INDEX
Pallets for the industries that ship from here
Pallets in this region follow what the region makes: resin and chemicals on the Ohio, metals and materials in the river towns, parcels and groceries at the highway junctions, bottling and equipment in the south and north.
01 Six industries, six sets of habits
| Industry | Where in the region | Usual spec |
|---|---|---|
| Chemicals and resin | Neville Island, Beaver County, Moon | 48 x 48, block, four-way |
| Metals and materials | Leetsdale, McKees Rocks | 48 x 45 and reinforced 48 x 40 |
| Air cargo and parcel | Airport, New Stanton | Mixed 48 x 40, high turnover |
| Grocery and food | New Stanton, Strip District | 48 x 40 grade A and B |
| Beverage | Washington | 48 x 42 |
| Energy and equipment | Cranberry, Southpointe | New, custom, HT for export |
02 Why industry decides the spec
A load's weight, shape and destination fix the pallet before anyone decides on price. A line of drums needs a different frame from a line of cartons, and a crate leaving the country needs a mark that a carton leaving for Ohio does not. Reading by industry shows which spec a neighbour is probably using.
03 Where two industries share a dock
Many docks do not belong to a single industry. A 3PL on the airport corridor may handle grocery, beverage and equipment on the same door. Use the page for the heaviest or most demanding load and state the others in the request.
04 Pick by what you ship
- Bags, drums or tote: chemicals and resin.
- Coil, bar or plate: metals and materials.
- Cartons and food: grocery.
- Bottles and cans: beverage.
- Equipment and crates: energy and equipment.
- Parcels and air freight: air cargo.
05 The regional numbers behind the six
CBRE counts 147.7 million square feet of industrial space in the Pittsburgh market, mostly in buildings of 100,000 to 250,000 square feet, with 4.1% vacancy. Average annual net absorption over five years was 1.3 million square feet, and about 3.5 million square feet was under construction. The warehouse and distribution labor force is 33,625, and more than 350,000 workers are in industrial-related jobs.
06 Incentive and logistics context
CBRE counts 112 incentive deals over five years totalling more than $62 million, an average of $11,435 per new job. The region is a one-day drive to most major Northeast markets by US-119, I-70 and the Turnpike, with CSX, Norfolk Southern and Canadian National rail and more than 200 miles of navigable waterways.
07 Air cargo and parcel
Air cargo and parcel docks turn pallets over faster than any other trade here. Pittsburgh International's cargo landed weight was 406,448 tons in 2021, and UPS sorts about 500,000 packages a day off-peak at New Stanton.
Numbers
| Fact | Figure | Source year |
|---|---|---|
| Air cargo landed weight at the airport | 406,448 tons, up 48% | 2021 |
| UPS New Stanton workers | About 1,700 | Recent |
| UPS peak-season packages | About 1,000,000 a day | Recent |
Empties pile up
Inbound freight arrives on pallets that no one needs to keep. A parcel hub or a 3PL in the airport corridor collects hundreds of empties a week and holds them at the edge of the dock. A good share can be reused, if sorted by size and grade and kept dry.
Two directions
- Selling or clearing empties: recurring dock pickups.
- Buying sorted grade A or B 48 x 40 for outbound: truckloads.
Peaks
UPS's New Stanton sorting operation handles about double its off-peak packages in November and December. Docks that expect a peak should state both rates in the request.
Two very different pallets
Parcel carriers move cartons on ordinary wood pallets or through conveyors with no pallet at all. Air cargo is different. An airline pallet is a flat aluminium sheet in a standard size, and the load is netted onto it. Wood pallets still appear inside the supply chain around it, at the shipper before the load is built and at the consignee after it is broken down.
That means a nearby buyer in an airport park is seldom asking for airline pallets. The ask is usually for ordinary wood pallets for inbound or outbound freight, often one size, often heat treated, sometimes needed fast.
What to say on a request
- Whether the freight is local or leaves by air.
- Whether the destination country asks for a mark.
- The size you stack, usually 48 x 40.
- How many pallets, and by when.
Air cargo pallets
Air cargo pallets are under 1 inch thick, with fork-lifting prohibited when loaded, and the military 463L air cargo pallet is 88 x 108 inches.
Q Questions
Is my industry missing?
Describe your load. The spec comes from the load, not the label.
Do airlines have their own pallet rules?
Yes. Air freight uses airline-specific sizes and rules, and wood pallets appear on the ground docks around it.
Are wood pallets used on aircraft?
Aircraft use their own aluminium units. Wood pallets appear before and after the flight.
Is the 48 x 40 size standard here?
Common for domestic parcel and freight.
Src Sources
Req Ready to ask?
One short form covers buying, selling and clearing. Request a price