UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

Information To Be Included in Statements Filed Pursuant to § 240.13d-1(a) and

Amendments Thereto Filed Pursuant to § 240.13d-2(a)*

(Amendment No. 5)

VITRAN CORPORATION INC.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, no par value

(Title of Class of Securities)

92850E107

(CUSIP Number)

Howard A. Kenny

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

101 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10178

(212) 309-6843

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

September 25, 2013

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of This Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because off §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following box.  ¨

Note: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See §240.13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

Page 4 of 5 Pages

Item 1. Security and Issuer

Item 1 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

This statement on Schedule 13D originally filed on December 31, 2012, as amended by Amendment No. 1 filed on January 23, 2013, Amendment No. 2 filed on January 29, 2013, Amendment No. 3 filed on March 12, 2013, Amendment No. 4 filed on May 31, 2013 and Amendment No. 5 filed on September 26, 2013 (as so amended, the “Schedule 13D”), is being filed by the undersigned with respect to common stock, without par value (the “Common Stock”), of Vitran Corporation Inc., an Ontario, Canada corporation (the “Issuer”). The Issuer’s principal executive office is located at 185 The West Mall, Suite 701, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M9C 5L5.

Item 2. Identity and Background

Item 2 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

(a-f) This Schedule 13D is being filed by TransForce Inc. (“TransForce”), a Canada public company and TFI Holdings Inc. (“TFI”), a Canada company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of TransForce. TransForce’s and TFI’s principal place of business 8801 Trans-Canada Highway, Suite 500, Saint-Laurent, Quebec, H4S 1Z6. TransForce is a leader in the transportation and logistics industry operating across Canada and the United States.

TFI holds of record all 1,563,478 shares of the Common Stock. Due to TransForce’s ownership of 100% of TFI, TransForce may be deemed to beneficially own all shares of the Common Stock held by TFI.

During the last five years, neither TFI nor TransForce has been convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors).

During the last five years, neither TFI nor TransForce has been a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and was not and is not as a result of any such proceeding subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.

Current information concerning the identity and background of each of the directors and executive officers of TFI and TransForce is set forth in Annex A hereto, which is incorporated by reference in response to this Item 2. To the best of each of TFI and TransForce’s knowledge, during the past five years, none of the directors and executive officers identified on Annex A hereto has been (i) convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors) or (ii) a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and, as a result of such proceeding subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration

Item 3 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

TransForce, through its direct wholly-owned subsidiary, TFI, acquired an aggregate of 2,063,478 shares of Common Stock in open market purchases, including 1,490,300 shares acquired through open market purchases on the Toronto Stock Exchange and 573,178 shares acquired through open market purchases on NASDAQ, for an aggregate purchase price of C$10,540,943.53 between December 17, 2012 and May 28, 2013.

The purchase of shares of the Common Stock was funded through borrowings under TransForce’s general C$800 million credit facility with a bank syndicate of 14 lenders led by National Bank Financial as Sole Bookrunner and Co-Lead Arranger, RBC Capital Markets and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in their capacity as co-lead arrangers and National Bank of Canada acting as Administrative Agent.

On March 7, 2013, TFI sold 500,000 shares of Common Stock in an open market transaction on NASDAQ for a price per share of U.S. $6.20 (an aggregate purchase price of U.S. $3,100,000).

Page 5 of 5 Pages

Item 4. Purposes of Transactions

Item 4 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

The information contained in Item 3 above is incorporated herein by reference.

Pursuant to a letter dated September 25, 2013 (the “Letter”), TransForce notified the Issuer of its interest in acquiring all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Issuer, except for shares already owned by TransForce and/or its affiliates, for cash consideration of $4.50 per share on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in a letter of intent dated the same date (the “Letter of Intent”).

The Letter of Intent sets forth the terms of TransForce’s offer to acquire such shares (the “Acquisition”). The proposed cash consideration of $4.50 per share assumes, among other things, that the Issuer shall have completed the sale of its United States LTL business, as announced by the Issuer on September 23, 2013, to the satisfaction of TransForce. The structure of the Acquisition may be effected by way of a take-over bid for the issued and outstanding shares of the Issuer, a subsidiary merger, a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), or another structure mutually determined by TransForce, the Issuer and their respective advisors. The Acquisition would be financed through existing cash and credit facilities of TransForce.

The Letter of Intent requests a countersignature from the Issuer by 7:00 a.m. Eastern time on September 30, 2013. If the Letter of Intent is signed by the Issuer, TransForce would have a period of up to 30 days thereafter (the “Exclusivity Period”) to negotiate the terms of a definitive agreement with the Issuer on an exclusive basis. TransForce may terminate the Letter of Intent at any time during the Exclusivity Period. Either party may terminate the Letter of Intent thereafter.

The Letter of Intent does not constitute a binding offer by TransForce to pursue the Acquisition. The Acquisition is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement, as well as the satisfactory completion of due diligence and other customary conditions.

The foregoing description of the Letter and the Letter of Intent is qualified in its entirety by the terms of the Letter and the Letter of Intent, which are filed as Exhibit B and Exhibit C hereto, respectively, and incorporated herein by reference.

In addition, TransForce and TFI intend to review their investment in the Issuer from time to time and, depending upon market conditions and other factors that TransForce and/or TFI may deem material in making an investment decision, TransForce and/or TFI may purchase Common Stock in open market or private transactions, sell all or any portion of the Common Stock currently owned or hereafter acquired by each of TFI or TransForce, either in open market or private transactions, or take other steps to increase or decrease or hedge their investment in the Issuer.

Except as described above, TFI, TransForce and the other persons named in Item 2 above currently have no plans or proposals that relate to or would result in any of the actions specified in clause (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.

Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer

Item 5 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

On March 7, 2013, TFI sold 500,000 shares of Common Stock in an open market transaction as described in Item 3 above.

As a result, as of the date hereof, each of TransForce and TFI may be deemed to beneficially own 1,563,478 shares of Common Stock.

Such shares collectively constitute approximately 9.51% of the total number of shares of Common Stock of the Issuer outstanding as of July 30, 2013, as reported by the Issuer in its Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on August 6, 2013. Except for such shares, neither TFI, TransForce, nor any of the other persons identified in Item 2 above own any shares of Common Stock.

Item 6. Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships with respect to the Issuer

Not applicable.

Item 7. Materials to Be Filed as Exhibits

The Joint Filing Agreement by and between TransForce Inc. and TFI Holdings Inc., dated as of December 30, 2012, is hereby incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit A to the original statement on Schedule 13D filed with the Commission on December 31, 2012.

The Letter dated September 25, 2013 by TransForce Inc. to Vitran Corporation Inc. is filed as Exhibit B hereto.

The Letter of Intent dated September 25, 2013 presented by TransForce Inc. to Vitran Corporation Inc. is filed as Exhibit C hereto.

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Dated: September 26, 2013

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

ANNEX A

Annex A

Certain Information Regarding Directors and Executive Officers of

TransForce Inc. and TFI Holdings Inc

Transforce Inc.

Directors

Executive Officers

TFI Holdings, Inc.

Directors

Executive Officers

Exhibit B

BY E-MAIL

CONFIDENTIAL

September 25, 2013

Vitran Corporation Inc.

185 The West Mall

Suite 701

Toronto, Ontario

M9C 5L5

Attention: Richard D. McGraw, Chairman of the Board

Dear Sirs:

As you know, TransForce Inc. (“TransForce”) is a significant shareholder of Vitran Corporation Inc. (“Vitran” or the “Company”) and we noted the announcement on Monday regarding the sale of Vitran’s U.S. LTL business (the “U.S. Transaction”), which we consider to be a positive outcome for the Company.

We were somewhat surprised with the timing and nature of this development, as we had been informed that the Company was taking another route, one that would have involved us directly. At this point, we thought that we should formalize our interest in order to ensure clear communication of TransForce’s position.

Assuming that the U.S. Transaction is structured to our satisfaction and has no adverse impact upon the remainder of the Company, TransForce is prepared to move very quickly and finalize a transaction to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Vitran (the “Transaction”) for cash consideration of USD$4.50 per share. The details of the Transaction are set out in the attached letter of intent, which we would ask Vitran to sign.

To be clear, we are committed to gaining the support of the Board of Directors of Vitran and announcing the Transaction as soon as we possibly can. We have retained financial and legal advisors to assist us in this process.

TransForce has substantial financial resources to effect the Transaction and would not require a financing condition in the agreement. We consider that this all-cash proposal for Vitran represents an attractive value proposition for Vitran’s shareholders and provides immediate liquidity in an uncertain economic environment. We believe that the proposal fully values Vitran’s capabilities and long-term growth prospects and furthermore offers Vitran’s employees additional opportunities for growth and advancement as part of a new, larger organization.

As we have discussed previously, and for the avoidance of any doubt, TransForce will not support any alternative transaction. The Transaction is predicated on exclusivity and is not one around which an auction process or “market check” can be built. The attached letter of intent provides for an exclusivity period of 30 days.

Should you have any questions concerning the Transaction or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned or our financial advisor Andrew Armstrong at National Bank Financial at (416) 869 8584.

As you know, TransForce is currently a Schedule 13D filer in the United States with regard to Vitran, and accordingly is required to amend its filing to disclose this letter and the proposed letter of intent promptly.

Yours very truly,

TRANSFORCE INC.

Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

Vitran Corporation Inc.

- 2 -

Exhibit C

BY E-MAIL

CONFIDENTIAL

September 25, 2013

Vitran Corporation Inc.

185 The West Mall

Suite 701

Toronto, Ontario

M9C 5L5

Attention: Richard D. McGraw, Chairman of the Board

Dear Sirs:

This letter of intent (“LOI”) sets out the basis on which TransForce Inc. (“TransForce”) proposes to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran Corporation Inc. (“Vitran”), other than those owned by TransForce and its affiliates.

1. Proposed Discussion Points. Annexed as Exhibit A is a term sheet that sets out the principal terms of the proposed acquisition.

2. Due Diligence Review. TransForce’s willingness to proceed with the potential acquisition is subject to, among other things, confirmatory due diligence regarding the disposal by Vitran of its United States LTL business.

3. Definitive Agreement. TransForce and Vitran shall concurrently proceed to negotiate a definitive support agreement or other similar agreement governing the transaction (the “Definitive Agreement”). The obligations of the parties to consummate the transaction contemplated hereby shall be subject in all respects to the negotiation, execution and delivery of the Definitive Agreement, and neither party shall have any liability to the other if either party terminates this LOI as permitted by section 10 below without executing the Definitive Agreement.

4. Timely Response. The terms proposed in Exhibit A are based on our mutual desire to proceed quickly. Accordingly, if we do not receive a signed copy of this letter from you by 7:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on September 30, 2013, you should assume that these terms are no longer indicative of the terms on which TransForce would be interested in proceeding.

5. Other Negotiations. By countersigning this letter, Vitran agrees that during the period commencing upon execution of this letter by Vitran and for a period of 30 days thereafter (the “Exclusivity Period”), Vitran will deal exclusively with TransForce and its affiliates for the consummation of the transactions described herein and will not, and will not permit its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives or affiliates to, directly or indirectly, make, solicit, initiate or encourage inquiries from or the submission of proposals or offers from, any other person, corporation, partnership, trust or other business organization whatsoever (including any of its

officers or employees) relating to any acquisition of any of the common shares of Vitran or any liquidation, dissolution, recapitalization, merger, amalgamation, or acquisition or purchase of all or a material portion of the assets of, or any equity interest in, Vitran or any of its subsidiaries or other similar transaction or business combination involving Vitran, or participate in any discussions or negotiations regarding, or furnish any other person any information with respect to, or otherwise cooperate in any way with, or assist or participate in, facilitate or encourage, any effort or attempt by any other person to do or seek to do any of the foregoing, or any other transaction that would be inconsistent with the acquisition by TransForce contemplated hereby, other than the sale by Vitran of its United States LTL business as announced by Vitran on September 23, 2013. Subject to the foregoing exception, Vitran shall immediately cease and cause to be terminated any such contacts or negotiations with third parties and shall immediately notify TransForce if Vitran learns of any inquiry or proposal during the Exclusivity Period concerning the possible acquisition of Vitran or its shares, business or assets. Such notice shall include the name of the inquirer or proposed acquirer and the terms and conditions of such inquiry or proposal.

6. Confidentiality. We refer to the Confidentiality Agreement dated July 5, 2013 between TransForce and Vitran (the “Confidentiality Agreement”). The Confidentiality Agreement remains in full force and effect. This LOI and the terms contained in the annexed term sheet, as well as transactions contemplated hereby and any discussions related thereto, are confidential information under the Confidentiality Agreement and as such are not to be disclosed by Vitran to any party other than Vitran’s directors, officers and financial and legal advisors. In the event of any unauthorized disclosure, TransForce’s proposal for the acquisition of Vitran shall be void. However, as TransForce is currently a Schedule 13D filer in the United States with regard to Vitran, TransForce is required under United States securities laws to amend its filing to publicly disclose this LOI. Accordingly, Vitran acknowledges that TransForce will publicly disclose and file this LOI and the Confidentiality Agreement promptly with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and may issue a press release regarding the LOI.

7. Expenses. The parties shall pay their own expenses and fees incurred in connection with the proposed acquisition, including all legal and accounting fees and expenses, whether or not the acquisition is consummated.

8. Obligations. Except for the parties’ obligations set out in the Confidentiality Agreement, and except for the obligations set out in sections 5 through 10 of this LOI, which are binding on the parties, neither this LOI nor the terms annexed hereto are binding upon either party, nor do they impose on the parties an enforceable duty or obligation to negotiate toward or conclude any binding agreement or commitment.

9. Governing Law. This LOI shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. For the purpose of resolving any conflicts related to or arising out of this LOI, the parties expressly agree that venue shall be in the Province of Ontario only.

10. Termination. TransForce may terminate this LOI and negotiation of the Definitive Agreement at any time until signing of such Definitive Agreement on written notice to Vitran, and after the termination of the Exclusivity Period, Vitran may terminate this LOI and negotiation of the Definitive Agreement at any time until signing of such Definitive Agreement on written notice to TransForce, provided that in each case, the termination of this LOI will not affect the liability of a party for a breach of any of the obligations set out in sections 5 through 10 of this LOI.

2

Please indicate the intent of Vitran to proceed with negotiation of the Definitive Agreement on the terms outlined in Exhibit A to this letter by executing where indicated below and returning a copy to me. On behalf of TransForce, we look forward to the success of the discussions contemplated by this letter. Should you have any questions concerning our proposal or require any further information please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned or our financial advisor Andrew Armstrong at National Bank Financial at (416) 869 8584.

Yours very truly,

TRANSFORCE INC.

AGREED AND ACCEPTED AS OF THE DATE FIRST ABOVE WRITTEN:

VITRAN CORPORATION INC.

Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

Vitran Corporation Inc.

3

EXHIBIT A

4

5

6

7

8