The Pacific Northwest produces some of the country's signature consumer brands across seven major categories: beverages, coffee, frozen processed foods, snack food, dairy, confectionery, seafood, and wine and beer. Talking Rain produces every can and bottle of Sparkling Ice at a single Preston WA facility. Starbucks' Kent WA roastery ships 1.5 million pounds of roasted coffee per week. Frito-Lay's 300,000-square-foot Vancouver WA plant produces 350 million bags annually and is the sole supplier to Alaska. Lamb Weston's Richland WA facility alone produces 600 million pounds of frozen french fries per year. Brown & Haley produces every piece of Almond Roca worldwide at a single Tacoma WA factory — 3 million pieces per day, exported to 65 countries. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Woodinville WA produced 8.2 million cases annually and ranked as the 9th-largest US winery by volume in 2025. Darigold's new $900 million Pasco WA butter and powder plant (operational 2025) is the largest dairy processing facility in the Northwest.
Unlike fresh produce — which falls under PACA and requires PACA-licensed sales brokerage — most of this output is CPG (consumer packaged goods): shelf-stable, bottled, frozen, or manufactured into "articles of food of a different kind or character." PACA does not apply. The governing federal regulation is FSMA's Sanitary Transportation Rule (FSMA STR — 21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O), which specifies sanitation, temperature documentation, written agreements between shipper and carrier, and 12-month record retention.
Evergreen Shippers (FMCSA MC#896325) is the Spokane-anchored FSMA-aware transportation broker for this vertical. 53-foot frozen reefer at -10°F for frozen pizza, frozen seafood, and french fries (ice cream at -20°F). 53-foot chilled reefer at 34-38°F for dairy and deli. 53-foot dry van for shelf-stable beverages, snack food, coffee, and confectionery. Food-grade tanker for bulk liquids. Multi-temp reefer for foodservice broadline consolidations. Dry van and reefer are core equipment; OTIF discipline at retail DCs is the operational discipline.
We do not hold a PACA license — which, for this vertical, is rarely the relevant regulation. We do not take title to food or beverage product, do not negotiate sales, and do not act as a produce broker. The food or beverage manufacturer retains the sales relationship and all applicable food-safety registrations (FDA, USDA FSIS, TTB for alcohol).
PACA (Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act) governs sales brokerage of fresh or minimally-processed fruits and vegetables. Once a product is manufactured into a different form — bottled beverages, snack chips, coffee, dairy products, confectionery, processed seafood, frozen pizza, packaged wine and beer — it falls outside PACA scope.
The central federal regulation for CPG food and beverage freight is the FSMA Sanitary Transportation Rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O). FSMA STR applies to shippers, receivers, loaders, and carriers, and explicitly defines brokers as "shippers" when arranging transportation. STR requires: written agreements between shipper and carrier specifying temperature controls, vehicle and equipment sanitation, documented temperature requirements with continuous cold-chain integrity, employee training, and 12-month records retention past termination of agreement.
Evergreen Shippers is an FSMA-aware FMCSA-authorized transportation broker. FSMA STR specifications are written into every food-grade rate confirmation. Pre-cool verified at trailer side. Temperature recording and reefer download data available on request for FSMA STR records and retail / QSR cold-chain audits.
Each vertical has its own equipment spec, OTIF discipline, and regulatory layer. The PNW anchors signature American brands across all seven.
Talking Rain produces all Sparkling Ice at its single Preston WA facility (cut 25,380 metric tons of transport CO2e in 2023 through PNW supply chain optimization). Jones Soda (Seattle HQ, NW production through Orca Beverage in Mukilteo under 2024 alliance). Pepsi and Coca-Cola bottlers in Olympia, Tukwila, Portland, and Spokane. Monster Energy and Red Bull warehouse for PNW distribution.
Starbucks' Kent WA plant ships 1.5 million pounds of roasted coffee per week and is one of five US roasting nodes in Starbucks' billion-pound annual capacity network — also the sole US production site for Teavana tea. Stumptown Coffee (Portland), Caffe Vita (Seattle), Tully's, plus dozens of regional roasters. Green coffee inbound through NWSA ports; roasted outbound nationwide.
The heaviest tonnage category in the region. Lamb Weston Richland WA produces 600M lbs of frozen fries annually; plus plants at Connell, Pasco, Quincy, Warden WA, Boardman / Hermiston OR, and American Falls / Twin Falls ID. J.R. Simplot Caldwell ID mega-factory (425,000 sq ft) supplies roughly 40% of McDonald's US fry demand; plus Hermiston OR. McCain Foods Burley ID + Othello WA. Frozen pizza, frozen meals, frozen seafood add to the category.
Frito-Lay Vancouver WA (300,000 sq ft, 350M bags/year of Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos — serves WA, OR, AK, and parts of Western Canada; sole supplier to Alaska). Tim's Cascade Style (Algona WA — PepsiCo brand). Brown & Haley produces all Almond Roca worldwide at Tacoma WA (3M pieces/day, exports to 65 countries, highest-volume US confectionery exporter). Boehm's Chocolates (Issaquah WA).
Darigold operates 12 production plants across the Northwest. The new $900M Pasco WA butter and milk powder plant (operational 2025 with 200 employees) is the largest dairy processing facility in the Northwest. Anchor cheese/powder facilities in Sunnyside and Lynden WA. About 40% of Darigold output is exported. (Cross-link: PNW agriculture freight page covers Tillamook fluid milk and the broader dairy ecosystem.)
Trident Seafoods (Seattle HQ — vertically integrated global operations across 55+ countries). Pacific Seafood acquired Trident's Kodiak operations in 2024 ahead of the 2025 A season; operates 200+ trucks plus air freight. American Seafoods, Ocean Beauty, Bornstein Seafoods in the Seattle / Bellingham processing cluster. The US frozen seafood market grew from $23.53B (2024) to $25.04B (2025).
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (Woodinville WA — 8.2 million cases annually, two-thirds of all Washington commercial wine, 9th-largest US winery in 2025; Wyckoff family acquired from Sycamore Partners December 2025). King Estate (OR), Willamette Valley Vineyards. Constellation Brands' new $1.4B Veracruz brewery started up late 2025 — cross-border Modelo / Corona volume into PNW is materially increasing as the company targets 55M hectoliters production by 2028. AB-InBev controls Elysian (Seattle) and Redhook (Portland). Regional craft: Deschutes (Bend), Ninkasi (Eugene), Pyramid, Mac & Jack's.
Frozen pizza, frozen french fries, frozen seafood, frozen meals, frozen dough. Continuous-run only (not cycle-sentry). Verified temperature logging on download for FSMA STR records. 5-7 day cross-country runs require fuel monitoring and on premium QSR or major-retail lanes, dual-driver teams.
Ice cream, frozen novelties, hard-frozen specialty product. Colder than standard frozen reefer; verified equipment capability required. Reefer fuel consumption climbs noticeably. Pre-cool verified at trailer side.
Dairy (cheese, butter, yogurt), deli, prepared meals, refrigerated juice, refrigerated dough. Standard chilled food-grade dispatch.
Bottled and canned beverages, snack food, coffee, cereal, canned goods, confectionery, packaged wine cases. The volume workhorse for shelf-stable CPG. OTIF-aware dispatch to retail DCs.
Independent zone set points via moveable bulkhead for Sysco / US Foods / Performance Food Group foodservice consolidations. Frozen + chilled, or frozen + ambient, on the same trailer.
Bulk wine, juice concentrate, in-transit fluid dairy, edible oils. Insulated and food-grade certified. Wash records and prior-load disclosure under FSMA STR.
PNW F&B output runs into two major destination channels — each with its own appointment system and compliance discipline.
On-Time Prepaid: 90% · In-Full: 95% · Collect Ready: 98% · Penalty: ~3% of cost-of-goods at case level (not PO level), tracked against MABD (Must Arrive By Date). OTIF discipline is part of every retail-bound CPG dispatch.
Eight major PNW manufacturer regions feed three primary destination channels: retail DCs, foodservice broadline, and three-tier alcohol distribution.
Lane structure based on PNW F&B manufacturer geography (Talking Rain, Starbucks, Frito-Lay, Lamb Weston, Darigold, Brown & Haley, Ste. Michelle, Trident Seafoods) and primary destination channels (retail DCs, Sysco / US Foods / PFG foodservice broadline, TTB-regulated three-tier alcohol distribution).
90/95/98 spec with 3% chargeback at case level (not PO level), tracked against MABD. Frozen and reefer windows tighter than dry. Failed appointments cascade into chargebacks across the entire PO.
DC appointment confirmed against carrier ETA. Re-booking workflow if upstream delay puts the appointment at risk. MABD windows tracked at the case level on retail loads.
5-7 day cross-country frozen runs demand continuous-run reefer (not cycle-sentry), reefer download data for FSMA STR records, and on premium QSR or major-retail lanes, dual-driver teams.
Continuous-run only. -10°F or -20°F setpoint written into rate confirmation. Reefer download data available on request for cold-chain audits. Pre-cool verified at trailer side.
Sysco, US Foods, PFG inbound at single dock window often mixes frozen + chilled + ambient on the same trailer. Just-in-time appointment windows; minimal flexibility.
Multi-temp reefer with independent zone setpoints via moveable bulkhead. Setpoints written into dispatch per zone. Foodservice appointment timing baked into the dispatch.
Brokers are classified as shippers under FSMA STR — written agreements between shipper and carrier specifying temperature controls, sanitation, training, and 12-month records retention.
FSMA STR-compliant rate confirmations: temperature spec, sanitation requirements, prior-load disclosure. BOL and reefer download retained per STR.
Interstate wine and beer shipments require TTB federal permits + state alcohol licenses in every origin/destination state. Three-tier system separation (producer, distributor, retailer). Bonded warehouse pickups.
Work with the licensed shipper (winery, brewery, or state-licensed distributor) on TTB-compliant paperwork and state-licensed common-carrier dispatch. The shipper holds the licenses; we dispatch the freight.
Premium coffee, wine, seafood, and confectionery dispatches often exceed standard $100K carrier cargo insurance. Single-load values from $80K (snack food) through $300K+ (premium coffee or wine).
Carrier cargo coverage verified before every dispatch. $250K+ cargo policy endorsements for premium coffee, wine, seafood, and confectionery loads.
Call (509) 321-4380 — manufacturer, product temp class, destination DC. We'll spec equipment and confirm appointment.