Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Detroit

Detroit, by road

Geography first: i-75, I-94 and I-96 meet here, and the Ambassador Bridge sends auto parts across the river to Windsor. That is the setting for a pallet buyer in the Detroit area of Michigan.

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 9.4 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Wayne, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 70 establishments between them. Livonia (48150) leads with 19, 27.1 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Wayne County has 22,255 warehousing jobs, 74.0 percent of the 30,083 in the Detroit area.
• Oakland County has 4,113 warehousing jobs, 13.7 percent of the 30,083 in the Detroit area, 18,142 fewer than Wayne.
• Macomb County has 3,556 warehousing jobs, 11.8 percent of the 30,083 in the Detroit area, 18,699 fewer than Wayne.
• Romulus (48174) has 1 fewer warehousing establishments than Livonia (48150), 18 against 19.
• Taylor (48180) has 7 fewer warehousing establishments than Livonia (48150), 12 against 19.
• Belleville (48111) has 8 fewer warehousing establishments than Livonia (48150), 11 against 19.
• Trenton (48183) has 9 fewer warehousing establishments than Livonia (48150), 10 against 19.
• Wayne County's 22,255 is 54.6 percent of all 40,753 warehousing jobs in Michigan.
• Oakland County's 4,113 is 10.1 percent of all 40,753 warehousing jobs in Michigan.
• Macomb County's 3,556 is 8.7 percent of all 40,753 warehousing jobs in Michigan.
• ZIP 48150 in Livonia ranks number 1 of the five, with 19 warehousing establishments, 27.1 percent of their combined total and 1.90 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 48174 in Romulus ranks number 2 of the five, with 18 warehousing establishments, 25.7 percent of their combined total and 1.80 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 48180 in Taylor ranks number 3 of the five, with 12 warehousing establishments, 17.1 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 48111 in Belleville ranks number 4 of the five, with 11 warehousing establishments, 15.7 percent of their combined total and 1.10 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 48183 in Trenton ranks number 5 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 14.3 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 62,892 in the area (partial), 2.09 for every warehousing job.
• Motor vehicle manufacturing employs 24,923 in the area (partial), 0.83 for every warehousing job.
• Michigan's motor vehicle parts manufacturing employment, 111,465, is 3.71 times the Detroit area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's motor vehicle manufacturing employment, 44,870, is 1.49 times the Detroit area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's plastics product manufacturing employment, 32,916, is 1.09 times the Detroit area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's refrigerated warehousing employment, 3,158, is 0.10 times the Detroit area's warehousing jobs.
• Grand Rapids, also in Michigan, has 3,125 warehousing jobs, 0.10 times Detroit's.

Who ships pallets here

In Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 62,892 (a partial count). Parts suppliers move heavy loads in a loop with a customer, so dynamic load and a sound return plan matter together. 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 70 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Detroit sent back 500 empty pallets in a week, that would be 35,000 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 2 metros of Michigan that have a page here, Detroit ranks number 1 by warehousing jobs.

Detroit holds 73.8 percent of Michigan's 40,753 private warehousing jobs. See the Michigan page for the whole state.

Other metros in Michigan with their own page: Grand Rapids.

Interstates serving the area: I-75.

Words on this page

Reefer

A refrigerated trailer or container.

UL

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

Pallet pooling

A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.

TEU

Twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard way ports count containers. A 40 ft container is two TEUs.

Closed deck

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

Stretch wrap

Elastic film wound around a loaded pallet to hold the load together.

Location quotient

A place's share of employment in a trade divided by the national share. Above 1 means the trade is more concentrated there than average.

Interstate corridor

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

Creep

Slow, permanent bending of plastic under a steady load. A pallet can hold a load for an hour and bow under it after a month.