Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Cleveland

Cleveland, by road

Geography first: i-71, I-77 and the Ohio Turnpike meet on Lake Erie, with a port that moves bulk and steel. That is the setting for a pallet buyer in the Cleveland area of Ohio.

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 2.4 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 33 establishments between them. Solon (44139) leads with 10, 30.3 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Cuyahoga County has 12,498 warehousing jobs, 91.5 percent of the 13,652 in the Cleveland area.
• Medina County has 530 warehousing jobs, 3.9 percent of the 13,652 in the Cleveland area, 11,968 fewer than Cuyahoga.
• Lorain County has 422 warehousing jobs, 3.1 percent of the 13,652 in the Cleveland area, 12,076 fewer than Cuyahoga.
• Strongsville (44149) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Solon (44139), 6 against 10.
• Bedford (44146) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Solon (44139), 6 against 10.
• Cleveland (44128) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Solon (44139), 6 against 10.
• Brookpark (44142) has 5 fewer warehousing establishments than Solon (44139), 5 against 10.
• Cuyahoga County's 12,498 is 12.7 percent of all 98,354 warehousing jobs in Ohio.
• Medina County's 530 is 0.5 percent of all 98,354 warehousing jobs in Ohio.
• Lorain County's 422 is 0.4 percent of all 98,354 warehousing jobs in Ohio.
• ZIP 44139 in Solon ranks number 1 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 30.3 percent of their combined total and 2.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 44149 in Strongsville ranks number 2 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 18.2 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 44146 in Bedford ranks number 3 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 18.2 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 44128 in Cleveland ranks number 4 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 18.2 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 44142 in Brookpark ranks number 5 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 15.2 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 8,452 in the area, 0.62 for every warehousing job.
• Chemical manufacturing employs 11,126 in the area, 0.81 for every warehousing job.
• Plastics product manufacturing employs 5,137 in the area (partial), 0.38 for every warehousing job.
• Ohio's motor vehicle parts manufacturing employment, 62,025, is 4.54 times the Cleveland area's warehousing jobs.
• Ohio's plastics product manufacturing employment, 42,286, is 3.10 times the Cleveland area's warehousing jobs.
• Ohio's motor vehicle manufacturing employment, 19,070, is 1.40 times the Cleveland area's warehousing jobs.
• Ohio's fruit and vegetable preserving employment, 10,327, is 0.76 times the Cleveland area's warehousing jobs.
• Columbus, also in Ohio, has 34,200 warehousing jobs, 2.51 times Cleveland's.
• Cincinnati, also in Ohio, has 19,940 warehousing jobs, 1.46 times Cleveland's.

Who ships pallets here

In Cleveland, motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 8,452. Suppliers weigh the dynamic rating against the way parts move, and ask whether the pallet nests when it comes back empty. It tends to lean on heavy-duty stackable pallets, nestable on the empty return, usually in 48 x 45 in or 48 x 40 in, and to ask about the dynamic load, since parts travel on forklifts and conveyors all day.

The empty return

An illustration, not a forecast: if each of 33 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Cleveland sent back 500 empty pallets in a week, that would be 16,500 pallets. The table counts the 53 ft trailers that takes at three makers' published nestable figures, beside the 540 per trailer of a rackable.

In its state

Among the 3 metros of Ohio that have a page here, Cleveland ranks number 3 by warehousing jobs.

Cleveland holds 13.9 percent of Ohio's 98,354 private warehousing jobs. See the Ohio page for the whole state.

Other metros in Ohio with their own page: Columbus and Cincinnati.

Words on this page

QCEW

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, a Bureau of Labor Statistics count of jobs and establishments taken from unemployment insurance records.

Dock door

The opening where a trailer backs to a building so pallets can be loaded and unloaded.

Static load

The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.

Closed deck

A solid deck that keeps small items and torn bags from falling through and wipes clean on top.

One-way pallet

A light pallet built to carry cargo to a destination and stay there, often used in export.

UL

Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.

Interstate corridor

A freight route named for its highway, together with the metros along it.

Reefer

A refrigerated trailer or container.

4-way entry

A pallet that forks or a pallet jack can enter from all four sides.