage capacity; and Specialized Transportation handles flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazardous materials freight. The CAVTrak customer portal serves as the technology layer for tracking and account management across all services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Overnight LTL Transport Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping service providing daily overnight delivery schedules between Ontario, Quebec, and Great Lake States within a 500-mile radius of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), for shippers requiring consolidated freight transport.
- Freight Brokerage Third-party logistics service connecting shippers with carrier capacity, enabling Canada-to-USA cross-border freight movements through Cavalier's established partner carrier relationships since 1979.
- Warehousing & Distribution Short and long-term warehousing services offering over 250,000 sq. ft. of storage capacity for inventory management and distribution needs, available at Cavalier's Bolton and Montreal terminals in Canada.
- Specialized Transportation Specialized freight services including flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazardous materials (Hazmat) certified equipment and personnel, providing North American coverage for shippers with non-standard freight requirements.
- Small Package Expedited Service North American small package expedited service delivering time-critical moves across town or across the country by road and air transport through an extensive partner network, for shippers needing fast, time-sensitive deliveries.
- CAVTrak Customer Portal Online customer portal enabling shipment tracking, pickup requests, and account management for registered shippers, with a documented API for EDI integration with customer systems.
Quantifiable outcome
- Daily service within 500 miles of GTA
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cavalier
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cavalier technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Cavalier partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Cavalier Shipping (shipping financing advisory)minorCavalier Shipping (distinct from Cavalier Transportation Services) cited skepticism about CMA CGM fulfilling its $20 billion US maritime investment pledge in a New York Times article regarding shipping industry investment.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Cavalier competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Daylight Transport: Daylight Transport is a US-Canadian cross-border LTL specialist focused on next-day service between Ontario/Quebec and the US Midwest/Northeast. It competes head-to-head with Cavalier's overnight LTL product between Ontario, Quebec, and the Great Lakes states with daily schedules.
- Forward Air Corporation: Forward Air is an expedited LTL and logistics specialist offering cross-border North American freight with time-definite service, closely comparable to Cavalier's Specialized Transportation and Small Package expedited offerings between Canada and the US.
- Day & Ross Transportation Group: Day & Ross is a Canadian LTL and truckload carrier operating across Ontario, Quebec, and the US Northeast, directly competing with Cavalier on overnight LTL and cross-border freight between the same provinces and Great Lakes states. The two operate nearly identical service profiles and corridor coverage.
Regional players
- Mullen Group: Mullen Group is a Canadian-based transportation and logistics provider with LTL, truckload, and warehousing services through subsidiaries such as Mullen Transportation, operating in the same Ontario/Western Canada corridors with cross-border reach into the US, comparable to Cavalier's regional-plus model.
- Bison Transport: Bison Transport is a major Canadian truckload and logistics carrier with cross-border US operations serving the same Ontario/Midwest corridors as Cavalier. While primarily TL rather than LTL, it competes for freight brokerage and specialized freight business in the same lane.
Broad incumbents
- Saia Inc. Saia is a publicly-traded US LTL carrier with rapidly expanding terminal density. It does not operate Canadian infrastructure directly but competes for the US-bound portion of Cavalier's cross-border LTL volume and benchmarks service quality in the same Great Lakes region.
- TFI International (TForce Freight / TF LTL): TFI International operates one of Canada's largest LTL and logistics networks via subsidiaries including TForce Freight (formerly FedEx Freight Canada), and Cavalier's own website links to TFI's governance page, suggesting affiliation or ownership overlap. TFI is a broad incumbent that competes with Cavalier across LTL, truckload, and logistics across the same Ontario-Quebec-US footprint.
- Purolator Inc. Purolator is Canada's largest domestic parcel and LTL carrier and a dominant Ontario/Quebec player. It competes with Cavalier for the same Ontario-Quebec LTL and warehousing-adjacent freight, and overlaps strongly with Cavalier's overnight LTL and small package expedited offerings.
- Old Dominion Freight Line: Old Dominion is the largest US LTL carrier and competes with Cavalier for cross-border LTL volume terminating in the Great Lakes/Northeast US. While much larger, Old Dominion sets service-quality benchmarks that Cavalier must match to retain enterprise customers with US destinations.
Others
- FreightWave Logistics (regional 3PL): FreightWave is illustrative of a North American LTL-focused 3PL/broker that competes with Cavalier's freight brokerage arm and CAVTrak-enabled API integrations for shippers seeking programmatic access to LTL capacity on the Ontario-Quebec-to-US Midwest lane.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cavalier social profiles
Digital presenceCavalier financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cavalier leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Cavalier funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cavalier M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cavalier
What does Cavalier do?
Cavalier Transportation Services provides asset-based overnight less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping between Ontario, Quebec, and US Great Lakes states, with daily service schedules within 500 miles of the Greater Toronto Area. The company also operates freight brokerage for cross-border Canada-USA logistics, over 250,000 sq. ft. of short- and long-term warehousing capacity, and specialized transportation including flatbed, intermodal, refrigerated, and hazmat-certified freight services across North America through its own fleet and partner carrier network.
Is Cavalier a public or private company?
Cavalier is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cavalier founded?
Cavalier was founded in 1979. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cavalier based?
Cavalier is headquartered in Bolton, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Cavalier make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. LTL Trucking Services are the primary driver. The others are freight Brokerage, warehousing and Distribution and specialized Transportation.
Who are Cavalier's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Daylight Transport, Forward Air Corporation and Day & Ross Transportation Group. Regional players are Mullen Group and Bison Transport. Broad incumbents are Saia Inc., TFI International (TForce Freight / TF LTL), Purolator Inc. and Old Dominion Freight Line. FreightWave Logistics (regional 3PL) is listed as an others.
Does Cavalier have an API?
Yes. Cavalier offers CAVTrak API for customer login and tracking purposes. The API documentation is available at https://cavtrak.cavalier.ca/api/documentation/doc.php. The system supports on-line pick up requests and shipment tracking. Developer documentation is at cavtrak.cavalier.ca/api/documentation/doc.php.
What industry is Cavalier in?
Cavalier's product category is Freight Transportation & Logistics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLADAEAA, National/Regional LTL General Freight Carriers, with a secondary code of TLADAEAB, Regional Next-Day LTL Carriers. Its NAICS code is 48412 and its SIC code is 4210.