States we cover

How a trade works across state lines

Most reel trades involve two places. A seller has empties in one yard; a buyer needs them somewhere else, sometimes in the same state, often in the next one, occasionally across the country. We write up the seller's reel lot by size, count and condition, quote the buyer, and arrange a truck to move the reels directly from one to the other. Nothing goes through a depot of ours, because we do not have one.

That makes the price of any trade partly a freight question. A trailer costs much the same to move whether it carries 8 reels or 200, so the distance it travels and the number of reels sharing the trip decide what each reel's share of the freight comes to.

1. 01

   Seller sends the lot

   Sizes, counts, photos, location and what loading equipment is on site.

2. 02

   We match a buyer

   Nearby where possible, so the freight stays in proportion to the reels.

3. 03

   We arrange the truck

   Van or flatbed, chosen for the sizes, the count and the access at both ends.

4. 04

   Reels move direct

   Loaded at the seller's yard, delivered to the buyer's, with the lot sheet as the record of what was on the trailer.

Combined loads

Not every lot fills a trailer. Forty small reels at one contractor and sixty at another, a few hours apart, can share one trailer and split its cost. A pickup on the way to a delivery can ride on space that would otherwise travel empty. A buyer who needs mixed sizes can sometimes be supplied from two sellers' lots on one load, big reels at the nose and small ones filling in behind.

Combined loads are the single best way to keep freight per reel down outside the busiest regions. They need a little patience, because the second lot has to be ready at the right time, and they need clear write-ups, because the driver must know which reels belong to which stop. When a combined load is possible, we will say so in the quote.

Freight lanes that carry reel loads

Reels move on the same interstate network as everything else, and a seller and buyer on the same lane are easier to connect than two on different ones. Some of the long corridors that matter most for reels are below. They link wire plant regions, big utility service areas and broadband build-outs.

Routes listed by the states on our coverage list that each interstate passes through. A real load follows whatever route the carrier chooses.

Where empties collect

Reels pile up where cable is made, sold and installed. Wire plants cluster in a few regions. Southwire is headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia, and lists plants in Villa Rica, Georgia, Florence, Alabama, and Dallas, Denton and Mineral Wells, Texas. Encore Wire, now part of Prysmian, is based in McKinney, Texas. The distributors and contractors that buy from those plants are dense in the same regions, which makes the Georgia-Alabama corridor and North Texas strong sources of empties.

Beyond the plant regions, empties follow construction. Utility distribution spending reached $50.9 billion in 2023, according to the EIA, and BEAD broadband plans cover about 3.79 million locations across all 56 states and territories. Wherever those dollars land, reels are emptied. A state page describes its own mix where we have something specific to say.

Long hauls and thin regions

Some states produce fewer reel lots, or sit far from the nearest buyer of a given size. In those places a full single-size load is rare, and freight is a bigger share of the price. The answer is usually to wait for a combined load, to move reels in the direction a trailer is already going, or to find a buyer in the same state. We will quote honestly when the freight makes a trade marginal, including when a local buyer would serve you better.

Very large reels are the exception to the distance rule in one sense: only 8 or 9 of the 84 to 96 inch sizes fit a 53-foot van, according to Sonoco's packing guide, so they cost a lot to move anywhere. Buyers of those sizes are few and usually know they will be paying for freight.

Rules of the road that apply everywhere

• Width: the federal limit for most trailers on interstates is 102 inches, so reels side by side must fit inside it, out-to-out.
• Weight: the federal gross limit on interstates is 80,000 pounds. Empty reels rarely approach it; they fill a trailer by space first.
• Height: most states allow 13 feet 6 inches. A 96-inch reel stood on a standard flatbed comes close, so the tallest reels may need a step-deck.
• Securement: chock both flanges and strap through the arbor or over the drum.
• Access: tell us about docks, forklifts, gate width and whether a 53-foot trailer can turn in, at both ends.

Selling from or buying into your state

Pick your state below to see what we know about reels there. If your state is not listed, ask anyway; the list is not a hard boundary. Either way, the first thing we need is the same: sizes as flange x traverse x drum, counts, photos and a location, sent to info@cablereelsforsale.com or through the form.