Phoenix to Spokane freight
Phoenix to Spokane freight with Lifetime Logistics Services LLC is long haul truckload work: dry vans and flatbeds carrying goods from the Phoenix metro to Spokane and the Inland Northwest around it. The run is about 1,382 miles, north through Flagstaff and southern Utah, up Interstate 15 through Salt Lake City, eastern Idaho and Montana, then west on Interstate 90 over Lookout Pass, some 26 and a half hours at the wheel, or three days for a solo driver, with one dispatcher on the load the whole way. The quote form takes the pickup, the delivery and the date, and the dispatcher replies with a price ready to book.
From our dispatch records
- Distance
- About 1,382 miles
- Typical transit
- Three days
- How often we run it
- Booked as needed
- Trailer types
- Dry van, flatbed
- Who hauls it
- Long haul partners screened through Highway
The route
- Road miles
- Driving time
- Transit, one driver
- Main highways
- Interstate 17, US 89, State Route 20, Interstate 15, Interstate 90
| Trailer | Typical transit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dry van or power only | Three days | Dock to dock; a drop trailer saves the waiting time at either end. |
| Flatbed | Three days | Allow time to tarp and secure; oversize pieces travel in daylight only, which can add a day. |
| Box truck or cargo van | Three days | For a short shipment that should not wait for a full trailer. |
From the desert Southwest to the Inland Northwest
Spokane is the hub of the Inland Northwest, the stretch of eastern Washington, north Idaho and western Montana that looks to the city for its hospitals, airport, wholesalers and distribution centers. The country around it runs on wheat, dry peas and lentils from the Palouse to the south, timber and wood products from the forests to the north and east, metal and aerospace manufacturing on the edges of town, and the payroll of Fairchild Air Force Base to the west. Goods for all of that arrive by truck, much of it over Interstate 90.
A load from Phoenix to Spokane is usually one particular shipment rather than routine restocking: electrical and electronic equipment from the metro’s manufacturers, components for a plant, building products, metals, machinery bought from an Arizona seller, or retail goods sent from a West Valley warehouse to a store or distributor in the north. Because the trip is long and crosses five states, the carrier has to be right for the season and the freight, and that choice is most of what a broker does on a lane like this.
From the Mogollon Rim to Lookout Pass
The first day climbs out of the desert. Interstate 17 rises from Phoenix through the Verde Valley to Flagstaff, US 89 crosses the Navajo Nation to Page and the Glen Canyon Dam bridge, and in Utah the road runs by Kanab and up the Sevier River valley before State Route 20 carries the truck over a high summit to Interstate 15. From there the interstate leads north through Beaver, Fillmore, Nephi and the Utah Valley into Salt Lake City, then on past Ogden and Brigham City to the Idaho line.
Interstate 15 crosses eastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain, through Pocatello, Blackfoot and Idaho Falls, then climbs to Monida Pass on the Continental Divide and drops into Montana at Lima. Past Dillon it reaches Butte, where the route turns west on Interstate 90 and follows the Clark Fork River through Deer Lodge to Missoula and down its canyon toward St. Regis. Lookout Pass carries the truck over the Bitterroot Range into the Idaho panhandle and the old silver mining towns of Wallace and Kellogg, Fourth of July Pass follows, and then come Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, the Washington line and the Spokane Valley.
Weather from desert heat to blowing snow
A three day trip on this lane can meet almost every kind of weather. In summer the trip can start at 110 degrees in Phoenix, meet monsoon thunderstorms and dust on the Arizona plateau, and finish under wildfire smoke in Montana or north Idaho, where late summer fires sometimes close highways for a time. Heat and long climbs are hard on tires and cooling systems, so good carriers check equipment before the first grade out of Phoenix and again in Utah.
From late fall into spring the northern half becomes winter driving. Snow and ice are common on Monida Pass, where wind blows snow across the open highway, on Lookout and Fourth of July passes, and on the high Arizona and Utah plateau at the start of the trip. Carriers on this lane carry chains from fall into spring and slow down or wait when a pass turns bad, which can add a day. For winter shipments with a firm deadline, build a cushion into the delivery date and tell the dispatcher which date truly cannot move.
Trucks leave Phoenix easily; the return is the question
Phoenix is a net receiver of freight, so carriers that have just delivered there are glad to find a long load heading out, and a Phoenix shipper going north usually has trucks to choose from. The far end is less certain for the carrier. The Inland Northwest ships wood products, paper, bagged peas and lentils and manufactured goods, but a truck that empties there may still run west to Puget Sound or south toward Boise or Salt Lake City before it reloads, and carriers weigh that when they price the trip. Freight going the other way is covered on our Spokane to Phoenix lane.
This is a partner carrier lane. A long haul carrier screened through Highway takes the load, checked for operating authority, insurance, identity and safety record, and in winter we look for one with recent mountain and snow experience. Our dispatch desk in Covina books the truck, checks in at each overnight stop, follows the load across all five states and sends the signed delivery receipt from Spokane. One dispatcher stays on it from the first call to the last document.
Trailers and permits across five states
A 53 foot dry van carries most of this freight: pallets of equipment, components, supplies and retail goods ride sealed against dust, rain and snow. Winter brings a less obvious problem, since a van crossing Montana in January can sit for hours below freezing; we do not run refrigerated or heated trailers, so liquids, paints, adhesives and anything else that must not freeze should be discussed before booking. Summer works the other way around, with a closed van baking on a Phoenix dock.
Flatbeds and step decks carry the steel, metals, machinery and building products. Tarps are essential, because rain or snow is likely somewhere on a trip this long, and chains and straps need checking at each stop after the grades. A load wider than 8 feet 6 inches or over the legal height or weight needs a permit from each of Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Washington, and oversize permits commonly limit travel to daylight hours, so a wide load can take longer than three days. Give us the dimensions at the start and we will plan the permits and the time.
Three days for one driver, and an hour that comes and goes
At truck speeds the drive comes to about 26 and a half hours. A driver may drive 11 hours after ten hours off duty, so the trip falls into three days: the first ends in central Utah, the second runs through Salt Lake City, eastern Idaho and over Monida Pass into southwest Montana, and the third is a shorter day west across Montana and the Idaho panhandle to Spokane, with delivery usually in the afternoon. A team of two drivers could cover it faster by driving in shifts, but we do not offer team driving, so plan this lane around three days.
Time zones shift along the way. Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year, though the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving. Utah, southern Idaho and Montana keep Mountain Time with daylight saving, and at Lookout Pass the Idaho panhandle begins, which runs on Pacific time like Spokane. From November into March, Phoenix is an hour ahead of Spokane; from March into November the two show the same time. Delivery appointments are written in Spokane time on the rate confirmation, and transit times are planning guidance under the federal hours of service rules, not a promise.
Booking a Phoenix load bound for Spokane
The quote form needs the pickup address in the Phoenix metro with its loading hours, the delivery address in Spokane or nearby with receiving hours in Pacific time, the ready date and the latest acceptable delivery date, and the freight: what it is, weight, pallet or piece count, and for open deck loads the dimensions of the largest piece. Say whether anything in the load must not freeze or overheat. Where this lane carries a price today, the dated range sits above the form; the firm figure to book comes from the dispatcher after the request is read.
For more on each end, see Phoenix truckload shipping, Arizona freight shipping, freight shipping in Spokane and Washington freight shipping. The first half of this route is the same road as our Phoenix to Salt Lake City lane, and Southern California freight for the same city goes on the Los Angeles to Spokane lane.
Questions shippers ask
- How far is it from Phoenix to Spokane by truck?
- About 1,382 miles: Interstate 17 and US 89 to southern Utah, State Route 20 to Interstate 15, north through Salt Lake City and eastern Idaho to Butte, and west on Interstate 90 to Spokane.
- How many days does a Phoenix to Spokane truckload take?
- Plan on three days with a single driver. The drive is about 26 and a half hours at truck speeds, and federal rules cap a driver at 11 hours of driving before ten hours off duty, so most loads deliver on the afternoon of the third day.
- Can a team of two drivers get my load there faster?
- A team could, by driving in shifts, but we do not offer team driving. Every load we book on this lane runs with a single driver, so three days is the plan to build your schedule around.
- What does winter do to this route?
- Snow and wind can slow or close the high passes, especially Monida Pass, Lookout Pass and the Arizona and Utah plateau. Carriers carry chains and may wait out a storm, so winter loads with a deadline should allow an extra day.
- How do I find out what a Phoenix to Spokane load costs?
- Send the details through the quote form. On days the lane has been priced, a dated range appears above the form, and the dispatcher replies with the exact price, which depends on the trailer, the weight, any permits and the date.
Ready to price a load?
Send the quote form or call us. A person on our team replies with a price.