Bellingham sits in the far northwest corner of Washington, 50 miles south of the US-Canada border at Blaine and 90 miles south of downtown Vancouver BC. The freight identity is overwhelmingly cross-border: the Pacific Highway Truck Crossing on SR-543 / BC-15 moved approximately 2,300 truck crossings per day in 2024, the 4th busiest US-Canada truck port nationally, processing the bulk of Cascade Gateway commerce ($18.5 billion in 2024). Top imports: $1.7 billion in wood products. Top exports: $2.3 billion in transportation equipment, $1.5 billion in machinery. Three additional commercial crossings (Lynden, Sumas, plus passenger-only Peace Arch) round out the Whatcom County border footprint.
Beyond the border, Bellingham anchors three more freight identities. The Cherry Point industrial cluster in Ferndale carries the largest refining capacity in the Pacific Northwest: BP Cherry Point Refinery at ~250,000 barrels per day nameplate (the largest refinery in the PNW, supplying ~20 percent of Washington gasoline) and Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery at ~105,000 barrels per day. The Alcoa Intalco aluminum smelter closed in 2020 with permanent closure announced 2023 and demolition ~45 percent complete in 2025 — we do not list it as an active shipper. Whatcom County agriculture dominates US berry production: 58.6 million pounds of red raspberries in 2023 representing 99.3 percent of the entire US crop, plus Washington\'s 2024 blueberry crop at 210 million pounds with Whatcom leading the state. And Lineage (formerly Bellingham Cold Storage, acquired 2025) operates three warehouses totaling ~24 million cubic feet and ~85,000 pallet positions — the largest private deepwater terminal plus portside cold storage on the West Coast.
Evergreen Shippers (FMCSA MC#896325) is the Spokane-anchored transportation broker for Bellingham and Whatcom County freight. Spokane sits ~330 miles east via I-90 + I-5 as the operational standard (US-2 Stevens Pass is shorter on paper but slower with seasonal closures). The structural pitch: as a Spokane-HQ brokerage, Evergreen is not a local Bellingham operator. The play is statewide intra-WA plus cross-border — Spokane to Bellingham to BC, pitched on Spokane-side capacity for Cherry Point refined-product backhauls, oversize routing across the state, and PAPS / PARS-ready cross-border execution.
| Crossing | Route | Commercial Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peace Arch (Blaine) | I-5 / BC-99 | No trucks | Passenger only. Trucks diverted to Pacific Highway. |
| Pacific Highway Truck Crossing | SR-543 / BC-15 | Primary freight gateway | ~2,300 truck crossings/day (2024); 4th busiest US-Canada truck port; ~9% of all Canada-US land truck movements. FAST lane available. |
| Lynden / Aldergrove | SR-539 / BC-13 | Second-busiest BC Lower Mainland commercial crossing | 3 lanes inbound to US + 1 truck lane + NEXUS. Hours 8am-midnight (24/7 conversion planned). FAST lane available. |
| Sumas / Huntingdon-Abbotsford | SR-9 / BC-11 | Fraser Valley dairy, produce, ag gateway | 24/7. Southbound: 2 truck + 4 auto lanes; northbound: 1 truck + 6 auto. Capacity-constrained, inbound trucks queue on Railroad Ave. |
Cascade Gateway 2024 totals: $18.5 billion in goods crossed Whatcom County borders. Top US imports from Canada: $1.7B wood products. Top US exports to Canada: $2.3B transportation equipment, $1.5B machinery. Commercial volumes down 2% YoY. FAST / C-TPAT trusted shipper: available at Pacific Highway, Lynden, and Sumas (not Peace Arch); significantly reduces wait time variability. Sources: Whatcom Council of Governments 2024 IMTC Border Data Digest, US Customs and Border Protection.
Nameplate capacity ~250,000 barrels per day, currently processing 225,000+ bpd — the largest refinery in the Pacific Northwest. Supplies roughly 20 percent of Washington\'s gasoline. Co-processes 7,000+ bpd of renewable diesel (~2.6 million barrels per year). Specialty outputs include anode-grade calcined coke sold to aluminum smelters. Crude inbound: Alaska North Slope via tanker through the Strait of Juan de Fuca / Rosario Strait to the refinery\'s own pier. BP Cherry Point Marine Terminal is US Army Corps capped at 191 million barrels per year of crude oil throughput, with vessel-call limits and a North Wing dock restricted under the Magnuson Amendment.
~105,000 barrels per day capacity. Process units: CDU (crude distillation), naphtha reforming, FCC (fluid catalytic cracking), alkylation, and hydrodesulfurization. Located on Puget Sound roughly 20 miles south of the Canadian border. Combined with BP Cherry Point, the cluster represents the country\'s northwestern-most major refining capacity.
Gasoline, diesel, and jet ship via the Olympic Pipeline south to Washington and Oregon distribution plus over-the-road fuel tanker for last-mile to filling stations. Specialty product trucking (asphalt, lubricants, base oils) flows on I-5 north and south as a constant freight category. Refinery turnaround cycles generate periodic spikes in oversize and project freight inbound.
The Alcoa Intalco aluminum smelter idled in 2020; permanent closure announced 2023; demolition was approximately 45 percent complete as of 2025, with full smelter teardown targeted by end of 2026 and site grading into 2027. AltaGas holds development rights to the ~1,600-acre site. A Canadian green-hydrogen redevelopment proposal is in a holding pattern. We do not list Intalco as an active shipper. Note also: Marathon\'s Anacortes refinery is in Skagit County (separate from Cherry Point / Whatcom County) — do not conflate the two clusters.
Bellingham\'s largest industrially-zoned area at ~821 acres, off Bakerview / Hannegan north of downtown. Reported at full occupancy in the current market. Mixed manufacturing, distribution, and flex tenants. Total industrial inventory inside Bellingham city limits runs approximately 8.3 million square feet with vacancy under 1 percent — among the tightest industrial submarkets on the West Coast.
Cordata Business Industrial Park (master-planned 1986) anchors north Bellingham. Bellingham International Airport (BLI) carries the adjacent Airport Industrial Park — FedEx, UPS, and Alaska Air Cargo network operations. The two corridors absorb growth that Irongate cannot accommodate at full occupancy.
Squalicum and the Bellingham waterfront anchor Port of Bellingham properties including Lineage cold storage (formerly Bellingham Cold Storage, acquired by Lineage in 2025): three warehouses totaling ~24 million cubic feet and ~85,000 pallet positions, the largest private deepwater terminal plus portside cold storage on the West Coast. Major handler of seafood, berries, vegetables, and meats. The waterfront also anchors the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal (the southern terminus of the Alaska state ferry system) and the Bellingham Cruise Terminal alongside the Amtrak Cascades station at Fairhaven.
The heavy-industry node sitting ~10 miles north of Bellingham anchors BP Cherry Point Refinery and Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery on the Strait of Georgia coast. The closed Alcoa Intalco site occupies ~1,600 acres pending redevelopment. SR-540 / Slater Road and SR-548 / Grandview Road feed the refinery cluster from I-5. Heavy tanker, project cargo, and turnaround project freight discipline.
Pacific Highway plus Lynden plus Sumas combined carry the bulk of $18.5 billion in 2024 Cascade Gateway commerce. Major freight categories: wood products inbound from BC, transportation equipment and machinery outbound to BC, plus Fraser Valley dairy, produce, and CPG goods both directions. PAPS / PARS / ACE / ACI / CFIA documentation choreography is the operational discipline. Equipment match: full dry van for general freight, reefer for ag and food, flatbed for wood products and project cargo.
Cherry Point\'s BP plus Phillips 66 Ferndale combined for ~355,000 barrels per day of refining capacity generate continuous tanker outbound for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and lubricants. Olympic Pipeline plus over-the-road tanker distribution to Washington and Oregon filling stations. Specialty product (anode-grade calcined coke, base oils) on flatbed or specialty equipment. Refinery turnaround periods generate spikes in oversize project freight inbound.
Whatcom County produced 58.6 million pounds of red raspberries in 2023, 99.3 percent of the entire US crop. Washington\'s 2024 blueberry crop hit 210 million pounds (+36% YoY) with Whatcom leading the state. Reefer dispatch for fresh at 32-35°F field-to-cooler windows and for IQF / frozen processed product. Harvest peak: raspberries June-August, blueberries July-September. Berry harvest concentrates reefer demand and tightens regional capacity for those months.
Edaleen Dairy Lynden runs ~1,600 cows producing ~47 million pounds of milk per year (8 percent diverted to ice cream production), five retail stores in Whatcom County plus wholesale, ~110 full-time employees. Hempler\'s Family Foods at 1401 F Street Bellingham produces smoked meats, bacon, sausage, and ham for PNW regional distribution. Haggen Foods headquartered at 2211 Rimland Drive (Albertsons-acquired 2016, standalone unit with ~15 stores along Washington\'s west coast) drives DC inbound and store-replenishment lanes.
Lineage (formerly Bellingham Cold Storage, acquired 2025) operates three warehouses totaling ~24 million cubic feet and ~85,000 pallet positions: Bellingham Waterfront, Orchard / I-5, and Burlington Dry. The largest private deepwater terminal plus portside cold storage on the West Coast. Reefer drayage for seafood (Lummi Nation fleet plus Bellingham Bay processors), berries, vegetables, and meats. Reefer-heavy outbound to national distribution and PNW retail.
The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System, with vehicles, RVs, and certain freight loading for Ketchikan (36 hours first hop) and onward to Whittier on alternating Saturday departures. 200,000+ passengers per year. The terminal also handles growing cruise tourism alongside the Amtrak Cascades station at Fairhaven. We coordinate inbound dispatch timed against ferry sailing schedules for freight staging.
Pacific Highway, Lynden, and Sumas wait times vary by hour, day, and shipment risk profile. We monitor Cascade Gateway data in real time, route around backups, and coordinate FAST-lane access through C-TPAT certified shippers and PIP certified Canadian counterparts.
BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66 Ferndale turnaround cycles spike demand for oversize project freight (vessels, exchangers, tower sections, reactor modules) plus refined-product tanker reposition. We sequence dispatch against the turnaround calendar rather than treating the cluster as steady-state.
June-August raspberry harvest and July-September blueberry harvest concentrate reefer demand in a county that produces 99.3% of US raspberries. We pre-book reefer capacity during the harvest window rather than spot-rating in a tight market.
The US-2 alternate from Spokane is shorter on paper but transits Stevens Pass with seasonal closure exposure. We default to I-90 + I-5 routing and use US-2 only when conditions favor it — never as a winter assumption.
Bellingham industrial vacancy under 1 percent means tight dock-door availability, especially at Irongate. We sequence appointments tighter and pair shipments to minimize dwell at receivers running near capacity.
Trucks bound for Peace Arch get turned back — the crossing is passenger-only. We confirm crossing assignment before dispatch and prevent costly border-side re-routes from new shippers unfamiliar with the Cascade Gateway crossing rules.
Call (509) 321-4380 — origin, destination, crossing preference, FAST status. We dispatch the Cascade Gateway with PAPS / PARS-ready execution.