Freight shipping in Montana

What we offer in Montana

We quote any truckload into Montana. Most of what we haul there is power only: the trailer is loaded at a dock in Southern California, and we send a tractor and driver to hook it and pull it north to western Montana, around Missoula and Helena. We also move 53 foot dry vans, and we bring freight back south to California. How power only works is explained on the power only trucking page.

Our own trucks run many of these trips, so one company handles the load from pickup to delivery and you can ask us directly where the truck is. When our trucks are committed, we offer a partner carrier vetted through Highway instead, and we tell you when it will be a partner carrier.

The road north

There are two sensible ways to Montana from Southern California. The usual one is Interstate 15 the whole way: Las Vegas, the length of Utah through Salt Lake City, then Idaho Falls and over Monida Pass into Montana. From Butte, Interstate 90 runs west to Missoula and Interstate 15 carries on north to Helena.

The other way runs up Interstate 5 and across Washington on Interstate 90 through Spokane, then over Lookout Pass at the Idaho line. It is longer from Los Angeles, but it can make sense for a load that shares a trip with freight stopping in the Northwest.

From the Inland Empire to Missoula is about 1,180 miles. One driver usually delivers on the third day after pickup, because federal rules allow eleven hours behind the wheel inside a fourteen hour duty window.

Mountain passes and winter driving

Both routes cross real mountains. Monida Pass on Interstate 15 sits at about 6,800 feet on the Idaho line, and Lookout Pass on Interstate 90 crosses the Bitterroot Range into Montana. From November into April, snow can slow or close that high ground, and when chain requirements are posted on a pass, trucks have to chain up or wait.

We plan Montana trips around that. When a storm is forecast we build an extra day into the delivery rather than set a time the road may not allow. The Montana Department of Transportation posts current road conditions online, and they are worth checking before an appointment is set. Fuel and parking can be far apart through southwest Montana and eastern Idaho, so drivers plan their stops before they leave.

Freight back to California

A truck that delivers in Montana has to come home, so southbound freight is welcome. We have brought dry vans from Montana back to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley. If you ship from Montana to California, ask us for a quote, especially in a week when one of our trucks is already up north.

Booking a Montana load

Montana trips are planned load by load, so a few days of notice helps. Tell us the pickup and delivery cities, the date, the trailer type and the weight, and whether you are supplying the trailer. Montana is on Mountain Time, an hour ahead of California, so please give appointment times in local time.

Montana is the northern edge of the eleven states we serve, and most trucks that reach it pass through Utah and Idaho. We have no office, yard or staff in Montana, and every load is planned and dispatched from Covina, California.