Seller process · Pickup and freight
How a Houston cable lot actually leaves the yard.
A reel is not a pallet. Loading, access and weather decide whether a collection takes forty minutes or a second visit.
Moving cable is the part of a sale that goes wrong most often. The cable is fine, the terms are agreed, and then a truck arrives that cannot get through the gate, or a reel turns out to be heavier than the trailer was rated for.
None of that is complicated if it is discussed before the truck is dispatched. This page covers what actually happens between agreeing a lot and the reel leaving your yard.
Who loads, and with what
Almost every Houston contractor yard loads with a forklift. Plant and terminal sites usually have a crane or a large forklift available, but access to it depends on the site's own scheduling. A few small yards have neither, which is worth saying early because it changes what vehicle is sent.
Reel weight is the constraint. A full reel of large feeder or medium voltage cable can weigh several tons, and the reel itself adds hundreds of pounds of wood or steel. A pickup truck and a ramp is fine for coils and small partials; it is not fine for a 5,000 pound reel.
- Forklift with enough capacity for the reel, not just the pallet
- Crane or boom for steel reels and oversized flanges
- Flat, hard standing where the truck can back up
- Clearance overhead if the reel has to be lifted over a fence line
Access at plants, terminals and contractor yards
Ship Channel plants and container terminals control access tightly. Expect gate clearance in advance, a safety orientation, an escort, and restrictions on where a carrier can drive or park. Some facilities require photo identification and a TWIC card for anyone entering the marine side of the property.
Contractor yards are simpler but not always simple. Gate hours may end before the office does, the scale may be shared with another business, and the reel may be at the back of a lot behind equipment that has to move first.
- Gate hours and the name of the person meeting the truck
- Safety orientation and personal protective equipment requirements
- Escort or approved route inside the facility
- Whether a certified scale is on site or nearby
Say early if the site requires a specific carrier, insurance certificate or delivery appointment. It is easier to plan than to rebook.
Flatbed, van or hotshot
Reels travel on a flatbed with the flange blocked and the reel chocked so it cannot roll. Cable coils and small partials can go in a van or on a smaller flatbed with the rest of a load. Long lengths of conduit-sized cable sometimes travel on a hotshot when the volume does not justify a full trailer.
Weather matters more than people expect. Reels that sit on an open trailer through a Houston thunderstorm arrive wet, and water in an open cable end is a real problem. Tarping or sealing the ends before the truck leaves is cheap insurance.
What to have ready before the truck arrives
Stage the cable where it can be reached, keep the reel tags with the reels, and separate anything that is not part of the lot. A truck that arrives to find the agreed reels mixed into a larger pile adds an hour and a conversation.
Have the gate contact, the loading equipment and the paperwork in one place. If the lot is being split between two buyers, say so before loading starts rather than after the first reel is on the trailer.
- Reels staged and accessible, not buried behind equipment
- Tags attached and readable
- Loading equipment identified and available
- Gate contact and site requirements confirmed
- Excluded material clearly separated
Scheduling around an outage, not around us
Plant collections follow the plant's calendar. During a turnaround the gate is busy, the roads inside the fence are full of contractor traffic, and a cable pickup is low priority compared with a critical lift. The realistic plan is to collect before the unit comes down or after the contractor demobilises, not in the middle of the busiest week.
Contractor yards are the opposite. They are quiet early, busy at shift change, and often closed on Saturday afternoon. A collection can usually be slotted into a two-hour window if the reel is staged before the truck arrives.
Either way, the person who can open the gate and the person who can sign the paperwork should both know the date. A truck that arrives to a locked gate is the most expensive outcome in this whole process.
Questions sellers ask
Who arranges and pays for freight?
It depends on the lot and is agreed in writing before anything moves. On larger lots the buyer typically arranges collection; on small lots a seller may prefer to deliver. Either way, the cost and responsibility are settled before the truck is booked.
Can you load a steel reel without a crane?
Sometimes. A large forklift with the right capacity can handle most steel reels, but oversized or very heavy reels need a crane. Send a photograph of the reel and say what equipment is on site, and the collection is planned around it.
How long does a pickup take?
A single staged reel at a contractor yard is often under an hour. A plant collection with gate clearance, escort and multiple reels takes most of a day, which is why those are scheduled rather than dispatched on demand.
What if the cable is at the back of a crowded yard?
It happens constantly. Tell us what has to move first and roughly how much space is available. A site visit before dispatch usually saves a wasted trip, especially where a crane cannot reach the reel where it sits.
Buying desk · Greater Houston
Ready to move a lot?
Tell us what is on the reel, where it sits and what condition it is in. A buyer reviews the lot, asks for photographs of the tag and the cut end, and comes back with a real answer — not a request to call a call centre.
- Cable type, size and voltage class
- Footage, reel count or weight, and condition
- City, and whether the site has loading equipment