Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Portland

Portland, by road

I-5, I-84 and I-205 meet on the Columbia, and the metro includes Vancouver, Washington. The Portland area sits in Oregon, and the freight pattern follows the roads above.

Food manufacturing is where this area is most concentrated, at 1 times the national share of employment. The area reaches into Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill and Clark... counties.

Counties

ZIP codes with the most warehouses

The five largest ZIP codes hold 83 establishments between them. Portland (97230) leads with 26, 31.3 percent of the five.

Reading the numbers

• Multnomah County has 7,435 warehousing jobs, 91.1 percent of the 8,157 in the Portland area.
• Clark County has 350 warehousing jobs, 4.3 percent of the 8,157 in the Portland area, 7,085 fewer than Multnomah.
• Clackamas County has 324 warehousing jobs, 4.0 percent of the 8,157 in the Portland area, 7,111 fewer than Multnomah.
• Portland (97203) has 0 fewer warehousing establishments than Portland (97230), 26 against 26.
• Portland (97210) has 15 fewer warehousing establishments than Portland (97230), 11 against 26.
• Portland (97217) has 16 fewer warehousing establishments than Portland (97230), 10 against 26.
• Clackamas (97015) has 16 fewer warehousing establishments than Portland (97230), 10 against 26.
• Multnomah County's 7,435 is 44.4 percent of all 16,750 warehousing jobs in Oregon.
• Clark County's 350 is 2.1 percent of all 16,750 warehousing jobs in Oregon.
• Clackamas County's 324 is 1.9 percent of all 16,750 warehousing jobs in Oregon.
• ZIP 97230 in Portland ranks number 1 of the five, with 26 warehousing establishments, 31.3 percent of their combined total and 2.60 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 97203 in Portland ranks number 2 of the five, with 26 warehousing establishments, 31.3 percent of their combined total and 2.60 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 97210 in Portland ranks number 3 of the five, with 11 warehousing establishments, 13.3 percent of their combined total and 1.10 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 97217 in Portland ranks number 4 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 12.0 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• ZIP 97015 in Clackamas ranks number 5 of the five, with 10 warehousing establishments, 12.0 percent of their combined total and 1.00 times the smallest of them.
• Food manufacturing employs 13,772 in the area, 1.69 for every warehousing job.
• Grocery and related product wholesale employs 8,259 in the area (partial), 1.01 for every warehousing job.
• Oregon's fruit and vegetable preserving employment, 9,076, is 1.11 times the Portland area's warehousing jobs.
• Oregon's beverage manufacturing employment, 7,137, is 0.87 times the Portland area's warehousing jobs.
• Oregon's food manufacturing employment, 28,203, is 3.46 times the Portland area's warehousing jobs.

Who ships pallets here

In Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, food manufacturing employs 13,772. 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 83 warehouses in its five largest ZIP codes in Portland sent back 1,200 empty pallets in a week, that would be 99,600 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 Oregon that have a page here, Portland ranks number 1 by warehousing jobs.

Portland holds 48.7 percent of Oregon's 16,750 private warehousing jobs. See the Oregon page for the whole state.

Interstates serving the area: I-5.

Words on this page

Drayage

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

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.

4-way entry

A pallet that forks or a pallet jack can enter from all four sides.

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.

Gross cubic feet

The total volume of a refrigerated warehouse. Usable space is smaller once aisles and equipment are subtracted.

One-way pallet

A light pallet built to carry cargo to a destination and stay there, often used in export.

3PL

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