Out of gauge cargo drayage at the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma

Why freight forwarders route out of gauge containers through Long Road

An OOG container leaves little room for error at the gate, so the operational details decide:

• Privately owned and maintained stepdeck and RGN trailer fleet, ready for your cargo.
• Experienced drivers trained to handle out of gauge containers the right way, TWIC-carded for Terminal 5 and Terminal 18 at the Port of Seattle and Husky, WUT, and PCT at the Port of Tacoma.
• Strong working relationships with the port authorities and terminal management, so any issue gets resolved fast.
• Zero reported incidents across six years of OOG and drayage work.

What makes cargo out of gauge

Cargo is out of gauge (OOG) when it is too wide, too tall, or too long for a standard six-sided container. It ships on a flat rack or in an open top container, and once it is on the road, the loaded container's total height and width decide the equipment and the permits. Machinery, telescopic masts, aircraft parts, and construction equipment make up most of the OOG volume we see at the terminals.

Flat rack and open top containers

Two container types carry OOG cargo, and the choice follows the cargo's shape and how it loads.

Flat rack containers

A flat rack is an open platform container with end walls, loaded from the side or from the top. It takes cargo that runs too wide or too tall for container doors, and the cargo is lashed directly to the platform. They come as 40-foot standard and high-cube and 20-foot units; the end wall (8'6" on a standard, 9'6" on a high-cube) and the thick platform floor both add to the loaded height on the road.

For exports, confirm up front whether the booking calls for a high-cube flat rack; the end wall height decides how the cargo clears.

Open top containers

An open top container keeps the length and width of a standard container, with a tarp covering the open roof and an 8-inch floor. It wins when the cargo needs top loading by crane or runs just over standard height, and the tarp keeps weather off freight that a flat rack would leave exposed.

How OOG cargo moves off the port

The move starts before the vessel lands. The declaration goes in with exact cargo dimensions and a lifting diagram, dispatch books the terminal appointment, and the trailer is matched to the loaded container's total height.

OOG bookings at the Port of Tacoma often land at Husky Terminal; our drivers work it alongside WUT and PCT through Port of Tacoma drayage, and at the Port of Seattle the work runs through Terminal 5 and Terminal 18. A loaded flat rack within legal height rides a standard chassis. A tall one moves on a step deck, whose lower deck of about 3 feet buys back the clearance, or on an RGN, whose deck height drops to 19 inches and whose build also takes the taller and heavier pieces a step deck cannot. That low deck height often decides whether the move needs a permit and escort cars at all.

Bare machinery moving without a container rides the open-deck fleet directly, on the oversize trucking side of the service.

What to send for an out of gauge quote

Five details put an OOG quote on solid ground:

• Exact cargo dimensions as loaded on the flat rack or in the open top, including overhang
• Cargo weight
• A technical diagram with the lifting points
• The deadlines: vessel arrival, last free day, and the receiver's window
• The exact delivery address

An accurate declaration keeps the move on the permit it was planned on and the appointment it was booked for. When a dimension changes, tell dispatch first; the trailer and the route follow the numbers.

When the cargo comes off the container

When the receiver needs the freight off its container, it comes off at our Tacoma yard and goes back out on a road trailer. That yard work, the lift, the depot, and the staging, is covered on the oversize and breakbulk transloading page. Cartons and palletized freight go to the Kent warehouse instead.

Frequently asked questions about OOG containers

How is a flat rack container loaded and unloaded?

By crane or from the side at the terminal and the shipper's site, using a range of heavy-duty equipment. At our Tacoma yard a yard forklift and a SANY top pick handler do the lifting, taking the loaded flat rack on and off the trailer during a transload.

What are the dimensions and weight of a flat rack container?

A 40-foot flat rack has an 8'6" end wall, 9'6" on a high-cube, and a 20-foot has 8'6"; empty weights run about 11,200 lbs on a 40' and 5,200 lbs on a 20'. The detail people miss is the floor: roughly 2 feet on a 40' and 1 foot on a 20', and it counts toward the total height on the road.

When does an open top container beat a flat rack?

When the cargo loads by crane from above, runs only slightly over standard height, and needs weather protection. A flat rack takes the wider and heavier pieces that side-load.

What are the road rules for moving a loaded flat rack?

The loaded unit's total height and width on the chassis decide everything: within legal limits it moves as a standard container, over them it needs a state permit. The trailer's deck height is part of that math, which is why dispatch picks the trailer first.

How do you ship cargo that does not fit in a standard container?

It books on a flat rack or open top, crosses the ocean lashed to that unit, and we take it from the terminal straight to the receiver or through a transload at our yard.

Get an out of gauge drayage quote

An out of gauge quote starts with the loaded dimensions, the weight, and the delivery address; send those over and dispatch confirms the equipment and the timeline. Deliveries run local and long-haul, straight to receivers across the USA and cross-border to Canada, and the planning starts the day the booking is confirmed.

• 2020 Asset-based since
• 200+ Private chassis & equipment
• 2 PNW ports, every terminal
• 3-acre Tacoma yard & depot
• 24/7 Capacity & repair shop