Industries · Pharmaceutical
Selling plastic pallets from pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical shippers need hygienic pallets that can be sanitised, with documents on resin and colour. A pharma lot is read by its paperwork as much as by its deck.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026
What pharmaceutical sellers have
Pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers use pallets that can be sanitised, and PP is sometimes preferred for sterilisation. They sell when a site changes pack size, closes, or moves to another footprint.
Footprints and styles in pharmaceutical lots
| Reads | Which | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 48 x 40 | the general footprint |
| Size | 43 x 43 | bulk bags and pharmaceuticals |
| Size | 45 x 45 | the chemical standard in some supply chains |
| Style | hygienic food safe | resin and colour documents |
| Style | injection moulded | clean seams, repair route |
| Style | stackable | static rating for loaded stacks |
The pharmaceutical market in numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Private jobs | 350,886 |
| Establishments | 7,786 |
| Top states | California 42,575; New Jersey 30,062; North Carolina 26,998; New York 25,087; Illinois 24,257 |
| Top counties | Lake IL 16,883; Marion IN 16,292; Montgomery PA 11,878; Suffolk NY 10,760 |
Counties with disclosed data show where the plants are, from Lake County, Illinois to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A lot's ZIP tells the desk which dock it is reading.
How a pharmaceutical lot is read
A pharma lot is read for history. A buyer wants to know whether a pallet has been in a controlled area, what it carried and whether it has been cleaned.
A used 48 x 40 example is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact. That wording is the kind of statement a buyer looks for on yours.
What to say when you send a pharmaceutical lot
- What the pallets carried
- Resin and colour documents if you have them
- Cleaning or sanitising history
- Deck type and count
SOLD
Pharmaceutical pallets that are whole, unmarked and described.
RETURN
Pharmaceutical pallets with a pool name, a customer code or an RFID tag.
SCRAP
Pharmaceutical pallets with cracked, burnt or crushed decks.
Can I sell pharma-use pallets?
Yes, if they are whole and unmarked. Send the paperwork you have; do not invent any.
Is PP better than HDPE for pharma?
PP is stiffer and sometimes preferred for sterilisation. Whether yours suit a buyer is a matter of their use. State the resin if you know it.
Words you will meet
- Stackable
- Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.
- CP9
- A chemical-industry pallet standard, 1140 x 1140 mm.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Open deck
- Top deck with gaps between slats or ribs; lighter and drains.
- Picture frame
- A raised rim around the deck edge that keeps cartons from sliding off.
- Lip
- Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.
- Anti-slip
- Textured deck or rubber grommets that reduce load slip.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Heat treated (HT)
- ISPM 15 treatment for wood: core at 56 C for 30 minutes. Not needed for plastic.
- Structural foam
- Low-pressure moulding where a blowing agent expands the resin in the mould.
- Compression moulding
- Moulding by pressing resin in a closed mould; one of six processes in use.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 x 40 in North American standard footprint.
- Resin identification code
- Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
- Recycled-content pallet
- A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
- Edge rack
- Resting on the rack beams by the pallet's edges only, with no support in the middle.
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
Who asks, and what they need
- Pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers
- Hygienic pallets that can be sanitised; documents on resin and colour; PP sometimes preferred for sterilisation.
- Food and beverage distributors and bottlers
- Clean, odour-free, washable pallets; open or closed deck; 56 x 44 beverage and 48 x 40 sizes; often asks about food-contact paperwork.
- Plants changing packaging or pallet size
- Retire a whole stock of one footprint at once; want it sold or ground up, not landfilled.
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)
- 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)
- 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 motor vehicle parts manufacturing jobs (NAICS 3363) in 2025, BLS QCEW, counties with disclosed data only: Wayne County, Michigan (20,888), Macomb County, Michigan (20,279), Oakland County, Michigan (16,970), Kent County, Michigan (8,688), Spartanburg County, South Carolina (6,496), Cook County, Illinois (6,273). (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)
- 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)
- 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 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)
- 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 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Warehousing and storage (NAICS 493) was 1.4% of the 133,160,274 private-sector jobs QCEW counted in the US in 2025. (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)
- BLS QCEW: NAICS 3254, 2025
- Nelson Company: what material is used for plastic pallets
- Nelson Company: used HDPE pallet model
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