Oversize and out-of-gauge transloading at the Port of Tacoma

Why shippers transload oversize cargo at our Tacoma yard

The yard helps stage and prepare cargo for long-haul delivery or export to the marine port:

• Three acres and a container depot a few minutes from the Tacoma port terminals, so the specialized drayage leg stays short.
• A SANY top pick that lifts up to 100,000 lbs, plus a heavy-duty forklift that loads dense pieces from inside a standard container.
• Our own open-deck fleet for the road leg, so the same company that lifts the cargo also delivers it.
• NCB inspection coordination handled for export cargo.
• A fenced yard with 24/7 CCTV and depot space to hold the cargo until the receiver is ready.
• A UIIA member with TWIC drivers, in business since 2020, hauling cargo straight off the marine terminals.

When oversize cargo needs transloading

Transloading is the move when freight has to come off its ocean configuration for the highway. Cargo crosses the water on a flat rack or in an open top container, and that setup is built for the vessel, not the road. At the yard the piece comes off the ocean equipment and onto a highway-legal trailer, which also frees the flat rack to go back to the line and stops the per-diem clock.

It also fits the case where the receiver has no way to take a full container, or where a long inland run is better suited to an open-deck trailer than to the full container on a chassis. The Tacoma yard is built for the oversize, out-of-gauge, and breakbulk pieces.

Oversize cargo we transload

The yard and its open-deck fleet have handled machinery, aircraft parts, telescopic masts, and heavyweight industrial equipment over the years. The regular work sorts into a few groups, each shown below as a photo card.

Heavy machinery

Excavators, dozers, wheel loaders, and mobile cranes, arriving on flat racks or as breakbulk. Each piece gets a center-of-gravity check before it is lifted.

Industrial equipment and transformers

Power plant modules, generators, compressors, transformers, and large pumps, often with irregular shapes and several lifting points that decide how the piece is rigged.

Structural steel and precast

Girders, bridge beams, precast concrete sections, and modular building units that outsize a closed container, staged in the yard until the receiving site calls them forward.

Project and breakbulk cargo

Multi-piece project shipments handled in sequence, each piece measured and staged in turn.

How an oversize transload works

The move runs in a set order, and the planning starts before the vessel lands.

1. Dispatch takes the dimensions, weight, center of gravity, and lashing plan from the shipper or forwarder, and checks the route from the terminal to the yard.
2. Drivers haul the cargo off the Port of Tacoma and Port of Seattle marine terminals on the right chassis.
3. At the yard the piece is photographed and measured against the paperwork before anything is lifted.
4. The top pick or forklift moves the freight off its flat rack or open top onto the open-deck trailer that suits it, a step deck, an RGN, a flatbed, or a multi-axle trailer.
5. The load is blocked, braced, and chained to FMCSA and Washington State DOT rules, a load diagram records how it rides, and the trailer clears the yard for the inland run.

Yard equipment, depot, and staging

The lifting is done by the SANY top pick, rated to 100,000 lbs, with a heavy-duty forklift for dense pieces that loads from inside a standard container. The yard also runs as a container depot for empty and loaded equipment, handles container flips, and brings urgent containers off the terminal early. Cargo and containers stay staged in the yard until the receiver's window opens, then roll on the trailer that fits the next leg.

NCB inspection coordination

Export cargo often needs a National Cargo Bureau inspection of its securing and weight before it sails. Long Road coordinates and orders that inspection on the customer's behalf, books it with the inspector, prepares the paperwork, and handles any corrective work, so the sailing stays on schedule.

Why our yard by the Port of Tacoma saves time and cost

A yard minutes from the terminals keeps the specialized drayage leg short, which is where the cost concentrates on an oversize move. The cargo comes off the port quickly, so port storage exposure drops and the flat rack equipment cycles back to the carrier sooner. The transfer happens on the yard at yard rates, off the terminal's metered labor and equipment. Across a project's shipments, that coordination on private equipment is where the over 20% saving on total ground transportation cost comes from.

Where the cargo comes from and where it goes

Cargo comes off the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma, including the Husky terminal that handles much of the breakbulk and out-of-gauge volume, with I-5 and SR-509 linking the terminals to the yard. From the yard the onward trailer runs local and long-haul, straight to receivers in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and across the USA, plus cross-border to Canada, including but not limited to British Columbia.

Frequently asked questions about oversize transloading

What is oversize cargo transloading?

It is the transfer of an oversize or out-of-gauge piece off its ocean equipment, a flat rack or open top container, and onto a highway trailer at a yard. Breakbulk that arrives loose, without ocean equipment of its own, is staged and loaded the same way once it reaches the yard. The cargo changes carriers of a sort: from the vessel's setup to the road's.

When does transloading make sense?

Three cases call for it: the cargo needs a highway-legal trailer for the road leg, the receiver takes the freight loose, or a yard transfer stops the per-diem on the flat rack and moves the long inland run onto an open-deck trailer suited to it.

What is the difference between your Tacoma yard and the Kent warehouse?

The Tacoma yard handles oversize, out-of-gauge, and breakbulk cargo with a top pick and open-deck trailers; the Kent warehouse handles palletized and floor-loaded freight (cartons, boxes). Heavy and over-dimensional pieces go to the yard, cartons and pallets to Kent.

Can you store the cargo or container until my receiver is ready?

Yes. The yard holds both empty and loaded containers, and a piece can stay staged there until the receiver's window opens.

Do you coordinate the NCB inspection for export cargo?

Yes. Long Road books and orders the National Cargo Bureau inspection on your behalf, prepares the documents, and follows up on any corrective work before the cargo sails.

Get an oversize transloading quote

Tell us the piece, its dimensions and weight, and where it goes, through the transloading quote form or a call to Long Road Transportation. Dispatch sets the yard slot, the lift, and the onward trailer, and our drivers take it from the terminal to the receiver.

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