Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Knoxville

Knoxville, by road

I-40 and I-75 meet here, and I-81 begins a short drive east at Dandridge. The Knoxville area sits in Tennessee, and the freight pattern follows the roads above.

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 2.1 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Knox and Loudon... counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 25 establishments between them. Knoxville (37921) leads with 8, 32.0 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Knox County has 1,454 warehousing jobs, 83.0 percent of the 1,751 in the Knoxville area.
• Loudon County has 257 warehousing jobs, 14.7 percent of the 1,751 in the Knoxville area, 1,197 fewer than Knox.
• Roane County has 40 warehousing jobs, 2.3 percent of the 1,751 in the Knoxville area, 1,414 fewer than Knox.
• Knoxville (37917) has 2 fewer warehousing establishments than Knoxville (37921), 6 against 8.
• Knoxville (37922) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Knoxville (37921), 4 against 8.
• Maryville (37801) has 4 fewer warehousing establishments than Knoxville (37921), 4 against 8.
• Knoxville (37914) has 5 fewer warehousing establishments than Knoxville (37921), 3 against 8.
• Knox County's 1,454 is 2.7 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• Loudon County's 257 is 0.5 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• Roane County's 40 is 0.1 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• ZIP 37921 in Knoxville ranks number 1 of the five, with 8 warehousing establishments, 32.0 percent of their combined total and 2.67 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37917 in Knoxville ranks number 2 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 24.0 percent of their combined total and 2.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37922 in Knoxville ranks number 3 of the five, with 4 warehousing establishments, 16.0 percent of their combined total and 1.33 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37801 in Maryville ranks number 4 of the five, with 4 warehousing establishments, 16.0 percent of their combined total and 1.33 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37914 in Knoxville ranks number 5 of the five, with 3 warehousing establishments, 12.0 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 2,979 in the area (partial), 1.70 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 2,813 in the area (partial), 1.61 for every warehousing job.
• Tennessee's motor vehicle parts manufacturing employment, 38,791, is 22.15 times the Knoxville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's motor vehicle manufacturing employment, 19,453, is 11.11 times the Knoxville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's chemical manufacturing employment, 27,214, is 15.54 times the Knoxville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's warehousing and storage employment, 53,427, is 30.51 times the Knoxville area's warehousing jobs.
• Memphis, also in Tennessee, has 27,742 warehousing jobs, 15.84 times Knoxville's.
• Nashville, also in Tennessee, has 19,548 warehousing jobs, 11.16 times Knoxville's.

Who ships pallets here

In Knoxville, motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 2,979 (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 25 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Knoxville sent back 1,200 empty pallets in a week, that would be 30,000 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 3 metros of Tennessee that have a page here, Knoxville ranks number 3 by warehousing jobs.

Knoxville holds 3.3 percent of Tennessee's 53,427 private warehousing jobs. See the Tennessee page for the whole state.

Other metros in Tennessee with their own page: Memphis and Nashville.

Interstates serving the area: I-81, I-75 and I-40.

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.

Drayage

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

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.

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.

Recycled content

The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.

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.

Interstate corridor

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

UL

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