Ports · June 22, 2026
They run under one alliance but land in different places. Here's what that means for your container.
If your cargo is routed through the Pacific Northwest, it's arriving at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) — the combined operation of the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. They market together, but physically they're about 30 miles apart with different terminals, and which one your box lands at changes the drayage. Here's the practical comparison.
The NWSA splits into the North Harbor (Seattle) and the South Harbor (Tacoma). Your steamship line and service decide which harbor your container discharges at — it's not usually something you pick. What you can control is having a carrier who works both, so the harbor doesn't dictate your options.
Seattle's container terminals — Terminal 5, Terminal 18 and Terminal 30 — sit on and around Harbor Island and the SODO district. T18 is the largest box terminal in the region, and the rebuilt T5 handles the biggest vessels on the West Coast. From our Kent yard, the Seattle terminals are roughly 20 minutes north. See our Port of Seattle drayage page for the terminal detail.
Tacoma's terminals — Husky Terminal, Washington United Terminals (WUT) and Pierce County Terminal (PCT) — handle a large share of the region's containerized imports. From Kent, the Tacoma terminals are about 25 minutes south. See our Port of Tacoma drayage page for the specifics.
The honest answer: with the right carrier, it shouldn't matter much. Our Kent hub sits almost exactly between the two harbors, so whether your box lands at Seattle or Tacoma the dray is short and the empty returns fast. We dispatch against every terminal in both harbors daily — so you book one carrier, not two, and the harbor your line chose never becomes your problem. (For the North Sound, the independent Port of Everett rounds out the picture with breakbulk and project cargo.)
They operate jointly as the Northwest Seaport Alliance but are physically separate — Seattle is the North Harbor, Tacoma the South Harbor, about 30 miles apart with different terminals.
Usually not — your steamship line and service determine the harbor. What you control is using a drayage carrier that works both so your options aren't limited by the choice.
Neither, with the right carrier. A Kent-based fleet sits between both harbors, so the dray is short from either one.
Yes — we dispatch daily against every container terminal at both the Seattle and Tacoma harbors, plus the Port of Everett.