Industries · Third-party logistics
Selling plastic pallets from third-party logistics
Third-party logistics operators hold both client pallets and their own. A 3PL lot is read for who owns each stack, and the owned ones can be large and uniform.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026
What third-party logistics sellers have
A 3PL runs closed-loop and captive pallets for its own programs, and holds client pallets it must not touch. Large uniform lots of one size and style, with parts for repair and replacement, are what its own fleet looks like.
Footprints and styles in third-party logistics lots
| Reads | Which | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 48 x 40 | the default |
| Size | 48 x 45 | automotive clients |
| Size | 48 x 48 | chemical clients |
| Style | rackable | racked storage |
| Style | nestable stackable rackable | one model, three uses |
| Style | fire rated | sprinkler design |
The third-party logistics market in numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Private jobs | 73,136 |
| Establishments | 1,811 |
| Top states | California 9,969; Texas 6,638; New Jersey 5,388; Georgia 4,453; Pennsylvania 4,102 |
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Warehouses | 931 (476 public, 455 private or semiprivate) |
| Gross capacity | 3.99 billion cubic feet; usable 3.25 billion |
| Largest states | California 400 million; Georgia 304 million; Washington 301 million; Wisconsin 297 million; Texas 254 million |
Public warehouses hold 2.46 billion gross cubic feet, 62 percent of the total, so a large share of cold-chain pallets sits with operators who store for others.
How a third-party logistics lot is read
Ownership is the main question. A 3PL pallet carrying the 3PL's name is its own; a client's pallet is the client's. Keep the records that show which.
Cold storage adds a note. Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle and reduce performance, so say if pallets lived in a freezer.
What to say when you send a third-party logistics lot
- Whose pallets they are, with a record
- Footprint, style and a rating mark
- Whether any lived in cold storage
- The count and the ZIP
SOLD
Third-party logistics pallets that are whole, unmarked and described.
RETURN
Third-party logistics pallets with a pool name, a customer code or an RFID tag.
SCRAP
Third-party logistics pallets with cracked, burnt or crushed decks.
Can a 3PL sell client pallets?
Not without the client's say. Sell only what you own and can show you own.
Do you take repair parts too?
Mention them in the message. The desk reads the pallet lot first.
Words you will meet
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- Captive pallet
- A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
- Commodity classification
- Sprinkler design class of stored goods; an unlisted plastic pallet can raise it.
- Welding repair
- Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
- Static load
- Weight a pallet carries at rest, or the bottom pallet carries when stacked. The highest of the three ratings.
- Cruciform base
- Bottom with a cross-shaped member as well as a perimeter, for strength and automated handling.
- 2-way entry
- Forks enter from two opposite sides only.
- Nest increment
- How much height each extra nested pallet adds to a stack.
- Pooling
- Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
- UL 2335
- UL fire-test standard for storage pallets, with an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test.
- Profile extrusion
- Pushing resin through a die to make long shapes that form pallet parts.
- Rackable
- Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
- ISPM 15
- The international standard for treating wood packaging against pests. Plastic pallets are outside it.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- FM 4996
- FM Approvals standard that rates a pallet as equal to wood in fire tests.
- Thermoforming
- Heated plastic sheet formed over a mould; lighter pallets.
Who asks, and what they need
- Closed-loop and captive pallet users
- Large uniform lots of one size and style; repair and replacement parts.
- Automotive plants and suppliers
- 48 x 45 pallets that match bulk containers; closed-loop reuse; heavy dynamic and static loads.
- Warehouses with automated storage
- Rackable pallets with a stated rack rating, cruciform base, consistent size for conveyors.
What the sources say
- The five states with the largest gross refrigerated warehouse capacity on October 1, 2025 were California (400 million cubic feet), Georgia (304 million), Washington (301 million), Wisconsin (297 million) and Texas (254 million), per USDA NASS. (esmis.nal.usda.gov)
- USDA NASS counted 931 refrigerated warehouses on October 1, 2025: 476 public and 455 private or semiprivate. Public warehouses held 2.46 billion gross cubic feet, 62 percent of the total. (esmis.nal.usda.gov)
- Refrigerated warehouse facility counts on October 1, 2025 (USDA NASS): California 106, Wisconsin 94, Georgia 62, Texas 56, Washington 52, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 38. (esmis.nal.usda.gov)
- USDA NASS counted 3.99 billion cubic feet of gross refrigerated warehouse capacity in the US on October 1, 2025, with usable capacity of 3.25 billion cubic feet (82 percent of gross). (esmis.nal.usda.gov)
- Pennsylvania had 228 million cubic feet and New Jersey 137 million of gross refrigerated warehouse space on October 1, 2025 (USDA NASS). (esmis.nal.usda.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)
- 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)
- Private employers in the US averaged 173,844 jobs across 2,936 establishments in fruit and vegetable preserving (NAICS 3114) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (27,518), Wisconsin (11,014), Washington (10,988), Ohio (10,327), Texas (9,194). (data.bls.gov)
- States where dairy product manufacturing is the largest share of private jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW): Wisconsin (1.1%), Vermont (0.8%), Idaho (0.7%), South Dakota (0.4%), Iowa (0.3%); the national share is 0.13%. (data.bls.gov)
- Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle and reduce performance. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Port Houston's public terminals handled 4,303,345 TEUs in 2025 (up 4 percent, a record) and 54,491,066 short tons of cargo; the Houston Ship Channel is described as the nation's largest port for waterborne tonnage, with more than 200 private and eight public terminals. (porthouston.com)
- 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 warehousing and storage (NAICS 493) paid an average of $56,706 a year across 1,901,976 jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW). (data.bls.gov)
- States where meat and poultry processing is the largest share of private jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW): Nebraska (3.7%), Arkansas (3.1%), Iowa (2.6%), Delaware (2.4%), Mississippi (2.0%); the national share is 0.42%. (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 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)
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