Sell plastic pallets in Tennessee

Tennessee in numbers

Warehousing and storage jobs, 2025

53,427 (12th of 50 states)

Warehousing establishments

642 (10th of 50); about 83 jobs each

Share of US warehousing jobs

2.81%

Food manufacturing jobs

40,320 (18th of 50)

Most concentrated pallet-using industry

motor vehicle parts manufacturing, 3.5x the national share of employment

Pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs

3,015

Motor vehicle assembly jobs

19,453

Auto parts jobs

38,791

Refrigerated warehouse space, October 1, 2025

68 million cubic feet (19th of 50)

Reading a Tennessee lot

Tennessee ranks 12th for warehousing jobs and 10th for establishments. It sits in the upper third of the fifty by warehousing jobs. The average warehouse employs about 83 people, against 82 across the fifty states. Larger sites mean larger stacks, so lots tend to arrive as whole stocks.

Tennessee has 0.8 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, auto parts (38,791 jobs) is 13 times the size of pharmaceutical manufacturing (3,015).

Shelby County holds 21.9% of Tennessee's warehousing jobs, and the top 3 listed hold 50.8%. The jobs are spread across the state, so no one county sets the route. The dossier follows 3 metros in Tennessee: Memphis, Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin and Knoxville.

USDA counted 68 million cubic feet of refrigerated warehouse space in Tennessee, 19th of 50 and about 1,273 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 Tennessee's warehousing jobs sit

What Tennessee's industries put on the dock

• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing: 38,791 jobs, 2025
• Motor vehicle manufacturing: 19,453 jobs, 2025
• Chemical manufacturing: 27,214 jobs, 2025
• Warehousing and storage: 53,427 jobs, 2025

Tennessee's most concentrated industry is motor vehicle parts manufacturing, at 3.5 times the national share of employment. See how lots from automotive parts plants read.

Metros and freight clusters in Tennessee

Memphis. Memphis: 9 counties (Crittenden, Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, Tunica...). 27,742 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (1.46% of the US total; 5.3% of local private jobs), disclosed counties only. Largest warehousing counties: Shelby (11,727), DeSoto (11,634), Marshall (3,876). Most concentrated: warehousing and storage at 3.7x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 38118 Memphis (63), 38654 Olive Branch (28), 38141 Memphis (23), 38671 Southaven (16), 38109 Memphis (13).

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin: 14 counties (Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Macon...). 19,548 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (1.03% of the US total; 2.0% of local private jobs), disclosed counties only. Largest warehousing counties: Wilson (9,641), Rutherford (5,778), Davidson (2,381). Most concentrated: motor vehicle parts manufacturing at 1.5x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 37086 La Vergne (30), 37090 Lebanon (23), 37122 Mount Juliet (21), 37210 Nashville (10), 37148 Portland (10).

Knoxville. Knoxville: 9 counties (Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Knox, Loudon...). 1,751 private jobs in warehousing and storage in 2025 (0.09% of the US total; 0.5% of local private jobs), disclosed counties only. Largest warehousing counties: Knox (1,454), Loudon (257), Roane (40). Most concentrated: motor vehicle parts manufacturing at 2.1x the national share of employment. ZIPs with the most warehousing establishments (Census ZBP 2023): 37921 Knoxville (8), 37917 Knoxville (6), 37922 Knoxville (4), 37801 Maryville (4), 37914 Knoxville (3).

Where Tennessee sits among the fifty

States next to Tennessee

Tennessee has fewer warehousing jobs than 2 of these 8 and more than the rest. The largest of them, Georgia, has 1.6 times Tennessee's 53,427. A lot near a state line can be read against either side, so give the exact ZIP.

More on Tennessee from the sources

• Private employers in the US averaged 521,212 jobs across 6,414 establishments in motor vehicle parts manufacturing (NAICS 3363) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Michigan (111,465), Ohio (62,025), Indiana (52,146), Tennessee (38,791), Kentucky (32,261). (data.bls.gov)

Other pallet-using industries counted in Tennessee

Sending a lot from Tennessee

Count the stacks, give the ZIP where they stand, and use the sorter or the form below. If the dock holds a size retired with a customer, say so in the message.

What the sources say

• North American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall. (blog.containerexchanger.com)
• States where food manufacturing is the largest share of private jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW): Nebraska (4.9%), Arkansas (4.7%), Iowa (4.6%), Alaska (3.4%), Wisconsin (3.2%); the national share is 1.33%. (data.bls.gov)
• About 500 million pallets are made each year as of 2020, with about 2 billion in use in the US. (en.wikipedia.org)
• NFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them. (en.wikipedia.org)
• An ICC article says unlisted plastic pallets may require raising the commodity hazard class by two classes, and gives an example needing about 55 percent more sprinkler water. (iccsafe.org)
• The International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design. (iccsafe.org)
• HDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking. (nelsoncompany.com)
• Advanced composite material pallets are 100 percent recycled polyolefins, cheaper with a shorter life, and suit export where the pallet is not returned. (nelsoncompany.com)
• For products touching the pallet directly, stricter federal requirements may call for non-blended virgin HDPE; recycled pallets often meet general FDA needs. (nelsoncompany.com)
• The 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide. (blog.containerexchanger.com)
• 43 x 43 in pallets are designed for bulk bags; 45 x 45 in is the CP9 chemical standard. (nelsoncompany.com)
• In 2011 a Quebec court ruled that CHEP's identified blue pallets belong to CHEP and cannot be sold. (palletenterprise.com)
• PHS Plastic lists 19 nestable 48 x 40 and other-footprint models with dynamic ratings from 1,102 to 3,500 lb and static ratings from 2,204 to 15,000 lb, so 'nestable' spans light export pallets to heavy-duty stackers. (phsinc.com)
• PHS lists its EXP 100 nestable (48 x 40 x 5.2 in) at 78 pallets per stack and 2,340 per truckload, and its EXP 116 (48 x 40 x 5.75 in, 15,000 lb static) at 40 per stack and 1,260 per truckload: a higher static rating comes with fewer pallets per stack. (phsinc.com)
• Private employers in the US averaged 556,647 jobs across 4,689 establishments in meat and poultry processing (NAICS 3116) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Texas (44,780), Georgia (42,030), North Carolina (35,715), Arkansas (34,773), Iowa (33,386). (data.bls.gov)
• Private employers in the US averaged 521,212 jobs across 6,414 establishments in motor vehicle parts manufacturing (NAICS 3363) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Michigan (111,465), Ohio (62,025), Indiana (52,146), Tennessee (38,791), Kentucky (32,261). (data.bls.gov)

• BLS QCEW: warehousing and storage, 2025
• USDA: Cold Storage, refrigerated warehouse capacity

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