Container Drayage in Seattle
Port-to-warehouse container haulage between Seattle Harbor, the inland rail ramps and the Kent Valley — run by a family-owned carrier based 20 miles from the dock.
Drayage is the short leg that decides whether the rest of your supply chain works. A container can cross the Pacific on schedule and still cost you a week if nobody pulls it before the last free day. SeaSound Transport runs that leg out of Seattle Harbor — terminal to warehouse, terminal to rail ramp, warehouse to terminal for exports.
We are a family-owned carrier based in Kent, which puts our equipment between the Seattle terminals and the Kent Valley distribution corridor rather than on the far side of it. When a box clears customs at Terminal 18 and has to be on a dock in Kent, Auburn or Tukwila the same afternoon, the twenty miles we are not driving to reposition an empty truck is the difference.
Seattle drayage is a scheduling problem as much as a driving one. Terminal appointment systems, chassis availability, per diem clocks and demurrage all run on their own timetables, and the carrier who tells you early that a container will not make its window is worth more than the one who finds out at the gate. We would rather give you an accurate answer on the phone than an optimistic one in a quote.
Seattle terminals and ramps we serve
Seattle Harbor is operated by the Northwest Seaport Alliance, the marine cargo partnership between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. These are the facilities a Seattle container move typically touches.
Terminal 18
The largest container facility in Seattle Harbor, on Harbor Island. Most Seattle import drayage starts here.
Terminal 5
Harbor Island, rebuilt as a modernised big-ship container berth. Served for both import pulls and export returns.
Terminal 30
East Waterway container facility, immediately south of downtown and quick to reach via SR 99 and I-5.
Terminal 46
East Waterway berth on the downtown waterfront, used as capacity and vessel schedules dictate.
Seattle International Gateway (BNSF)
Near-dock rail ramp just south of downtown — where a lot of intermodal freight actually changes mode.
Argo Yard (Union Pacific)
UP's Seattle intermodal facility in the Georgetown/SODO industrial area, off I-5 and East Marginal Way.
What we move in and out of Seattle
- Import container pulls to Puget Sound warehouses
- Export loads returned to terminal before cutoff
- Terminal-to-rail-ramp intermodal transfers
- Empty container returns and repositioning
- 20', 40', 45' and 53' container transport
- General freight, full truckload (FTL)
- Less-than-truckload (LTL) consolidation
- Warehouse-to-warehouse distribution runs
- Interstate onward movement beyond Washington
How a Seattle drayage job runs
Send the container details
Container number, size, terminal, last free day and the delivery address. Call (206) 427-6615 or send it through the contact form — the more of the release status you can give us, the more accurate our answer.
We book the terminal window
We work the appointment system against your free time and confirm what is actually achievable. If the window is not there, you hear that from us before it becomes a demurrage line on your invoice.
Pull, deliver, return
The box moves from terminal to your dock, and the empty goes back on schedule. You are told where it is rather than left to ask.
Common questions
Which Seattle terminals does SeaSound Transport pull from?
We run into the Northwest Seaport Alliance's Seattle Harbor terminals — Terminal 5 and Terminal 18 on Harbor Island, and Terminals 30 and 46 on the East Waterway. We also serve the inland rail ramps, BNSF's Seattle International Gateway and Union Pacific's Argo Yard, which is where a lot of intermodal freight actually changes mode.
What container sizes can you handle?
20', 40', 45' and 53' containers. Which chassis and configuration a load needs depends on the box and the delivery point, so tell us the size and the destination when you call and we will confirm what we are sending.
How far is your yard from the Seattle terminals?
We are based in Kent, roughly 20 miles south of Seattle Harbor via I-5 or the SR 167 Valley Freeway. That puts our equipment between the port and the Kent Valley warehouse district rather than on the far side of it, which matters when a container has to clear the terminal and reach a dock the same day.
Do you handle same-day port pulls?
We operate 24/7 and schedule around terminal appointment windows and last free day. Whether a specific container can move same-day depends on the appointment system, terminal congestion and whether the box has been released — call us with the container number and we will tell you honestly what is achievable rather than promise a window we cannot hold.
Are you authorized to run beyond Washington?
Yes. SeaSound Transport is an FMCSA-authorized interstate carrier, USDOT #4061311 and MC-1541062, active and authorized for property. A container that lands in Seattle does not have to stop at the state line.
Also from SeaSound Transport
Drayage in Tacoma
Husky, WUT, PCT and the Tacoma tideflats — the other half of the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Trucking in Kent, WA
Our home city and the warehouse corridor most Puget Sound containers are actually heading to.
All services
Trucking, freight and container transport, intermodal drayage and distribution.
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USDOT 4061311 • MC-1541062 • Interstate Authorized