Inbound Logistics | April 2026

CROSS-BORDER LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS: KEEPING FREIGHT IN MOTION

less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, operating primarily in Ontario, Quebec, Eastern Canada, as well as the U.S. From the outset, the Cox family focused on providing consistently fast cross-border transit, challenging the standard two- to three-day service for a 500-mile move. Polaris initially established overnight service between Toronto and Chicago and between Toronto and New York for a wide range of freight, including apparel, industrial and household goods, and automotive components. Since 1994, Polaris has handled more than 5 million cross-border shipments through its network of terminals located within 500 miles of Toronto on both sides of the U.S./Canada border, offering industry-leading transit times through a strategic partner network. “We became very intentional about our daily LTL cross-border service, and we wanted to offer our clients an option to get their goods to market quicker and faster than what traditional transportation had provided up until that time,” says Polaris CEO Dave Cox, the second generation of leadership. In its early years, Polaris prioritized schedule integrity, even when trucks were not running at full capacity. “We knew that if we were going to provide a service, the trucks would run on schedule, regardless of whether we were a quarter full or 100-percent full,” Cox says. “We didn’t always make money, but we sold reliability in the marketplace.” This is how Polaris raised the bar in LTL cross-border service. During the COVID-19 capacity crunch, Cox recognized that the company was not adequately balancing capacity with demand. Polaris responded by adopting an airline-style booking model that offers shippers an alternative departure time when their preferred schedule is fully booked. “When an order is tendered and their time is not available, we send an automatic alert offering space on the next truck,” Cox says. “Customers have come to value the transparency and integrity of knowing the schedule for

Polaris Transportation Group oers industry-leading transit times for daily LTL cross-border freight moving between Canada and the United States.

opening its rst U.S. retail location was caught in a widespread power outage caused by extreme weather, Lineage teams mobilized to move more than 10 truckloads of inventory into one of its owned facilities, preventing a $350,000 product loss due to spoilage. In another event, Lineage helped a seafood importer whose supply chain was disrupted by port strikes. The teams worked closely with the customer’s carrier and activated a network-wide response, keeping 72 containers with $10 million in frozen product safe and moving. International logistics will always bring complexity, and having the right partner can help shippers react dynamically to changing market conditions. “Lineage’s experts collaborate with our customers and across service lines to deliver a streamlined experience for customers so they can make quick decisions, experience fewer delays, and have condence their products are handled correctly from start to nish,” Skraba says. POLARIS TRANSPORTATION GROUP: CROSS-BORDER CONSISTENCY Founded in 1994 as a family-run company, Polaris Transportation Group has grown into one of Canada’s largest privately held cross-border

discharge with new distribution center locations. The proposed solution moved the customer’s inventory closer to its nal destination. LOGISTICS RESILIENCE IN ACTION Across its network, Lineage prioritizes site resilience in facility acquisitions, conducting thorough due diligence to assess geographic risk factors, including ood-zone vulnerability and water- resource availability. For greeneld developments, resilience is integrated from initial design through construction, supporting long-term operational continuity. Many new sites are designed to meet leading energy-efciency standards and incorporate climate- adaptive features, such as robust roong systems engineered to withstand extreme weather events, including hail and high winds. “This proactive approach helps to mitigate certain environmental risks and supports the resiliency of our infrastructure,” Skraba says. “Our goal is to maintain our operations so we can keep our customers’ supply chains moving.” To manage disruptions, Lineage leverages its extensive network and integrated transportation solutions to keep customers’ supply chains moving. For example, when a specialty grocer

44 Inbound Logistics • April 2026