Seattle to Spokane freight shipping

Across the Cascades and the Columbia Basin

From Seattle, I-90 heads east past Issaquah and North Bend and climbs to Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascades. On the dry side it drops to Cle Elum and Ellensburg, crosses the Columbia River at Vantage and runs across the Columbia Basin past George, Moses Lake and Ritzville before it reaches Spokane, near the Idaho line.

In winter, the Washington State Department of Transportation can require traction tires or chains on Snoqualmie Pass and sometimes closes it for avalanche control or collisions. Carriers plan around those road reports, which is why we confirm winter pickup and delivery dates with the carrier instead of assuming the summer schedule. In Spokane, deliveries commonly go to industrial areas such as Spokane Valley and the West Plains near Spokane International Airport.

What moves on the I-90 lane

Eastbound and westbound freight on this lane look different, and carriers often look for a load to bring them back west. Typical loads include these.

• Eastbound: retail goods, consumer products and imports from Puget Sound distribution centers.
• Westbound: farm and food products from the Columbia Basin and eastern Washington.
• Refrigerated loads of produce and processed food that must stay cold across the state.
• Building materials and equipment for construction around Spokane and North Idaho.

Arranging a load to or from Spokane

The distance fits in one driver's day, but the pass can change the timing in either season: summer can bring work zones, and winter chain requirements. For a full truckload we book one carrier from dock to dock. A reefer load needs a unit that can hold its temperature through a cold mountain night or a hot afternoon in the basin, and smaller shipments can go LTL through terminals in both cities.

• Full truckload

  One carrier and one trailer from a Seattle dock to a Spokane dock.

• Refrigerated freight

  Produce and food that must hold temperature over the pass.

• LTL and partial

  A few pallets to eastern Washington without paying for a whole truck.

Look at every service we arrange

Holding freight on the west side

If a storm closes the pass or a Spokane receiver pushes the appointment back, freight that is ready in Seattle may need somewhere to wait. We look for short-term space with an independent partner warehouse on the west side, for example in the Kent Valley, and coordinate the trucks so the load leaves when the road and the receiver are both ready. Westbound loads from eastern Washington can be staged the same way before a Puget Sound delivery.

Warehousing on request · Short- and long-term storage · Join the warehouse partner program

Seattle to Spokane freight questions