Bulk containers along Interstate 5

I-5 is the only continuous interstate from the Mexican border to the Canadian one, through California, Oregon and Washington. It carries the West Coast's produce: from the Central Valley, the Willamette Valley and the farms around Puget Sound to the ports and cities.

The corridor's metros had 86,962 warehousing jobs in 2025, led by Stockton (28,518) and Los Angeles (27,225), and grocery wholesale is the industry most concentrated along it, 68,684 jobs at 1.3 times the national share.

For containers, that means harvest bins and produce bins as much as industrial ones. Macro bins travel the corridor between growers and packers, and grocery distributors move lidded bins. The seasons are long here, and bins that sit in the sun between uses need resin with UV stabilisation, which we confirm for the model.

I-5 runs from the Mexican border at San Ysidro to the Canadian border at Blaine, linking San Diego, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Portland and Seattle. Through the San Joaquin Valley it runs on the west side, away from the towns, and Highway 99 serves the east; most valley freight uses one or the other. The Grapevine over the Tehachapi Mountains and the Siskiyou Pass near the Oregon line are the two steep climbs, and both close at times in winter storms. Harvest bins travel the road in season: apples and pears from Washington and Oregon, almonds and tomatoes from California. Long trips favour folding containers on the way back.

Seattle, Tacoma and Portland ports load and unload along it.

Sacramento sits where it meets I-80.

Along I-5 buyers are fruit packers in Washington and Oregon, nut and tomato processors in California, and port warehouses at each end.

Through Oregon's Willamette Valley it passes hazelnut, berry and grass seed farms.

Near the Mexican border, San Diego and Otay Mesa handle maquiladora freight in returnable containers. In California's north, Redding and Red Bluff sit among orchards of walnuts and prunes. Washington's stretch passes berry and dairy farms in Skagit and Whatcom counties before reaching the Canadian line at Blaine.