LumpList

The lumper service directory

by the makers of LumpLogix

Metro record

Lumper services in Seattle-Tacoma

The Northwest Seaport Alliance gateway and the Kent Valley warehouse belt keep lumping companies busy on import containers, Alaska barge cutoffs and cold chain freight.

28 lumping companies on the record

Lumping companies serving Seattle-Tacoma, WA

Agency & coverageService linesEngagementGoogle ratingContact

Dock labor in Seattle-Tacoma, WA

Agencies on the record
28
Dispatching to the metro directly
1
Covering the whole state
4
Nationwide operators
23
Places inside the market
10

Seattle and Tacoma run their marine terminals jointly as the Northwest Seaport Alliance, with Terminal 5 and Terminal 18 on the Seattle harbor and Husky Terminal, Washington United Terminals and Pierce County Terminal on the Tacoma Tideflats. Longshore work inside the terminal gates belongs to ILWU Local 19 in Seattle and Local 23 in Tacoma, so third-party unloading starts at the warehouse door: transload buildings that strip ocean boxes and rebuild floor-loaded freight onto pallets for domestic outbound. Near-dock rail shortens that leg, with BNSF's Seattle International Gateway in SODO, BNSF intermodal facilities on the Tacoma tideflats and Union Pacific's Argo yard. Freight then moves on I-5, east on I-90 toward Spokane, and through the SR 167 valley corridor that links Renton to Puyallup.

The distribution cluster runs south from Tukwila and Kent through Auburn, Sumner, Fife and Puyallup, then continues to DuPont, Frederickson and Lacey in Thurston County. Anchors include the REI distribution center in Sumner, Amazon fulfillment and sortation buildings across Kent and DuPont, Starbucks roasting and distribution in Kent, Costco's Issaquah headquarters and regional depots, and Boeing plants in Renton, Everett and Auburn that pull parts on tight schedules.

Dock labor demand here has its own calendar. Alaska trade sails weekly from Tacoma and from the Duwamish barge berths, so cutoff days concentrate cross-dock volume. Washington cherries in early summer and the tree fruit harvest out of Yakima and Wenatchee load reefers, and Alaska seafood fills local cold storage, all while import peak season builds through late summer.

Last reviewed September 2026

Seattle-Tacoma, WA on the record

  1. The Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma market and operate their marine cargo terminals together as the Northwest Seaport Alliance, including Terminal 5 and Terminal 18 in Seattle and Husky Terminal, Washington United Terminals and Pierce County Terminal in Tacoma.

    Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance terminal listings

  2. BNSF operates the Seattle International Gateway intermodal facility in SODO and intermodal yards serving the Tacoma tideflats, putting near-dock rail within a short drayage move of the container terminals.

    Source: BNSF Railway intermodal facilities directory

  3. Union Pacific's Argo Yard in south Seattle handles intermodal traffic for the Puget Sound gateway.

    Source: Union Pacific intermodal terminal list

  4. Longshore work inside the Seattle and Tacoma marine terminals is performed by ILWU Local 19 (Seattle) and ILWU Local 23 (Tacoma), so contracted unloading crews work at inland warehouses and transload buildings rather than on the docks.

    Source: ILWU Local 19 and Local 23; Pacific Maritime Association

  5. Tacoma is the mainland hub for the Alaska trade, with Matson and TOTE Maritime Alaska sailing from Tacoma terminals and Alaska Marine Lines barging from Seattle's Duwamish waterway berths on published weekly cutoffs.

    Source: Port of Tacoma; TOTE Maritime Alaska and Alaska Marine Lines published sailing schedules

  6. Washington sweet cherries ship from roughly June into August and the state's apple harvest runs from late summer through fall, moving refrigerated volume from Yakima and Wenatchee toward Puget Sound warehouses and export terminals.

    Source: USDA AMS shipping point reports; Washington State Tree Fruit Association

  7. The SR 167 corridor between Renton and Puyallup, paired with I-5 and I-90, carries the freight that serves the Kent Valley warehouse cluster in Kent, Auburn, Sumner and Fife.

    Source: Washington State DOT freight system plan

Inside the Seattle-Tacoma, WA market

KentAuburnSumnerFifePuyallupTacoma TideflatsSODO and Georgetown, SeattleDuPontFredericksonLacey

By service

By crew model

Nearby metros

Reading for Seattle-Tacoma, WA operators

Questions about dock labor in Seattle-Tacoma, WA

Do lumpers work inside the Seattle and Tacoma marine terminals?

No. Container handling inside the terminal gates is ILWU work, covered by Local 19 in Seattle and Local 23 in Tacoma. Contracted freight unloaders work at the inland warehouses, transload buildings and cross-docks that receive the drayed boxes, mostly in Kent, Auburn, Sumner, Fife and the Tideflats industrial area.

How do Alaska sailing cutoffs affect dock labor scheduling?

Alaska service from Tacoma and from the Duwamish barge berths runs on weekly schedules, so freight bunches ahead of published cutoff days. Facilities feeding those sailings often need extra crews for a day or two each week to build and load, then return to a normal cadence.

When does refrigerated work peak in the Puget Sound region?

Cherry volume out of the Yakima Valley and Wenatchee area runs through early summer, apples follow from late summer into fall, and Alaska seafood arrives into local cold storage across the summer fishing seasons. Crews with reefer and cold storage experience are in the shortest supply during those windows.