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Flexport takes fulfillment network international with Canada, UK expansion. Mississauga and Manchester operations extend logistics provider's end-to-end network as importers face rising tariff and customs complexity. · Wednesday, September 02, 2026 Flexport has launched its first fulfillment operations outside the U.S., expanding into Canada and the United Kingdom as shifting tariffs and tougher customs enforcement reshape global supply chains. The San Francisco-based logistics provider announced Tuesday that fulfillment services are now available in Mississauga, Ontario, and Manchester, England, aiming to allow customers to hold inventory closer to end consumers. The expansion represents the first international rollout of Flexport's fulfillment business and extends its end-to-end logistics network into two markets where many of its customers already sell. Flexport said customers can now import inventory in bulk, store products domestically and fulfill orders within each country while continuing to use the same Flexport platform, account team and freight and customs relationships. "Our customers built demand in Canada and the UK long before they had a good way to serve it," Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen said in a statement. "Flexport customers using freight through fulfillment in the U.S. have seen tangible efficiencies and cost savings with end-to-end logistics." Flexport targets Toronto, Manchester. The Canadian fulfillment center is in Mississauga, near Toronto Pearson International Airport. The facility has Health Canada certifications for medical products, supplements and consumer goods. Inbound receiving began in July, with the first outbound customer orders scheduled to ship in September. In the U.K., Flexport is operating through two partner-run fulfillment facilities in Manchester. Both use AutoStore automated storage and retrieval systems, which employ robots traveling across grids of stacked bins to bring inventory to workers. Flexport said the technology allows roughly the same volume of goods to be stored in one-quarter of the floor space required by traditional warehouse configurations. Flexport also plans to add fulfillment operations in continental Europe in 2027, where the company already maintains freight and customs operations. The company said its logistics network serves more than 13,000 companies and includes air, ocean, truck and rail transportation, customs and fulfillment services. Tariffs, customs enforcement reshape North American supply chains. Flexport's expansion comes as importers face a North American trade environment increasingly defined not only by tariffs but by heightened scrutiny of importers, customs brokers, transshipment and country-of-origin rules. During Flexport's Aug. 19 "Tariff Trends 2026" webinar, Customs Director Marcus Eeman and Trade Advisory Director Jenn Park discussed changes involving Section 338 and Section 232 tariffs, importer-of-record requirements, transshipment enforcement and refunds of IEEPA tariffs. Canada was a particular focus of the webinar. At the time, the Trump administration had temporarily delayed planned Section 338 tariffs of 50% on roughly 5% of Canadian products amid negotiations between Washington and Ottawa. Targeted products included food and agricultural goods, softwood lumber, dairy, outerwear, hockey equipment and alcohol. Eeman said the proposed duties as a potentially credible negotiating threat intended to pressure Canada into concessions on longstanding trade disputes. He said the tariff threat appeared designed to "create a sense of urgency" around negotiations involving issues such as Canadian dairy quotas and U.S. Section 232 metals tariffs. The Peace Bridge connects Buffalo, New York with Fort Erie, Ontario and handles more than a million truck crossings a year. The border crossing is the primary freight corridor between the Toronto area and the U.S. Northeast. As of Wednesday, the Buffalo trucking market is currently experiencing difficult capacity conditions for shippers, with an outbound tender rejection index (STRI.BUF) of 19.28%, significantly higher than the national average of 14.19%, according to SONAR data. Buffalo also shows signs of tightening capacity, as indicated by a recent positive shift in the SONAR Weighted Rejection Index (SWRI), suggesting conditions may continue to worsen for shippers. Customs enforcement becoming the bigger concern. Beyond tariff rates themselves, Eeman said businesses that the next phase of trade uncertainty could increasingly revolve around customs compliance and determining where products actually originate. Flexport said U.S. Customs and Border Protection was preparing to scrutinize importer-of-record registrations, including businesses using P.O. boxes or addresses that are not their actual principal places of business. Missing contact information could also result in importer records being deactivated or voided. Customs brokers working with foreign importers also face additional due-diligence expectations, including reviewing ownership structures, affiliated companies, U.S. assets and the importer's ability to pay duties. Flexport said those requirements could put additional compliance pressure on both brokers and foreign companies selling into the U.S. The changes are particularly relevant for North American supply chains because companies frequently move components and finished goods among Mexico, Canada and the United States before products reach consumers. Eeman said policymakers were considering whether the longstanding "substantial transformation" standard should be modified, potentially changing how customs officials determine where internationally sourced products originate. "Maybe the chaos of, like, the last few years is mostly focused around tariffs," Eeman said. "I think the chaos in the months and years coming ahead is probably going to be more around who gets to import, when they get to import, and how they know what those countries of origin are." Why it matters: Flexport's move into Canadian and U.K. fulfillment gives shippers another way to position inventory closer to consumers at a time when tariffs, origin rules and tougher customs enforcement are making cross-border supply chains increasingly costly and complex. Upcoming FreightWaves Events Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium The day before F3. 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Hike Medical raises $22.5M for device-based care. Hike Medical has secured $22.5 million in combined seed and Series A funding to modernize the delivery of medical devices. The San Francisco-based company focuses on streamlining the supply chain for orthotics, prosthetics, and durable medical equipment. Saga Ventures led the round, with participation from Indicator Ventures, Fifth Down Capital, RiverPark Ventures, and Orthofeet. Improving clinical workflow efficiency. The firm aims to address long-standing inefficiencies that often delay patient access to essential equipment. Founder and CEO Aadi Bhanti, whose family has operated in the orthotics and prosthetics sector for three generations, noted that outdated paperwork and complex payer requirements contribute to significant waste. The company estimates that tens of millions of people in the United States utilize these devices annually, yet administrative hurdles frequently impede the process. Initial efforts centered on custom insole production, utilizing mobile scanning technology and 3D printing. This approach reportedly reduced manufacturing times from several weeks to just a few days. The firm also stated that its remake rates dropped from one in 15 to one in 400. By integrating these digital tools into clinical settings, the organization intends to move away from traditional foam impressions and manual documentation methods. Scaling operations and infrastructure. The current strategy involves expanding the Hike Intelligence platform to manage a broader range of clinical workflows. By deploying artificial intelligence agents to automate referrals and secure insurance approvals before patient visits, the software seeks to reduce the administrative burden on medical providers. These automated systems are intended to connect back-office operations directly with clinical demand. Looking ahead, the company's ability to maintain these accelerated production timelines as it expands into new device categories will likely determine its long-term viability in a fragmented market. If the firm successfully scales its digital infrastructure without compromising the precision required for custom medical hardware, it may force established competitors to rethink their reliance on legacy manufacturing and manual verification processes. The success of this model depends on the ability to replicate the efficiency currently seen in its Peoria, Illinois, facility across a much wider array of products. To support this growth, the company plans to hire additional engineering and sales staff in San Francisco and Peoria. The organization recently appointed Jerry Tang, formerly of Flexport and Dandy, as its chief operating officer to help manage these scaling efforts. Max Altman of Saga Ventures stated that the investment was driven by the firm's focus on addressing broken infrastructure within the healthcare sector directly. The company operates what it describes as the largest orthotic 3D print farm in the country, maintaining a turnaround time of approximately five business days for custom orders. Prior to this digital overhaul, a single insole could take weeks to produce; now the process is streamlined from scan to shipment. The funding will also accelerate the development of new software modules that handle billing and patient communication automatically. Bhanti emphasized that the goal is to give clinicians more time with patients rather than paperwork. This operational shift has already attracted interest from larger healthcare networks seeking similar efficiencies. The team remains focused on proving that speed and precision can coexist in custom medical manufacturing. With this capital injection, the company intends to double its production capacity over the next year. Its facility in Peoria currently operates around the clock to meet demand. The new hires will focus on refining the AI models that predict insurance requirements. Each device still undergoes a final human inspection before shipping, ensuring quality control remains intact. The company's growth trajectory suggests that the market is ready for a more automated approach to medical device delivery. By keeping production in-house, they retain control over both quality and turnaround times. The next phase will test whether this model can be applied to more complex devices like powered prosthetics. Early experiments in that area have shown promising results, according to the company. The leadership team believes that the same principles of digital workflow and rapid fabrication can apply across the entire sector. As the platform matures, it will likely become a template for other medical supply chains facing similar pressures. The company is also exploring partnerships with academic medical centers to refine its clinical integrations. These collaborations could provide valuable data on patient outcomes and device performance. The immediate priority, however, remains scaling the existing operations without sacrificing the speed that has defined its early success. Every new hire is trained on the company's core philosophy of reducing friction in the patient journey. The founders have structured the business to be lean, with a flat hierarchy that encourages rapid decision-making. This agility has allowed them to pivot quickly when payer requirements change. The funding round closed in under two months, reflecting strong investor confidence. The company's next milestone is to reach profitability within the next two fiscal quarters. If achieved, it will validate the model without relying on further external capital. The team remains cautious about overexpansion, preferring to grow only as fast as its quality metrics allow. Each new product line is tested extensively before being offered to clinics. The company's internal data shows that patient satisfaction scores have risen alongside the faster turnaround times. This feedback loop helps refine both the software and the manufacturing process. The focus now shifts to executing on the roadmap laid out in the funding proposal. The founders have a clear vision for the next five years, and they intend to stick to it. The market for orthotic and prosthetic devices is large enough to support multiple players, but the company aims to lead through innovation. By staying ahead of the curve, they hope to set the standard for what modern medical device delivery looks like. The coming months will reveal whether the scale-up can match the promise of the pilot programs. For now, the team is energized by the momentum and committed to the mission. The company's journey from a small insole operation to a national player has been marked by careful planning and steady execution. That trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.

Flexport released a video game. It too is unprofitable. ID 11497805 (C) Julia Burlachenko | Dreamstime.com Image 14 August 2026 Subscriber Access This is a Loadstar Premium story. For uninterrupted access, sign in, subscribe or upgrade to The Loadstar Premium. For as little as £23 / month (£220/year), The Loadstar can get you into the room where the big decisions are made. * Includes access to Daily News, DeskOne and The Loadstar Premium news and analysis. Compare plans