Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Nashville

Nashville, by road

I-24, I-40 and I-65 meet at Nashville, which puts it on the main Southeast-to-Midwest freight line. Nashville is counted here as the metropolitan area in Tennessee 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 1.5 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman and Macon... counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 94 establishments between them. La Vergne (37086) leads with 30, 31.9 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Wilson County has 9,641 warehousing jobs, 49.3 percent of the 19,548 in the Nashville area.
• Rutherford County has 5,778 warehousing jobs, 29.6 percent of the 19,548 in the Nashville area, 3,863 fewer than Wilson.
• Davidson County has 2,381 warehousing jobs, 12.2 percent of the 19,548 in the Nashville area, 7,260 fewer than Wilson.
• Lebanon (37090) has 7 fewer warehousing establishments than La Vergne (37086), 23 against 30.
• Mount Juliet (37122) has 9 fewer warehousing establishments than La Vergne (37086), 21 against 30.
• Nashville (37210) has 20 fewer warehousing establishments than La Vergne (37086), 10 against 30.
• Portland (37148) has 20 fewer warehousing establishments than La Vergne (37086), 10 against 30.
• Wilson County's 9,641 is 18.0 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• Rutherford County's 5,778 is 10.8 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• Davidson County's 2,381 is 4.5 percent of all 53,427 warehousing jobs in Tennessee.
• ZIP 37086 in La Vergne ranks number 1 of the five, with 30 warehousing establishments, 31.9 percent of their combined total and 3.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37090 in Lebanon ranks number 2 of the five, with 23 warehousing establishments, 24.5 percent of their combined total and 2.30 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37122 in Mount Juliet ranks number 3 of the five, with 21 warehousing establishments, 22.3 percent of their combined total and 2.10 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37210 in Nashville ranks number 4 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 10.6 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 37148 in Portland ranks number 5 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 10.6 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 5,885 in the area (partial), 0.30 for every warehousing job.
• Warehousing and storage employs 19,548 in the area (partial), 1.00 for every warehousing job.
• Tennessee's motor vehicle parts manufacturing employment, 38,791, is 1.98 times the Nashville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's motor vehicle manufacturing employment, 19,453, is 1.00 times the Nashville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's chemical manufacturing employment, 27,214, is 1.39 times the Nashville area's warehousing jobs.
• Tennessee's warehousing and storage employment, 53,427, is 2.73 times the Nashville area's warehousing jobs.
• Memphis, also in Tennessee, has 27,742 warehousing jobs, 1.42 times Nashville's.
• Knoxville, also in Tennessee, has 1,751 warehousing jobs, 0.09 times Nashville's.

Who ships pallets here

In Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, motor vehicle parts manufacturing employs 5,885 (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 94 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Nashville sent back 800 empty pallets in a week, that would be 75,200 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 3 metros of Tennessee that have a page here, Nashville ranks number 2 by warehousing jobs.

Nashville holds 36.6 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 Knoxville.

Interstates serving the area: I-65 and I-40.

Words on this page

Metropolitan area

A group of counties around an urban core, as the Census Bureau delineates it. Metro pages here follow those lines.

2-way entry

A pallet that can be lifted from only two opposite sides.

ZIP Code Business Patterns

A Census Bureau series that counts establishments by ZIP code and industry.

Static load

The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.

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.

3PL

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

Dunnage

Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.

Dynamic load

The weight a pallet holds while it is moved by a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor. It is lower than static because motion adds shock.

Slip sheet

A thin sheet of plastic or fibreboard used under a load in place of a pallet, handled by a push-pull attachment.