Bottles of premium spirits and wine lined up in a bonded beverage warehouse ready for distribution
Beverage Desk · TTB-Licensed Specialist

Beverage & Alcohol Freight.
TTB-Licensed.
45,000 lb Handled.

Beverage loads hit 45,000 lb before the pallet jack touches the floor — and every case of spirits crosses a regulatory line before it crosses a state line. Qeep moves both.

Get a beverage quoteTalk to our desk
TTB
Licensed carrier
45,000 lb
Avg beverage payload
12
Provincial authorities navigated
99.8%
Compliance-incident-free
Why Beverage Freight Is Different

End-to-End Beverage & Alcohol Freight — From Bottling Line to Retail Shelf

45,000 lbAverage beverage FTL payload managed
TTB-LicensedCarrier network, pre-verified
12Provincial alcohol authorities navigated
99.8%Compliance-incident-free delivery rate
The beverage sector sits at the intersection of heavy freight physics and strict alcohol regulation. A single FTL of bottled spirits weighs more than most steel loads and must be routed through TTB-licensed carriers in the US and provincial liquor-board channels in Canada. Qeep Logistics holds TTB carrier licensing, operates bonded warehouse space for in-transit and storage duty-deferral, and runs multi-temp reefer lanes purpose-built for craft beer, wine, and premium spirits that demand tight temperature windows. From brewery dock to LCBO distribution centre — or direct to a licensed retail chain — our beverage desk covers every regulatory touchpoint so your product arrives compliant and in spec.
Oak whisky and wine barrels stacked in rows inside a dark bonded cellar warehouse
Bonded cellar storage — duty-deferral for imported spirits & wine
Three-Tier Distribution + TTB Licensing

How alcohol freight actually moves —
and why most brokers get it wrong.

The US three-tier system and Canadian provincial liquor-board controls exist to prevent alcohol from flowing unchecked. Every carrier in our network is TTB-licensed, every lane is mapped against destination-state tier rules before tender, and bonded duty-deferral protects your working capital during transit.

  1. Producer

    Brewery, winery, or distillery. Holds a TTB Basic Permit (Brewer's Notice, DSP, or Winery Permit). Loads can only tender to a TTB-licensed carrier — Qeep pre-qualifies every carrier before dispatch.

    TTB Permit verified

  2. Licensed DistributorBonded

    The legal middle tier. Receives product in-bond — no excise tax paid until released for sale. Qeep's bonded warehouse network holds spirits and wine here, deferring federal excise tax and giving importers cash-flow flexibility.

    Bonded duty-deferral warehouse

  3. Retailer / LCBO

    Licensed retailer, LCBO/BCLDB/SAQ provincial board, or on-premise licensee (bar/restaurant). Qeep verifies the shipper-consignee relationship against each state's tier rules before tendering — protecting all parties from license jeopardy.

    Three-tier compliance verified
TTB Basic Permit Check
Every carrier in our network carries a verified TTB permit on file before any alcohol load is dispatched interstate.
In-Bond Duty Deferral
Imported spirits held in bonded storage accrue no excise tax until released — preserving working capital across the supply chain.
Provincial Board Filing
LCBO, BCLDB, SAQ and 9 other provincial authorities — our Canada desk handles every import declaration form in-house.
Long corridor lined with stacked oak barrels in a bonded cellar, amber light illuminating the passage

Every barrel in a bonded cellar represents deferred excise tax — and cash flow you keep.

Qeep's bonded warehouse network holds imported spirits and wine in-bond across North America — no tax triggered until your product sells.

The Hard Part

Five challenges that break
generalist freight brokers.

TTB & Provincial Licensing Complexity

Interstate alcohol shipments in the US require TTB-licensed carriers and compliant bill-of-lading documentation specifying the type and proof of the commodity. Canadian shipments layer on LCBO (Ontario), AGCO and equivalent provincial authority permits — each with unique consignment and import declaration requirements. A single oversight delays the entire truck at the provincial border.

Extreme Payload Weight on Standard Trailers

A 53-foot dry van loaded floor-to-ceiling with 12-oz glass-bottled beer regularly hits 44,000–45,000 lb — leaving almost no margin before FMCSA and provincial axle limits kick in. Beverage-specialist carriers use spread-axle configurations and weigh in mid-route to avoid overweight fines that run $5,000+ per incident.

Temperature Sensitivity for Wine & Craft Beer

Premium wine exposed to temperatures above 75°F (24°C) suffers cork expansion and premature oxidation; unfiltered craft beer loses flavor in under 48 hours if heat-soaked. Multi-temp reefer capacity is tight in peak summer demand, and most general reefer carriers are not calibrated for the 35–55°F (−1–1 3°C) range best for white wine and lager.

Three-Tier Distribution Compliance

In the US, most states enforce a three-tier system: producer → licensed distributor → retailer. Carriers that accept freight directly from a producer to a retailer expose both parties to regulatory violations. Qeep’s beverage desk maps shipment routing against the destination state’s tier rules before tendering to carriers.

Fragile, High-Value Loads with Limited Insurance Coverage

Standard released-value cargo coverage of $0.10–0.25 per pound is catastrophically inadequate for a $120,000 pallet of aged Scotch whisky. Standard cargo policies often exclude alcohol altogether. Qeep brokers all-risk cargo insurance specific to beverage and spirits, with declared-value coverage up to $500,000 per load.

How We Operate

Five capabilities. One specialist desk.

  1. 01

    1. Regulatory Pre-Qualification

    Before booking, our beverage desk confirms the carrier’s TTB licensing status, validates provincial permits for the destination (LCBO, AGCO, BCLDB, NSLC, etc.), and verifies the bill of lading matches the product’s TTB class and type. No load moves until the compliance file is clean.

  2. 02

    2. Heavy-Payload Carrier Matching

    We pre-qualify carriers with spread-axle configurations and route the load through weigh stations at the right intervals. Our TMS flags any lane with known bridge-weight restrictions and auto-routes to avoid overweight exposure — protecting your carrier relationship and your delivery window.

  3. 03

    3. Multi-Temp Reefer & Ambient Capacity

    Our temperature-controlled desk maintains dedicated reefer capacity for beverage lanes, including multi-temp trailers that can run a craft-beer zone at 38°F and an ambient zone for non-refrigerated SKUs simultaneously. Pre-cool verification records are emailed to you before departure.

  4. 04

    4. Bonded Warehousing & Duty Deferral

    Imported spirits and wine can enter our bonded warehouse network without triggering federal excise tax until the product is released for domestic sale. This gives importers and distributors cash-flow flexibility while meeting TTB and CBSA in-bond requirements.

  5. 05

    5. Dedicated Beverage Account Management

    A single named account manager owns your beverage program — seasonal packing changes, promotional surge loads, holiday reallocation from one province to another. Quarterly scorecards track on-time, damage rate, and regulatory-incident rate against SLA targets.

Compliance & Regulations

The rules that govern
alcohol freight.

TTB — US Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau

All carriers transporting beverage alcohol interstate in the US must hold a TTB Basic Permit or operate under a licensed carrier arrangement. Bills of lading must declare the commodity class (beer, wine, distilled spirits) and proof-gallons for spirits. Qeep carriers are pre-verified TTB-compliant before tender.

Provincial LCBO / AGCO / BCLDB Permits

Each Canadian province controls alcohol import through its liquor board. Ontario requires LCBO-directed import orders and AGCO carrier registration. BC requires BCLDB purchase orders. Alberta, Nova Scotia, and other provinces each have unique import declaration forms. Qeep’s Canada desk manages all provincial filings.

FDA Food Contact Compliance

Trailers carrying beverage alcohol must meet FDA food-contact standards — no prior hazmat loads, no food-incompatible residues, and a clean trailer inspection record. Our carrier qualification checklist verifies trailer wash records and prior load history before assignment.

FMCSA Cargo Securement (49 CFR 393)

Bottled and canned beverage loads must be secured with the appropriate number of tiedowns per the FMCSA cargo securement rules. Glass-bottled loads require non-slip matting between pallet layers and trailer sidewall protection to prevent breakage and load shift on long-haul lanes.

Three-Tier State Compliance

Most US states prohibit a carrier from transporting alcohol directly from a producer to a retailer, bypassing a licensed distributor. Qeep verifies the shipper-consignee relationship against the destination state’s tier rules to prevent regulatory violations and license jeopardy for all parties.

Interior of a bonded beverage warehouse showing tall pallet racking loaded with cased spirits and wine
Bonded duty-deferral racking — TTB & CBSA compliant
American conventional semi-truck hauling heavy beverage freight on a US highway
Spread-axle FTL — 45,000 lb heavy beverage lanes
Recommended Modes

The freight modes beverage shippers depend on.

Full Truckload (FTL)

Dedicated trailer, single shipper, point-to-point — fastest transit and full chain-of-custody.

Learn more →

Warehousing

Bonded and ambient warehousing, pick-and-pack, B2B and DTC fulfillment with WMS visibility.

Learn more →

Temperature Controlled

Reefer FTL and LTL with continuous temperature logging — frozen, chilled, ambient or multi-temp.

Learn more →
Common Questions

Questions beverage shippers ask us.

Do you transport wine and spirits across state lines in the US?
Yes. Qeep exclusively uses TTB-licensed carriers for interstate alcohol transport in the US. Every shipment’s bill of lading is pre-validated to confirm commodity class, and we verify the shipper-to-consignee routing complies with the destination state’s three-tier rules before tendering to a carrier.
Can you handle wine and craft beer that needs temperature control?
Absolutely. We maintain dedicated multi-temp reefer capacity for beverage lanes. White wines and lagers typically ship at 38–45°F; red wines at 55°F. We issue a pre-cool verification record before departure and provide continuous data-logger reports on delivery.
What is bonded warehousing and how does it benefit my alcohol import?
Bonded warehousing allows imported spirits and wine to be stored without paying federal excise tax until the product is released for domestic sale. For importers and distributors, this is a significant working-capital advantage. Qeep operates bonded warehouse space in our network and manages the CBSA and TTB in-bond paperwork.
How do you handle the extreme weight of full beverage loads?
Bottled beverage loads routinely approach federal and state axle-weight limits. We pre-qualify spread-axle carriers for heavy beverage lanes, route loads through certified weigh stations at the right intervals, and flag any lane with known bridge-weight restrictions in our TMS before dispatch.
Can you ship to provincial liquor boards in Canada (LCBO, BCLDB, SAQ)?
Yes. Our Canada cross-border desk manages the full provincial liquor-board import process — LCBO purchase-order matching in Ontario, BCLDB consignment in BC, and the SAQ import declaration process in Québec. We file all required documentation and coordinate with the liquor board’s inbound receiving teams.
What cargo insurance do you offer for high-value spirits?
Standard carrier liability ($0.10–0.25/lb) is wholly inadequate for premium spirits. Qeep brokers all-risk declared-value cargo insurance for beverage and alcohol loads, with per-load coverage up to $500,000. The policy covers breakage, temperature deviation damage, and theft — exclusions that standard policies often include for alcohol freight.
Related Industries

Adjacent verticals we serve.

Food & Perishables freight logistics
Industry

Food & Perishables

Reefer ocean and road, USDA/CFIA compliance, produce protocols and food-grade warehousing.

Retail & Consumer freight logistics
Industry

Retail & Consumer

Peak-season ramp, DC bypass, omni-channel fulfillment and DTC last-mile orchestration.

Agriculture & Grain freight logistics
Industry

Agriculture & Grain

Grain, seed, feed and ag-equipment — bulk hopper, end-dump, and seasonal harvest capacity.

Let’s move it

Have a shipment? Get rates in 10 min.

Tell us the origin, destination and mode. A Qeep specialist replies within 10 minutes with live capacity, lane price, and a transit window you can actually plan around.

Get a quoteTalk to a specialist