The freight moves on. The pallets need a next dock.

BOX 01Freight leaves, pallets stay

The Greater Memphis Chamber calls the region's freight advantage the four Rs: runway, rail, road and river. Parcels land at the airport, containers come off five Class 1 railroads, trailers run I-40, I-55 and Lamar Avenue, and barges tie up at Presidents Island. Almost all of it rides on wood pallets, and when the freight moves on, the pallets stay.

A pallet follows that story from the runway to the river. It comes in the sizes that ship here, in grades that run from clean to core, on builds that decide how a forklift picks it up, and it ends up in places across three states.

BOX 02Who it is for

It is for operations leads at fulfillment centers, shipping and purchasing leads at plants, exporters and forwarders near the airport and the river, dock managers at heavy-goods tenants, and store managers with a stack in the back lot. It is for businesses that move pallets every week, not for liquidation-pallet shoppers or crafters.

BOX 03Asking for something

To ask for something, use the request form. For questions that come up often, read the FAQ.

BOX 04Corrections

If a road, a figure or a facility is named incorrectly, send a note through the request form. A correction is welcome, and sources help.

BOX 05The market the pallets move in

The Greater Memphis Chamber describes a region of more than 1.3 million people with a regional GDP of $102.9 billion and a logistics talent pool above 85,000. It lists the metro as the fifth-largest inland port in the country. A market built on moving goods puts pallets at nearly every dock, and Wikipedia puts the number in use across the United States at about two billion.

BOX 06Where we work

Memphis Pallet Yard serves five counties in three states: Shelby and Fayette in Tennessee, DeSoto and Marshall in Mississippi, and Crittenden in Arkansas. Its work is with airport-area docks, river-port terminals, fulfillment buildings in Southaven and Olive Branch, rail yards at Marion and Rossville, and store back lots in the suburbs.

BOX 07Three kinds of request

• Buy: used, recycled, combo, new, custom and heat-treated pallets, or a full truckload for outbound freight.
• Sell: sound pallets and cores from a dock, a warehouse or a back lot.
• Clear: a one-time removal or a recurring pickup for a stack that fills the dock.