At Platton, container drayage in Seattle is run by an import team in our own office in Columbia Center, downtown. That team dispatches containers out of all five Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) international container terminals and delivers them to the Kent Valley, Fife, DuPont and on to Portland. Demurrage runs $150 to $500 a day once free time ends, so Platton books the terminal appointment against your last free day, supplies the chassis, pulls the box, delivers it and returns the empty.
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Platton's Seattle team dispatches containers from every NWSA terminal in Seattle and Tacoma. Seattle and Tacoma operate jointly as the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), covering five international container terminals on Puget Sound.
Terminal 18 on Harbor Island is the largest container facility in Seattle Harbor and the starting point for most Port of Seattle drayage. Terminal 5 is the rebuilt big-ship berth. Platton pulls import containers from both and brings the empties back on schedule.
On the Tacoma tideflats, Platton's Tacoma drayage runs out of Husky Terminal, Pierce County Terminal and Washington United Terminals.
Platton quotes Seattle drayage instantly, prices port drayage from the terminal your vessel actually calls and holds that rate once you book. Platton's drayage cost comparison across US ports puts Seattle-side runs south to Kent in the band under 25 miles, typically $250 to $450 per container across the market, and runs to Auburn and Sumner in the 25-to-50-mile band, typically $300 to $800. Seattle and Tacoma rank mid on price pressure, and the main price factor is the two-port split. The two harbors sit about 30 highway miles apart, which looks like nothing on a map and shows up as real drayage money and a separate appointment at each terminal.
Containers leave every NWSA terminal on Platton drayage for the Kent Valley, the warehouse district around Kent, Auburn and Sumner off SR-167. Further south along I-5, Platton delivers to Fife and DuPont, and Oregon freight continues to Portland, home to another Platton office.
BNSF and Union Pacific serve NWSA with on-dock and near-dock rail for eastbound intermodal reaching Chicago, Memphis, and the broader Midwest and South. With Platton, the pickup at the terminal, the lift onto BNSF or Union Pacific and the drayage at the destination ramp are booked together with the ocean leg. For boxes headed to Illinois, Platton drayage in Chicago delivers from the ramp.
Platton moves 20-foot, 40-foot, 40-foot high cube and 45-foot containers out of every NWSA terminal. From Terminal 18 to Husky Terminal, Platton lines up a standard or specialized chassis for every container it pulls, and a pool shortage at any NWSA terminal is ours to solve. For how chassis days are billed, read our guide to chassis fees.
When your dock cannot take the box in time, Platton pre-pulls the container before the last free day and returns the empty on schedule. For how terminals and carriers bill demurrage and per diem, read our detention and per diem breakdown.
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Platton drayage covers 42 US ports and rail ramps, and our own Seattle office runs the NWSA gateway.
When a vessel calls Terminal 5 or Terminal 18 on the Seattle side, Platton dispatches drayage there. When the call is Husky Terminal, Pierce County Terminal or Washington United Terminals on the Tacoma side, drayage goes from Tacoma. One contact, one quote.
Our AI-driven cargo management platform gives you real-time container tracking from the vessel to the terminal gate to your dock, and it automates the documents along the way.
1. Share the container. Send the container number or booking, the size, the terminal and the delivery address.
2. Confirm the rate. Platton prices the move instantly on its AI-driven platform and holds the rate once you confirm.
3. Secure the gate. Platton's Seattle team works the NWSA appointment systems against your free time and puts a chassis on the move.
4. Pull, deliver, return. The container leaves the terminal and arrives at your dock, the empty goes back on time, and you follow every step in real time on the Platton platform.
Need the ocean leg as well? Platton books ocean freight on sailings that leave Asia and Europe every week for Seattle and Tacoma, and you can add it to this drayage. Cargo that has further to go moves on full truckload or LTL, and when your dock is not ready Platton warehouse services unload the container and hold or transload the cargo. For freight forwarding into Seattle, see Platton's Seattle freight forwarder page.
All five NWSA international container terminals: Terminal 5 and Terminal 18 in Seattle, and Husky Terminal, Pierce County Terminal and Washington United Terminals in Tacoma. Drayage dispatches from whichever harbor your vessel calls, on one quote.
Yes, in most cases: Platton drayage runs at 93% same-day port pickup once the container is released and a terminal appointment is open.
On average 36 hours after gate-out, to docks in Kent, Auburn, Sumner, Fife or DuPont; the exact time depends on the lane and your dock appointment.
Yes. The price follows the lane from the terminal your vessel calls to your delivery address, along with the container size and the chassis the load needs.
Platton can pre-pull the container from the terminal before the last free day, and Platton warehouse services unload it and hold the cargo until your dock is ready. The empty goes back, and your cargo waits under a roof instead of running up charges.
Yes. Platton books the BNSF or Union Pacific rail move from Seattle or Tacoma and delivery from the inland ramp to your dock.
Send the container number and the delivery address. Platton's Seattle office prices the move live, books the terminal and gets your freight rolling. Prefer to talk it through? Call +1 206-776-2292 or email cs@platton.ai.
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