Plastic crates and bulk bins in Washington

Apple country runs on bins

Washington has led the US in apple production since the 1920s, and apples were again its top crop in 2025 at about $1.89 billion in value of production, per USDA NASS. Potatoes, wheat, cherries and hops followed. Around Wenatchee and the Yakima Valley, that means a lot of fruit moving from tree to cold storage to packing line in bins.

The orchard bin is a macro bin: one-piece, forklift-ready, usually close to 47x39 or 48x40 at the base, with vented sides so cold air reaches fruit in a controlled-atmosphere room. Tell us whether the bins stack in a CA room, how many high, and whether the runners must suit your bin trailers. A smooth inner wall matters for bruise-prone varieties.

Cherries, potatoes and hops need different boxes

Cherries are picked into small lugs and moved fast, so growers ask for hand-held vented crates that nest when empty and stack when full. Potatoes are heavy and dirty; buyers want a sturdy bulk bin with a drainable floor or a solid deck, depending on the wash step. Dried hops travel in bales, but hop yards and brewers still buy totes for trim, tools and returns.

Some potato processors run bulk containers with a sloped bottom or a dump-friendly lip so tippers can empty them quickly. If yours tip with a rotator, give us the clamp dimensions.

What Washington buyers usually request

Ports, I-90 and how loads leave the state

Washington's ports handle about 8% of US exports and receive about 6% of imports. Seattle, Tacoma and Kalama all sat in the 30s among US ports by 2023 total trade. Inland, I-90 crosses the Cascades to Spokane, I-82 runs down through Yakima, and I-5 ties Tacoma to Portland.

For an export program, collapsibles earn their price on the empty return. ORBIS lists its GP4048-34 at 34.1 inches tall and 13.5 inches collapsed, a 2.7:1 return ratio, 90 assembled or 240 folded in a 53-foot trailer. Bins for an orchard across the valley rarely need that: a few dozen go on a flatbed or a dry van, quoted as LTL or a partial.

Truck building around Renton

Kenworth builds trucks in Renton, where its plant opened in 1993, and PACCAR Parts was created there too. Heavy-truck suppliers often run the 48x45 automotive footprint with drop doors on the long side, plus hand-held stacking containers for small parts. Give us the part, the weight per container and whether your line needs a picture-frame base or a solid deck, and we match it.

Wheat, dairy and the rest of the farm map

Away from the orchards, Washington has about 31,500 farms on 13.7 million acres, and it produced about 5.83 billion lb of milk in 2025. Wheat country in the Palouse and the Columbia Basin ships grain in bulk, yet seed dealers, elevators and labs still order solid totes for samples, spill cleanup and small-lot handling.

Dairies and milk plants along the I-5 lowlands buy stacking crates and attached-lid containers for cased goods and spare parts. Hop farms around Yakima often want a tough tote that tolerates a dusty kiln floor. Whatever the job, a short note on the weight inside, how high you stack, and whether boxes ride a conveyor gets you a closer match than a catalog number would.

• Footprint and outside height, in inches or millimeters
• Load weight per container and stacking height, full and empty
• Vented or solid wall, open or closed deck
• New, used or refurbished, and the grade you'll accept
• Delivery address and whether there's a dock or forklift

Sell your surplus bins

Orchards that replant or switch to a rental program often hold bins they no longer need. We buy them. A count, the base size, the wall pattern, the condition (cracked runners, warped floors) and the pickup address are enough to start, plus what the bins last held. Use our harvest bins page.