Nestable and Stackable Pallets: Oklahoma

Oklahoma, by road

Oklahoma City is where I-35 meets I-40, which makes it a natural transfer point for loads going in all four directions. For a plastic pallet buyer in Oklahoma, the geography sets the route and the route sets the empty return: I-35, I-40 and I-44 carry most of what leaves, and every empty pallet that comes back has to ride the same road.

The counties with the most warehousing jobs are Oklahoma (8,307), Tulsa (4,614) and Garfield (150), which is 66.5 percent of the state's 19,669. It shares a land border with Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

Warehousing in numbers

Refrigerated space matters because a freezer is hard on plastic; the cold guide says what to ask for. Oklahoma held 10 million cubic feet of gross refrigerated warehouse capacity on October 1, 2025.

Reading the numbers

• Oklahoma County has 8,307 warehousing jobs, 42.2 percent of Oklahoma's 19,669, the most in the state.
• Tulsa County has 4,614 warehousing jobs, 23.5 percent of Oklahoma's 19,669, 3,693 fewer than Oklahoma County.
• Garfield County has 150 warehousing jobs, 0.8 percent of Oklahoma's 19,669, 8,157 fewer than Oklahoma County.
• Meat and poultry processing employs 11,968 people in Oklahoma, 0.61 for every warehousing job.
• Food manufacturing employs 20,047 people in Oklahoma, 1.02 for every warehousing job.
• Oklahoma holds 1.03 percent of US warehousing jobs, about one in every 97, spread over 186 establishments averaging 106 jobs each.
• Oklahoma City accounts for 8,336 warehousing jobs, 42.4 percent of Oklahoma's.
• Kansas has 21,158 warehousing jobs, 1.08 times the 19,669 in Oklahoma.
• Missouri has 26,726 warehousing jobs, 1.36 times the 19,669 in Oklahoma.
• Arkansas has 15,624 warehousing jobs, 0.79 times the 19,669 in Oklahoma.
• Texas has 175,579 warehousing jobs, 8.93 times the 19,669 in Oklahoma.

Who ships pallets here

In Oklahoma, meat and poultry processing employs 11,968. 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.

Meat and poultry processing is the trade where Oklahoma is most concentrated, at 2.1 times the national share of employment. A buyer in that trade will tend to ask the questions in the last column first.

The empty return

An illustration, not a forecast: if each of 186 warehouse establishments in Oklahoma sent back 500 empty pallets in a week, that would be 93,000 pallets. The table counts the 53 ft trailers that takes at three makers' published nestable figures, beside the 540 per trailer of a rackable.

Next door

Metros in Oklahoma with their own page: Oklahoma City.

Words on this page

HDPE

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

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.

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.

Intermodal

Freight that changes between truck, rail and ship in the same container.

3PL

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

RFID tag

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

Slip sheet

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

Interstate corridor

A freight route named for its highway, together with the metros along it.

Reefer

A refrigerated trailer or container.