Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Northwest Arkansas

Northwest Arkansas, by road

Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville sit along I-49 and US-71, among the retail and poultry headquarters towns of the state. Northwest Arkansas is counted here as the metropolitan area in Arkansas that the Census Bureau delineates, and its pallet traffic is set by that geography.

Meat and poultry processing is where this area is most concentrated, at 8.3 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Benton, Madison and Washington counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 31 establishments between them. Springdale (72764) leads with 7, 22.6 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Benton County has 2,670 warehousing jobs, 87.1 percent of the 3,065 in the Northwest Arkansas area.
• Washington County has 395 warehousing jobs, 12.9 percent of the 3,065 in the Northwest Arkansas area, 2,275 fewer than Benton.
• Rogers (72756) has 0 fewer warehousing establishments than Springdale (72764), 7 against 7.
• Bentonville (72712) has 0 fewer warehousing establishments than Springdale (72764), 7 against 7.
• Siloam Springs (72761) has 2 fewer warehousing establishments than Springdale (72764), 5 against 7.
• Lowell (72745) has 2 fewer warehousing establishments than Springdale (72764), 5 against 7.
• Benton County's 2,670 is 17.1 percent of all 15,624 warehousing jobs in Arkansas.
• Washington County's 395 is 2.5 percent of all 15,624 warehousing jobs in Arkansas.
• ZIP 72764 in Springdale ranks number 1 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 22.6 percent of their combined total and 1.40 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 72756 in Rogers ranks number 2 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 22.6 percent of their combined total and 1.40 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 72712 in Bentonville ranks number 3 of the five, with 7 warehousing establishments, 22.6 percent of their combined total and 1.40 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 72761 in Siloam Springs ranks number 4 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 16.1 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 72745 in Lowell ranks number 5 of the five, with 5 warehousing establishments, 16.1 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Meat and poultry processing employs 8,488 in the area (partial), 2.77 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 13,596 in the area (partial), 4.44 for every warehousing job.
• Grocery and related product wholesale employs 2,273 in the area (partial), 0.74 for every warehousing job.
• Arkansas's meat and poultry processing employment, 34,773, is 11.35 times the Northwest Arkansas area's warehousing jobs.
• Arkansas's food manufacturing employment, 51,799, is 16.90 times the Northwest Arkansas area's warehousing jobs.
• Arkansas's refrigerated warehousing employment, 1,941, is 0.63 times the Northwest Arkansas area's warehousing jobs.
• Arkansas's fruit and vegetable preserving employment, 4,153, is 1.35 times the Northwest Arkansas area's warehousing jobs.

Who ships pallets here

In Northwest Arkansas, meat and poultry processing employs 8,488 (a partial count). Processing floors are wet, so open decks that drain and shed water matter, and so does a maker's cleaning guidance. It tends to lean on a washable nestable or stackable that drains, usually in 48 x 40 in, and to ask about whether the deck drains and how the maker says to clean it.

The empty return

An illustration, not a forecast: if each of 31 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Northwest Arkansas sent back 800 empty pallets in a week, that would be 24,800 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 1 metros of Arkansas that have a page here, Northwest Arkansas ranks number 1 by warehousing jobs.

Northwest Arkansas holds 19.6 percent of Arkansas's 15,624 private warehousing jobs. See the Arkansas page for the whole state.

Words on this page

Recycled content

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

Establishment

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

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.

Bulk bag

A large woven bag, often sold as a Super Sack, that holds a ton or so of powder or granules and sits on a square pallet.

Stretch wrap

Elastic film wound around a loaded pallet to hold the load together.

RFID tag

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

Nest increment

The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.

Last mile

The final leg of a delivery, from a local depot to the customer.

Cross-docking

Moving freight from an inbound truck to an outbound one with little or no storage between.