Plastic pallet lots by industry

Who sends us lots

One buyer names distribution centers, food and beverage companies, pharmaceutical facilities, manufacturers, 3PLs and export operations as the sellers it buys from. The desk adds automotive, chemical and retail and grocery, because their lots look different at the dock.

Who buys from these sellers

Pallet buyers differ by what they need. A buyer who restocks its own inventory wants reusable multi-stack lots. A recycler wants broken decks by weight. A pool owner wants its own pallets back. The seller's industry shapes which of those the lot becomes, and who buys plastic pallets sets out the types.

Words you will meet

One-way pallet

A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.

Recycled-content pallet

A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.

Nestable

Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.

Nest increment

How much height each extra nested pallet adds to a stack.

Closed loop

Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.

Injection moulding

Pallet made by forcing molten resin into a mould at high pressure.

Resin identification code

Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.

Virgin resin

New, unblended resin that has not been through a product before.

Fork pocket

Opening in the pallet where the forks go.

Creep

Slow bending of plastic under a heavy load held for a long time.

Structural foam

Low-pressure moulding where a blowing agent expands the resin in the mould.

Rotational moulding

Resin heated in a rotating mould to make a hollow jointless part.

Compression moulding

Moulding by pressing resin in a closed mould; one of six processes in use.

HDPE

High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.

Regrind

Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.

Edge rack

Resting on the rack beams by the pallet's edges only, with no support in the middle.

Who asks, and what they need

Distribution centres with surplus pallets

Sell or recycle excess lots, mixed makers and colours, broken pallets.

Export shippers

Light or low-cost one-way pallets with no ISPM 15 treatment; Euro 1200 x 800 and 1200 x 1000 sizes.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers

Hygienic pallets that can be sanitised; documents on resin and colour; PP sometimes preferred for sterilisation.

What the sources say

• Counties with the most private pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing jobs (NAICS 3254) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Lake County, Illinois (16,883), Marion County, Indiana (16,292), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (11,878), Suffolk County, New York (10,760), Los Angeles County, California (8,300), San Diego County, California (8,028). (data.bls.gov)
• Counties with the most private motor vehicle manufacturing jobs (NAICS 3361) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Wayne County, Michigan (24,188), Bexar County, Texas (6,165), Cook County, Illinois (5,473), Eaton County, Michigan (4,432), Oakland County, Michigan (735), Los Angeles County, California (643). (data.bls.gov)
• Counties with the most private dairy product manufacturing jobs (NAICS 3115) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Sheboygan County, Wisconsin (3,238), Los Angeles County, California (3,204), Franklin County, Ohio (2,930), Tulare County, California (2,916), Dodge County, Wisconsin (2,659), Marathon County, Wisconsin (2,535). (data.bls.gov)
• 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)
• Counties with the most private refrigerated warehousing jobs (NAICS 49312) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Los Angeles County, California (2,320), Middlesex County, New Jersey (1,661), San Bernardino County, California (1,565), Cook County, Illinois (1,552), Wayne County, Michigan (1,041), Maricopa County, Arizona (871). (data.bls.gov)
• 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 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 316,938 jobs across 16,316 establishments in beverage manufacturing (NAICS 3121) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (63,604), Texas (24,154), New York (13,802), Pennsylvania (13,207), Florida (12,661). (data.bls.gov)
• Private employers in the US averaged 350,886 jobs across 7,786 establishments in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing (NAICS 3254) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (42,575), New Jersey (30,062), North Carolina (26,998), New York (25,087), Illinois (24,257). (data.bls.gov)
• Private employers in the US averaged 892,426 jobs across 25,801 establishments in chemical manufacturing (NAICS 325) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Texas (90,310), California (75,499), Ohio (49,328), Illinois (48,745), New Jersey (47,966). (data.bls.gov)
• Private employers in the US averaged 575,006 jobs across 12,344 establishments in plastics product manufacturing (NAICS 3261) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Ohio (42,286), Texas (40,945), California (35,933), Pennsylvania (34,094), Indiana (33,122). (data.bls.gov)
• Counties with the most private meat and poultry processing jobs (NAICS 3116) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Hall County, Georgia (11,123), Cook County, Illinois (8,367), Sussex County, Delaware (8,212), Marshall County, Alabama (7,387), Fresno County, California (6,499), Douglas County, Nebraska (6,452). (data.bls.gov)
• Counties with the most private fruit and vegetable preserving jobs (NAICS 3114) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Los Angeles County, California (3,695), Stanislaus County, California (3,669), Fresno County, California (3,355), Cook County, Illinois (2,861), Franklin County, Washington (2,520), Marion County, Oregon (2,273). (data.bls.gov)
• The five states with the most warehousing and storage jobs held 39% of the national total in 2025, and the top ten held 58% (California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana, New York), BLS QCEW. (data.bls.gov)
• 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)
• That used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary. (nelsoncompany.com)

• Custom Packaging Products: used plastic pallets
• Nelson Company: sell used pallets
• BLS QCEW: warehousing and storage, 2025

Keep reading

• Sell
• Distribution centers
• Food and beverage
• Pharmaceutical
• Automotive
• Chemical
• Retail and grocery
• Third-party logistics
• Plastics manufacturing
• Export shippers