Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, by road

I-96 and US-131 cross in West Michigan, a manufacturing region with its own supplier base. Grand Rapids is counted here as the metropolitan area in Michigan that the Census Bureau delineates, and its pallet traffic is set by that geography.

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 6 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm and Ottawa counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 41 establishments between them. Grand Rapids (49512) leads with 11, 26.8 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Kent County has 3,064 warehousing jobs, 98.0 percent of the 3,125 in the Grand Rapids area.
• Ottawa County has 61 warehousing jobs, 2.0 percent of the 3,125 in the Grand Rapids area, 3,003 fewer than Kent.
• Grand Rapids (49544) has 1 fewer warehousing establishments than Grand Rapids (49512), 10 against 11.
• Grand Rapids (49548) has 3 fewer warehousing establishments than Grand Rapids (49512), 8 against 11.
• Wyoming (49509) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Grand Rapids (49512), 7 against 11.
• Grand Rapids (49503) has 6 fewer warehousing establishments than Grand Rapids (49512), 5 against 11.
• Kent County's 3,064 is 7.5 percent of all 40,753 warehousing jobs in Michigan.
• Ottawa County's 61 is 0.1 percent of all 40,753 warehousing jobs in Michigan.
• ZIP 49512 in Grand Rapids ranks number 1 of the five, with 11 warehousing establishments, 26.8 percent of their combined total and 2.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 49544 in Grand Rapids ranks number 2 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 24.4 percent of their combined total and 2.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 49548 in Grand Rapids ranks number 3 of the five, with 8 warehousing establishments, 19.5 percent of their combined total and 1.60 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 49509 in Wyoming ranks number 4 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 17.1 percent of their combined total and 1.40 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 49503 in Grand Rapids ranks number 5 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 12.2 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 12,664 in the area (partial), 4.05 for every warehousing job.
• Plastics product manufacturing employs 6,946 in the area (partial), 2.22 for every warehousing job.
• Dairy product manufacturing employs 1,450 in the area (partial), 0.46 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 13,424 in the area (partial), 4.30 for every warehousing job.
• Grocery and related product wholesale employs 5,218 in the area (partial), 1.67 for every warehousing job.
• Meat and poultry processing employs 3,000 in the area (partial), 0.96 for every warehousing job.
• Michigan's motor vehicle parts manufacturing employment, 111,465, is 35.67 times the Grand Rapids area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's motor vehicle manufacturing employment, 44,870, is 14.36 times the Grand Rapids area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's plastics product manufacturing employment, 32,916, is 10.53 times the Grand Rapids area's warehousing jobs.
• Michigan's refrigerated warehousing employment, 3,158, is 1.01 times the Grand Rapids area's warehousing jobs.
• Detroit, also in Michigan, has 30,083 warehousing jobs, 9.63 times Grand Rapids's.

Who ships pallets here

In Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 12,664 (a partial count). 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 41 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Grand Rapids sent back 800 empty pallets in a week, that would be 32,800 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, Grand Rapids ranks number 2 by warehousing jobs.

Grand Rapids holds 7.7 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: Detroit.

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.

Commodity class

A fire-protection category for stored goods and their pallets, used to design sprinkler systems.

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.

Cruciform base

A base shaped like a plus sign under the pallet, which gives a stable footprint and slides well on conveyors.

Establishment

A single physical location where a business operates, such as one warehouse. A company with ten warehouses has ten establishments.

RFID tag

A small radio tag moulded into or attached to a pallet so readers can track it through a plant or a loop.

Drayage

The short haul of a container between a port or rail ramp and a warehouse.

Interstate corridor

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

Reefer

A refrigerated trailer or container.