Northwest Trucking Info

The region consists of five states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Washington and Oregon are known as the Pacific Northwest and the three remaining states are Great Plains states.

Trucking in the Northwest

Truck drivers are extremely vital in the Northwest because they transport goods in and out of the region. The Pacific Northwest is known for its agriculture and biotechnology industries while Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana are major suppliers of minerals, lumber, and livestock (primarily sheep and cattle).

Northwest Major Cities

Seattle, Washington – Seattle’s city population exceeds 582,000 with a metro population of 3.2 million people.

Portland, Oregon – The city of Portland has a population of nearly 537,000 and an additional 2 million in the surrounding metro areas.

Boise, Idaho – Population of Boise is more than 201,000 with 635,000 residing in the surrounding suburbs.

Billings, Montana – Just over 100,000 people live in Billings, with 176,000 more in the surrounding metro areas.

Cheyenne, Wyoming – The smallest “major city” in the Northwest, Cheyenne and its surrounding suburbs has 81,607 residents.

Northwest Weather

The western portion of the United States has a much drier climate than the humid east coast, so the summers in the Northwest are very dry and hot with cold and snowy winters. However, the coastal regions of Oregon and Washington have much more mild winters and receive a lot more rain than snow.

Northwest Freeways

East and West

I-90, the longest interstate in the country, begins in Seattle, Washington and crosses through all the Northwest states with the exception of Oregon.
I-84, which roughly follows the original Oregon Trail, begins in Portland, Oregon and ends in Echo, Utah.


North and South

I-5 runs directly parallel to the Pacific Coast in Oregon and Washington.
I-15 is a major north and south highway through Wyoming and Montana and the rest of the western United States.