Pallets in West Memphis, Arkansas

BOX 01Across the bridge

West Memphis is in Crittenden County, Arkansas, and had 24,520 residents at the 2020 census. Interstates 40 and 55 meet here, and the Hernando de Soto Bridge, opened in 1973, carries I-40 over the Mississippi River. U.S. Highways 61, 63, 64, 70 (Broadway Boulevard) and 79 and Arkansas Highways 77, 118 and 191 also run through (Wikipedia).

BOX 02Rail and the port

BNSF and Union Pacific both serve the city. The West Memphis Base Railroad, a three-mile branch line, lets Union Pacific reach customers at the port. The Port of West Memphis is city-owned, a deepwater port on the Mississippi that transfers cargo among trucks, barges and trains.

Three modes in one city means three kinds of pallet: those on trucks, those on railcars and those under port cargo. Port-bound heavy goods use stronger builds than a warehouse needs.

BOX 03Distribution on the west bank

The city describes itself as a distribution and assembly hub with healthcare also notable. The Wikipedia page names distribution centers for Family Dollar, Carvana and Bosch Tools, and a steel and wire manufacturer. Employers listed include Schneider National, Southland Park Gaming and Racing, Family Dollar Distribution, FedEx National LTL and Robert Bosch Power Tools.

• Retail distribution: 48 x 40 stringers in large, regular volumes.
• Tools and hardware: heavier, sometimes custom, often on a returns loop.
• Steel and wire: skids and heavy pallets built for weight.

BOX 04What to send from West Memphis

A request from West Memphis should give the ZIP code, the size, the grade and the count, and whether it is on a dock, a rail spur or the port. The cross-river question is real: say whether the load needs to be moved on the Tennessee side. See river port and heavy goods and distribution and fulfillment. Neighbor: Marion.

BOX 05A bridge between two piles

Anything that crosses the river on I-40 goes to the Tennessee side of the market. A West Memphis dock with a pile it cannot place locally can look across the river, and the airport district is about as close as the port.

The request should say whether the pallets would need to cross. Some buyers work on one side only, and a line saying "either side of the river" widens the field.

BOX 06Name the road

Naming the road a building fronts is more useful than the city alone, because the city is large and its roads are many. A request that gives the road and the side of the river the pallets sit on is easy to place.