Four generations moving Saskatchewan since 1939
National Cartage is a family-owned freight and logistics carrier — from a $500 loan, a horse, and a trailer of firewood to a full-service operation working two terminals across the province.
Our Story
“It started in 1939 with a horse, a trailer, and firewood for sale.”
Humble beginnings
In the depths of the Depression, John and Ruth Kreller started with little more than a horse, a trailer, and firewood for sale. A $500 loan grew the business — and by 1956 they ran a fleet of three trucks.
A second generation
Al Yaehne had put in ten years with the company when John Kreller made up his mind: “When a man works that hard, he deserves to have his own company.” Al and Lorraine — the Krellers’ daughter — bought the firm and its three trucks.
Firsts for Regina
National Cartage moved into warehousing, introducing palletized, racked, and freezer storage to the Regina market. Pool and railcar work followed in 1972, then frozen and refrigerated storage in 1975 — the years sons John and Brian came into the business.
The building of Al’s dreams
The family designed and built a 30,000-square-foot facility in Regina’s Ross Industrial Park — temperature-controlled storage, freezer space, and a sawtooth dock where fourteen trailers and railcars could unload at once.
Onto the long haul
National Cartage went onto the highway as an interprovincial carrier — hauling freight, including specialty grain crops for export, well beyond the city limits.
Crossing borders
Expansion from Regina to Saskatoon. The 1992 purchase of MattJenn Enterprises brought operating authorities in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, plus irregular-route service into the U.S. Midwest.
A fourth generation
Al retired after more than five decades with the company; John and his wife Cheryl purchased it. By the end of the decade, their son Tyler was managing the Regina terminal.
Seventy-five years
The company marked its seventy-fifth anniversary and welcomed a potential fifth generation into the family business.
Back to our roots
As the pandemic reshaped freight, National Cartage refocused on the province it started in — concentrating on local delivery, LTL, and warehousing across Saskatchewan from the Regina and Saskatoon terminals.
The NC86 mark
Eighty-six years on from that first $500 loan, National Cartage carries the NC86 mark — four generations of one family, still moving Saskatchewan’s freight.
What hasn't changed
Built on family values and a commitment to excellence.
Family-Owned & Operated
Four generations on, family and old-fashioned values sit at the heart of everything — including our relationships with customers and the people we hire.
Commitment to Excellence
Eight-plus decades have built a reputation as a proud, dedicated transportation company — rooted in family values, hard work, and honesty.
Personalized Service
“We try to take each customer and give them their personal service their own little way,” Lorraine told a reporter in 1989. Decades on, it still works that way — a local team that knows your business by name.
National Cartage today
Still family-owned and four generations in — a full-service freight carrier running terminals in Regina and Saskatoon.
Move with a team that's been here since 1939
The same family business, the same personal service — ready to keep your freight moving.
Proudly serving Regina and Saskatoon since 1939