Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Fresno

Fresno, by road

It sits in the Central Valley on State Route 99, between the vegetable fields to the west and the Sierra orchards to the east. The Fresno area sits in California, and the freight pattern follows the roads above.

Fruit and vegetable preserving is where this area is most concentrated, at 6.5 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Fresno and Madera county.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 51 establishments between them. Fresno (93725) leads with 30, 58.8 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Fresno County has 5,006 warehousing jobs, 100.0 percent of the 5,006 in the Fresno area.
• Fresno (93727) has 23 fewer warehousing establishments than Fresno (93725), 7 against 30.
• Fresno (93706) has 24 fewer warehousing establishments than Fresno (93725), 6 against 30.
• Reedley (93654) has 25 fewer warehousing establishments than Fresno (93725), 5 against 30.
• Fresno (93711) has 27 fewer warehousing establishments than Fresno (93725), 3 against 30.
• Fresno County's 5,006 is 2.1 percent of all 236,923 warehousing jobs in California.
• ZIP 93725 in Fresno ranks number 1 of the five, with 30 warehousing establishments, 58.8 percent of their combined total and 10.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 93727 in Fresno ranks number 2 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 13.7 percent of their combined total and 2.33 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 93706 in Fresno ranks number 3 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 11.8 percent of their combined total and 2.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 93654 in Reedley ranks number 4 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 9.8 percent of their combined total and 1.67 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 93711 in Fresno ranks number 5 of the five, with 3 warehousing establishments, 5.9 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Fruit and vegetable preserving employs 3,355 in the area (partial), 0.67 for every warehousing job.
• Meat and poultry processing employs 6,499 in the area (partial), 1.30 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 13,497 in the area, 2.70 for every warehousing job.
• Beverage manufacturing employs 1,655 in the area, 0.33 for every warehousing job.
• Grocery and related product wholesale employs 4,304 in the area, 0.86 for every warehousing job.
• California's beverage manufacturing employment, 63,604, is 12.71 times the Fresno area's warehousing jobs.
• California's fruit and vegetable preserving employment, 27,518, is 5.50 times the Fresno area's warehousing jobs.
• Los Angeles, also in California, has 27,225 warehousing jobs, 5.44 times Fresno's.
• Inland Empire, also in California, has 118,368 warehousing jobs, 23.65 times Fresno's.
• Stockton, also in California, has 28,518 warehousing jobs, 5.70 times Fresno's.

Who ships pallets here

In Fresno, fruit and vegetable preserving employs 3,355 (a partial count). Seasonal volume means a lot of empties for a few weeks, which is where the nest increment pays: a short stack fits a trailer headed back to the field. It tends to lean on nestable, because bins and pallets return to the grower empty, usually in 48 x 40 in, with 48 x 48 where bins are square, and to ask about the static load for the heaviest filled stack.

The empty return

An illustration, not a forecast: if each of 51 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Fresno sent back 1,200 empty pallets in a week, that would be 61,200 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 6 metros of California that have a page here, Fresno ranks number 5 by warehousing jobs.

Fresno holds 2.1 percent of California's 236,923 private warehousing jobs. See the California page for the whole state.

Other metros in California with their own page: Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Stockton, San Francisco-Oakland and Salinas.

Words on this page

Polypropylene

Another common pallet resin, lighter and stiffer than some others, with its own behaviour in the cold.

Closed loop

A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.

Intermodal

Freight that changes between truck, rail and ship in the same container.

3PL

A third-party logistics company that stores and ships goods for other businesses.

ISPM 15

An international standard on treating and marking wood packaging material. Plastic is outside 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.

Pallet jack

A hand or powered truck with two forks, used to move a pallet short distances.

Gross cubic feet

The total volume of a refrigerated warehouse. Usable space is smaller once aisles and equipment are subtracted.

Racking load

The weight a pallet holds when it rests on two rack beams with an open gap between them. It is usually the lowest rating and only exists for pallets built for racks.