Sell plastic pallets in California
California had 236,923 warehousing jobs in 2025, 1st among the states, and its most concentrated pallet-using industry is beverage manufacturing. Send the lot with its ZIP; the desk reads size, style, grade and marks, and rules it sold, returned or scrapped.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026
California in numbers
- Warehousing and storage jobs, 2025
- 236,923 (1st of 50 states)
- Warehousing establishments
- 2,776 (1st of 50); about 85 jobs each
- Share of US warehousing jobs
- 12.46%
- Food manufacturing jobs
- 166,660 (1st of 50)
- Most concentrated pallet-using industry
- beverage manufacturing, 1.7x the national share of employment
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs
- 42,575
- Motor vehicle assembly jobs
- 27,690
- Auto parts jobs
- 11,444
- Refrigerated warehouse space, October 1, 2025
- 400 million cubic feet (1st of 50)
Reading a California lot
California ranks 1st for warehousing jobs and 1st for establishments. Only 0 states are larger by warehousing jobs. The average warehouse employs about 85 people, against 82 across the fifty states. Larger sites mean larger stacks, so lots tend to arrive as whole stocks.
California has 0.7 food manufacturing jobs for every warehousing job, against 0.9 across the fifty states. The warehouses are the bigger half of the picture here, so expect strays and mixed makers on one dock. Among the other industries counted here, pharmaceutical manufacturing (42,575 jobs) is 3.7 times the size of auto parts (11,444).
San Bernardino County holds 28.3% of California's warehousing jobs, and the top 3 listed hold 62.0%. Three counties carry most of the market, and a lot near any of them is close to the most dock activity. The dossier follows 6 metros in California: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Inland Empire, Fresno, Stockton-Lodi, San Francisco-Oakland and Salinas.
USDA counted 400 million cubic feet of refrigerated warehouse space in California, 1st of 50 and about 1,688 cubic feet for each warehousing job, against 2,254 across the states it reports. Cold storage is a smaller part of the picture here, so most lots come off ambient docks.
Where California's warehousing jobs sit
| County | Warehousing jobs | Share of the state's total |
|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino | 67,058 | 28.3% |
| Riverside | 51,310 | 21.7% |
| San Joaquin | 28,518 | 12.0% |
What California's industries put on the dock
- Beverage manufacturing: 63,604 jobs, 2025
- Fruit and vegetable preserving: 27,518 jobs, 2025
California's most concentrated industry is beverage manufacturing, at 1.7 times the national share of employment. See how lots from beverage plants read.
Metros and freight clusters in California
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: 2 counties (Orange, Los Angeles). 27,225 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (1.43% of the US total; 0.5% of local private jobs). Largest warehousing counties: Los Angeles (19,954), Orange (7,271). Most concentrated: grocery and related product wholesale at 1.3x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 90670 Santa Fe Springs (55), 90058 Los Angeles (53), 91789 Walnut (39), 91748 Rowland Heights (31), 90040 Los Angeles (27). The San Pedro Bay ports sit here: the Port of Los Angeles handled 9,447,731 TEUs in January-November 2025 and the Port of Long Beach a record 9,881,595 TEUs for 2025, so import and export container flows set the pallet traffic around the port-adjacent warehouses.
Inland Empire. Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario): 2 counties (Riverside, San Bernardino). 118,368 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (6.22% of the US total; 8.4% of local private jobs). Largest warehousing counties: San Bernardino (67,058), Riverside (51,310). Most concentrated: warehousing and storage at 5.9x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 91761 Ontario (122), 91710 Chino (51), 91752 Mira Loma (46), 91730 Rancho Cucamonga (42), 92337 Fontana (41).
Fresno. Fresno: 2 counties (Fresno, Madera). 5,006 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (0.26% of the US total; 1.3% of local private jobs), disclosed counties only. Largest warehousing counties: Fresno (5,006). Most concentrated: fruit and vegetable preserving at 6.5x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 93725 Fresno (30), 93727 Fresno (7), 93706 Fresno (6), 93654 Reedley (5), 93711 Fresno (3).
Stockton-Lodi. Stockton-Lodi: 1 counties (San Joaquin). 28,518 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (1.50% of the US total; 11.7% of local private jobs). Most concentrated: warehousing and storage at 8.2x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 95206 Stockton (24), 95330 Lathrop (19), 95304 Tracy (18), 95215 Stockton (14), 95377 Tracy (10).
San Francisco-Oakland. San Francisco-Oakland: 5 counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin). 9,473 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (0.50% of the US total; 0.5% of local private jobs). Largest warehousing counties: Alameda (5,777), Contra Costa (2,580), San Mateo (848). Most concentrated: pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing at 2.0x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 94545 Hayward (21), 94577 San Leandro (16), 94544 Hayward (14), 94550 Livermore (11), 94587 Union City (10).
Salinas. Salinas: 1 counties (Monterey). 298 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (0.02% of the US total; 0.2% of local private jobs). Most concentrated: beverage manufacturing at 2.4x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 93901 Salinas (9), 95012 Castroville (4).
Where California sits among the fifty
| Measure, 2025 | California | Next state above | Next state below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warehousing jobs | 1st: 236,923 | None: this is the end of the table | Texas, 175,579 (-61,344) |
| Warehousing establishments | 1st: 2,776 | None: this is the end of the table | Texas, 2,174 (-602) |
| Food manufacturing jobs | 1st: 166,660 | None: this is the end of the table | Texas, 112,088 (-54,572) |
States next to California
| State | Warehousing jobs | Largest county for warehousing | Food manufacturing jobs | Top concentration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 16,750 | Multnomah (7,435) | 28,203 | fruit and vegetable preserving |
| Nevada | 42,113 | Clark (28,250) | 8,424 | warehousing and storage |
| Arizona | 52,054 | Maricopa (42,291) | 15,944 | warehousing and storage |
California has more warehousing jobs than any of these. The largest of them, Arizona, has 0.2 times California's 236,923. A lot near a state line can be read against either side, so give the exact ZIP.
More on California from the sources
- Private employers in the US averaged 1,901,976 jobs across 23,345 establishments in warehousing and storage (NAICS 493) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (236,923), Texas (175,579), Pennsylvania (123,481), Florida (105,401), Ohio (98,354). (data.bls.gov)
- Private employers in the US averaged 73,136 jobs across 1,811 establishments in refrigerated warehousing (NAICS 49312) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (9,969), Texas (6,638), New Jersey (5,388), Georgia (4,453), Pennsylvania (4,102). (data.bls.gov)
- Private employers in the US averaged 1,775,008 jobs across 42,763 establishments in food manufacturing (NAICS 311) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (166,660), Texas (112,088), Illinois (98,300), Pennsylvania (82,538), Wisconsin (81,993). (data.bls.gov)
- Private employers in the US averaged 168,222 jobs across 2,809 establishments in dairy product manufacturing (NAICS 3115) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Wisconsin (28,840), California (18,374), New York (11,603), Ohio (8,963), Texas (7,529). (data.bls.gov)
Other pallet-using industries counted in California
| Industry | Jobs, 2025 | Against warehousing jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical manufacturing | 42,575 | 0.2 to 1 |
| Motor vehicle assembly | 27,690 | 0.1 to 1 |
| Auto parts | 11,444 | 0.0 to 1 |
Sending a lot from California
Count the stacks, give the ZIP where they stand, and use the sorter or the form below. If the dock holds a retired pack footprint, say so in the message.
How many warehousing jobs does California have?
236,923 private-sector jobs across 2,776 establishments in 2025, 12.46% of the US total, which ranks California 1st of 50.
Do you take plastic pallets from California?
Yes. The desk reads lots from every state, and the ZIP lets it read the route in California. This site states no price or pickup date.
Which California industry is most concentrated?
Beverage manufacturing, at 1.7 times the national share of employment in the 2025 federal data used here.
What the sources say
- Counties with the most private warehousing and storage jobs (NAICS 493) in 2025, BLS QCEW: San Bernardino County, California (67,058), Riverside County, California (51,310), Dallas County, Texas (44,657), Maricopa County, Arizona (42,291), San Joaquin County, California (28,518), Clark County, Nevada (28,250), Middlesex County, New Jersey (26,309), Will County, Illinois (25,357). (data.bls.gov)
- Port of Long Beach moved a record 9,881,595 TEUs in 2025 (imports 4,779,559; exports 1,141,113; empties 3,960,925), per Container News reporting the port's year-end results. (container-news.com)
- PHS lists a 56 x 44 beverage pallet (STK 285) at 2,500 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. (phsinc.com)
- A 48 x 40 pallet fits 30 stacks in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, per one supplier. (nelsoncompany.com)
- The Port of New York and New Jersey was the nation's second-busiest port for loaded containers in 2025, per the Port Authority's full-year volume release as reported by Air Freight News. (airfreight.news)
- Counties with the most private grocery and related product wholesale jobs (NAICS 4244) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Los Angeles County, California (36,194), Cook County, Illinois (23,404), Miami-Dade County, Florida (14,422), Harris County, Texas (14,172), Dallas County, Texas (12,337), Maricopa County, Arizona (9,996). (data.bls.gov)
- Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet weighs 44.2 lb with a dynamic rating of 4,000 lb, static 10,000 lb and edge rack 2,000 lb. (rehrigpacific.com)
- Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet is high-pressure injection molded co-polymer polypropylene, with 540 per 53 ft trailer. (rehrigpacific.com)
- Rehrig Pacific's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair and options for FDA-approved colours, RFID and up to 15 percent black recycled content. (rehrigpacific.com)
- Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable pallet weighs 26.5 lb with a static rating of 10,000 lb and dynamic 3,000 lb. (rehrigpacific.com)
- That used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Pallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle and reduce performance. (nelsoncompany.com)
Keep reading
Send a lot from your state
Size, count, grade, branding and ZIP. Photos help, and you can reply to the first answer with them. This site states no price or pickup date.