WESTMORELAND
Pallets in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County is the Pittsburgh region's largest warehouse and distribution submarket at 23.7 million square feet, and its freight turns on the junction of I-70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike at New Stanton.
- Seat
- Greensburg
- Population, 2020
- 354,663
- Warehouse space
- 23.7M sq ft (2023)
01 Why the warehouses are here
The county's interstates are I-70 and I-76, the Turnpike, with US 22, 30 and 119 crossing it. At New Stanton I-70 joins the Turnpike eastbound toward Breezewood, which is why the town bills itself as the highway hub of western Pennsylvania. Distribution parks cluster near that interchange, including one in East Huntingdon Township about four miles southeast of it, and an intermodal logistics park about five miles south of New Stanton.
02 Industry
The county once mined coal and made iron, steel and glass. Today the heavy trade is distribution: parcels, groceries and general freight. Hempfield Township is the county's largest community and its retail hub, with Greensburg as seat.
03 Pallet profile
| Operation | Likely pallet | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Parcel sorting | Mixed, inbound 48 x 40 | Large peak surges in November and December |
| Grocery distribution | 48 x 40 grade A and B | Clean stock for outbound grocery loads |
| Light manufacturing | Custom and new | Varied footprints |
04 Which parts see the most freight
The Turnpike corridor from New Stanton west toward Pittsburgh is where the large warehouses stand. Further east, pallets come from smaller plants and shops in smaller towns.
05 Hempfield Township
Hempfield Township, the largest community in Westmoreland County, is the county's retail hub, with light industry and industrial parks around Greensburg.
Retail first
Westmoreland Mall and the Live! Casino Pittsburgh next to it form the second largest shopping and entertainment complex in the Pittsburgh area, and Greengate Centre is the largest big-box retail centre. Several smaller shopping centres, national retailers and restaurants are in the township.
Light industry
The township has numerous industrial parks and facilities. RIDC Westmoreland straddles Hempfield and East Huntingdon townships. A 217-acre industrial park at a former plant in Hempfield got a $2.5 million PA SITES grant in May 2024 for public infrastructure, a sign of new space to come.
Greensburg and the boroughs
The city of Greensburg, the county seat, and six boroughs, Southwest Greensburg, South Greensburg, Youngwood, New Stanton, Arona and Adamsburg, lie entirely within the township.
Pallet pattern
- Big-box docks: clean 48 x 40 for outbound, a steady surplus of empties.
- Light industrial: standing specs on one size.
- Small shops: dozens, not hundreds.
Westmoreland Technology Park II
The county's Industrial Development Corporation has sold lots in Westmoreland Technology Park II in Hempfield. In 2022 the Pittsburgh developer Al. Neyer bought a parcel of nearly 15 acres for a warehouse and industrial building, and a manufacturer was reported to be buying almost 11 acres.
The Industrial Development Corporation says it operates 19 industrial parks with 165 businesses and more than 8,600 employees, and a twentieth park of about 110 acres across Hempfield and Unity townships could start construction in 2027 on a revised plan, according to the Tribune-Review. For pallets, these parks mean many small manufacturers rather than a few giant docks.
06 New Stanton
New Stanton calls itself the highway hub of western Pennsylvania. I-70 meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike here, and the town's freight is parcels and groceries.
Parcels and groceries
UPS runs a sorting operation here with about 1,700 workers, processing about 500,000 packages a day off-peak and a million in the November and December peak, on roughly 327,000 square feet over 49.6 acres. SuperValu's Pittsburgh grocery distribution center near I-70 exit 57 is 724,000 square feet with more than 500 workers, and supplies Shop 'n Save, Save-A-Lot and County Market stores.
Pallets
| Operation | Spec |
|---|---|
| Parcel sorting | Pallets in and out all day; mixed 48 x 40 |
| Grocery distribution | 48 x 40 A and B; rotation matters |
| Peak weeks | November and December double the flow |
A dock like these piles up empties fast. See recurring dock pickups.
The logistics cluster
The RIDC Westmoreland Innovation Center occupies the former Volkswagen and Sony plant in East Huntingdon Township, a building of roughly 2,000,000 square feet, and RIDC reports more than 1 million square feet of it leased.
Amazon has confirmed it will occupy a 1-million-square-foot warehouse south of the Turnpike between Westinghouse Drive and Glenn Fox Road, according to the Tribune-Review.
Q Questions
Why is Westmoreland the biggest warehouse market?
The junction of I-70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike at New Stanton puts a day's drive of the eastern markets within reach, and large sites were available.
Is Greensburg inside Hempfield?
Yes, the city of Greensburg lies entirely within the township.
How many packages does UPS handle?
About 500,000 a day off-peak and about a million in November and December.
Src Sources
- Wikipedia: Westmoreland County
- Wikipedia: New Stanton
- CBRE Pittsburgh industrial brief, March 2023
- Wikipedia: Hempfield Township
- PA governor: PA SITES investments, 2024
- Tribune-Review: Additional construction slated for Westmoreland Technology Park in Hempfield
- Tribune-Review: Westmoreland revises plans for county's newest industrial park
- RIDC: Westmoreland Innovation Center
- Tribune-Review: Amazon ends speculation, is taking New Stanton warehouse
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