- Lanes
- Ports and the 710, Alameda Corridor and Vernon, San Gabriel Valley and the 60, San Fernando Valley, 5 and 118, South Bay and the 405, Orange County on the 5, Antelope Valley and the 14, Santa Clarita on the 5
- ZIP codes listed
- 58
- Outside the area
- San Diego County, and anywhere beyond the four counties
- Other counties
- Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County
Empty reel pickup in Los Angeles County
We pick up empty wooden spools and cable reels across Los Angeles County: the ports and the Alameda Corridor, the Gateway Cities and the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley. Seven lanes cover it, and twenty-two area pages list the cities and districts the runs reach.
What empties reels in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County empties more cable reels than the rest of our map combined. Two of the busiest container ports in the country sit at its southern edge, the Alameda Corridor carries their freight north through Compton, Huntington Park and Vernon, and the industrial cities along the 710, the 5 and the 60 hold thousands of plants, warehouses, contractors and distributors. Vernon alone is almost entirely industrial, with food plants that employ close to 10,700 people and two large data-centre projects.
North of downtown the county changes character. The San Fernando Valley keeps its heavy work along San Fernando Road in Sun Valley and Pacoima, its aerospace and electronics parks in Chatsworth and Canoga Park, and its airport businesses in Van Nuys. Over the Newhall Pass, Santa Clarita has the Valencia Commerce Center, and further north, Palmdale and Lancaster have Air Force Plant 42 and some of the largest solar plants in the state.
Every one of those places buys cable on wooden reels and is left with the empties. A county this big cannot be run as one route, so we split it into lanes by freeway, and a stack anywhere in it rides on whichever run passes closest.
Every Los Angeles County area we run to
The lanes that cover Los Angeles County
The ports lane and the Alameda Corridor lane share the south end of the county; the San Gabriel Valley lane runs east on the 60 to Pomona; the South Bay lane follows the 405; the San Fernando Valley lane works the valley from Sun Valley to Chatsworth; and the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley lanes go north over the Newhall Pass.
Who does the cable work in Los Angeles County
Utility cable work is the largest single source of big reels here, and it is split between owners. Inside the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Water and Power replaces underground cable every year under its Power System Reliability Program: 61.5 miles in fiscal 2025-26. Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and Vernon run their own electric utilities. Southern California Edison serves most of the rest of the county, including the fire-rebuild areas of Altadena and Malibu, where its preliminary plan calls for about 153 circuit miles of undergrounding. Add the state's middle-mile fibre network, about 421 miles of it in the county, and the reel supply is steady for years.
Those owners are where the cable work happens, not our customers; the contractors working for them call us. See where the region's empty reels come from.
Reel sizes across Los Angeles County
| Flange | Common in | Empties per 53 ft deck (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 in | City of Industry, Torrance, El Segundo, Huntington Park, Northeast Los Angeles, Pacoima, Chatsworth, Canoga Park, Santa Clarita, Palmdale | 416 |
| 30 in | Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Compton, El Segundo, Huntington Park, Northeast Los Angeles, Sun Valley, Chatsworth, Van Nuys, Pomona | 189 |
| 36 in | Commerce, City of Industry, Carson, Torrance, Huntington Park, Northeast Los Angeles, Pacoima, Chatsworth, Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, Pomona | 102 |
| 42 in | Commerce, Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, Compton, El Segundo, Sun Valley, Pacoima, Canoga Park | 60 |
| 48 in | Vernon, Commerce, City of Industry, Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Carson, Rancho Dominguez, Compton, Wilmington, Torrance, Huntington Park, Northeast Los Angeles, Sun Valley, Chatsworth, Van Nuys, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, Pomona | 26 to 30 |
| 60 in | City of Industry, Carson, Compton, El Segundo, Pacoima, Canoga Park, Lancaster, Pomona | 24 to 28 |
| 72 in | Vernon, Commerce, Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Carson, Rancho Dominguez, Wilmington, Torrance, Sun Valley, Van Nuys, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster | 20 to 24 |
| 84 in | Wilmington | 18 to 22 |
| 96 in | Vernon, Long Beach, Wilmington | 16 to 18 |
Buying spools in Los Angeles County
Buyers in the county are as varied as the sellers. Contractors pick up sound reels to store cable of their own; makers and furniture builders want 24 to 42 inch spools for tables; film and event companies want matched sets; and growers and nurseries take larger reels for benches and staging. Because the same truck that collects in Sun Valley can deliver in Long Beach, a buy order in LA County usually rides on a pickup run.
Los Angeles County pickup questions
Is all of Los Angeles County covered?
The industrial and commercial areas are, through seven lanes. Remote canyon and mountain addresses are harder; send the address and we will tell you.
Which lane serves downtown Los Angeles?
The Alameda Corridor lane passes just east and south of downtown, and the San Gabriel Valley lane starts in Northeast Los Angeles.
Do you pick up on Catalina Island?
No. Our runs are by road only.
Why do some LA County pages mention LADWP and others Edison?
Because the utility that owns the street cable depends on the city. The City of Los Angeles has its own utility; most other cities are served by Southern California Edison.
Can I buy spools and have them delivered in LA County?
Yes. Deliveries ride on pickup runs, so tell us the size, the count and the ZIP and we will say which run can bring them.