Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Milwaukee

Milwaukee, by road

I-94, I-43 and I-41 meet on the Lake Michigan shore, an hour and a half from Chicago. Milwaukee is counted here as the metropolitan area in Wisconsin that the Census Bureau delineates, and its pallet traffic is set by that geography.

Food manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 1.2 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 29 establishments between them. Milwaukee (53209) leads with 7, 24.1 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Milwaukee County has 4,244 warehousing jobs, 51.4 percent of the 8,262 in the Milwaukee area.
• Waukesha County has 3,634 warehousing jobs, 44.0 percent of the 8,262 in the Milwaukee area, 610 fewer than Milwaukee.
• Washington County has 384 warehousing jobs, 4.6 percent of the 8,262 in the Milwaukee area, 3,860 fewer than Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee (53218) has 1 fewer warehousing establishments than Milwaukee (53209), 6 against 7.
• Menomonee Falls (53051) has 1 fewer warehousing establishments than Milwaukee (53209), 6 against 7.
• Milwaukee (53207) has 2 fewer warehousing establishments than Milwaukee (53209), 5 against 7.
• Waukesha (53186) has 2 fewer warehousing establishments than Milwaukee (53209), 5 against 7.
• Milwaukee County's 4,244 is 12.8 percent of all 33,054 warehousing jobs in Wisconsin.
• Waukesha County's 3,634 is 11.0 percent of all 33,054 warehousing jobs in Wisconsin.
• Washington County's 384 is 1.2 percent of all 33,054 warehousing jobs in Wisconsin.
• ZIP 53209 in Milwaukee ranks number 1 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 24.1 percent of their combined total and 1.40 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 53218 in Milwaukee ranks number 2 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 20.7 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 53051 in Menomonee Falls ranks number 3 of the five, with 6 warehousing establishments, 20.7 percent of their combined total and 1.20 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 53207 in Milwaukee ranks number 4 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 17.2 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 53186 in Waukesha ranks number 5 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 17.2 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Food manufacturing employs 11,405 in the area, 1.38 for every warehousing job.
• Warehousing and storage employs 8,262 in the area (partial), 1.00 for every warehousing job.
• Wisconsin's dairy product manufacturing employment, 28,840, is 3.49 times the Milwaukee area's warehousing jobs.
• Wisconsin's fruit and vegetable preserving employment, 11,014, is 1.33 times the Milwaukee area's warehousing jobs.
• Wisconsin's plastics product manufacturing employment, 29,656, is 3.59 times the Milwaukee area's warehousing jobs.
• Wisconsin's food manufacturing employment, 81,993, is 9.92 times the Milwaukee area's warehousing jobs.
• Green Bay, also in Wisconsin, has 584 warehousing jobs, 0.07 times Milwaukee's.

Who ships pallets here

In Milwaukee-Waukesha, food manufacturing employs 11,405. The buyer here is usually a plant or sanitation manager, and the questions are cleaning, deck type and what paperwork comes with the model. It tends to lean on nestable or stackable that washes down, open or closed deck by product, usually in 48 x 40 in, and to ask about resin and colourant documentation, since FDA does not approve pallet models.

The empty return

An illustration, not a forecast: if each of 29 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Milwaukee sent back 800 empty pallets in a week, that would be 23,200 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 2 metros of Wisconsin that have a page here, Milwaukee ranks number 1 by warehousing jobs.

Milwaukee holds 25.0 percent of Wisconsin's 33,054 private warehousing jobs. See the Wisconsin page for the whole state.

Other metros in Wisconsin with their own page: Green Bay.

Words on this page

Closed deck

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

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.

Establishment

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

Beam span

The open gap between two rack beams. The longer the span, the lower the load the pallet can carry across it.

QCEW

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

Edge rack

A rack arrangement where the pallet rests on the edges of the beams. It is the common test case for a racking rating.

3PL

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

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.

Drayage

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