Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Omaha

Omaha, by road

I-80 and I-29 meet on the Missouri River, with food and insurance among the larger employers. Omaha is counted here as the metropolitan area in Nebraska 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 5.3 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Harrison, Mills, Pottawattamie, Cass, Douglas and Sarpy... counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 25 establishments between them. Omaha (68138) leads with 10, 40.0 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Sarpy County has 3,613 warehousing jobs, 70.1 percent of the 5,157 in the Omaha area.
• Douglas County has 1,252 warehousing jobs, 24.3 percent of the 5,157 in the Omaha area, 2,361 fewer than Sarpy.
• Pottawattamie County has 292 warehousing jobs, 5.7 percent of the 5,157 in the Omaha area, 3,321 fewer than Sarpy.
• Omaha (68137) has 6 fewer warehousing establishments than Omaha (68138), 4 against 10.
• La Vista (68128) has 6 fewer warehousing establishments than Omaha (68138), 4 against 10.
• Omaha (68127) has 6 fewer warehousing establishments than Omaha (68138), 4 against 10.
• Omaha (68122) has 7 fewer warehousing establishments than Omaha (68138), 3 against 10.
• Sarpy County's 3,613 is 43.8 percent of all 8,246 warehousing jobs in Nebraska.
• Douglas County's 1,252 is 15.2 percent of all 8,246 warehousing jobs in Nebraska.
• Pottawattamie County's 292 is 3.5 percent of all 8,246 warehousing jobs in Nebraska.
• ZIP 68138 in Omaha ranks number 1 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 40.0 percent of their combined total and 3.33 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 68137 in Omaha ranks number 2 of the five, with 4 warehousing establishments, 16.0 percent of their combined total and 1.33 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 68128 in La Vista 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 68127 in Omaha 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 68122 in Omaha 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.
• Meat and poultry processing employs 9,556 in the area (partial), 1.85 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 14,636 in the area (partial), 2.84 for every warehousing job.
• Nebraska's meat and poultry processing employment, 31,833, is 6.17 times the Omaha area's warehousing jobs.
• Nebraska's food manufacturing employment, 41,939, is 8.13 times the Omaha area's warehousing jobs.

Who ships pallets here

In Omaha, meat and poultry processing employs 9,556 (a partial count). These plants ask about drainage and cleaning first, then about static load for the product stacked on the pallet. 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 25 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Omaha sent back 800 empty pallets in a week, that would be 20,000 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 1 metros of Nebraska that have a page here, Omaha ranks number 1 by warehousing jobs.

Omaha holds 62.5 percent of Nebraska's 8,246 private warehousing jobs. See the Nebraska page for the whole state.

Interstates serving the area: I-80.

Words on this page

Dunnage

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

Establishment

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

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.

Nest ratio

How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.

HDPE

High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.

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.

ZIP Code Business Patterns

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

Last mile

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

RFID tag

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