04 Delivery · Missouri
Plastic pallets delivered in Missouri
We supply new and graded used plastic pallets to Missouri buyers, from rail-served distribution centers in Kansas City to brewers, pet food makers and river terminals in St. Louis and auto plants at Claycomo and Wentzville. Send the footprint, deck, heaviest load and delivery ZIP on the quote form, and we answer by email with models and a delivered price.
Two metros joined by I-70
Missouri's freight economy is split between Kansas City on the western border and St. Louis on the eastern one, about 250 miles apart on I-70. Columbia sits halfway between them, and most freight moving across the state passes through it.
From St. Louis, I-44 runs southwest through Rolla and Springfield to Joplin and Oklahoma, I-55 heads south toward Memphis and north into Illinois, and I-64 crosses east into the Metro East. From Kansas City, I-35 runs north to Des Moines and south to Wichita, I-29 runs north to Omaha, and I-49 runs south toward Joplin and Arkansas.
| Metro | Interstates | Freight that uses plastic pallets |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | I-70, I-35, I-29, I-49, I-435 | Rail-served DCs, animal health products, vehicle assembly, greeting cards and paper goods |
| St. Louis | I-70, I-44, I-55, I-64, I-270 | Brewing, pet food, aerospace, river barges, grocery |
| Springfield | I-44, US-60, US-65 | Trucking firms, food processing, dairy |
| Columbia and Jefferson City | I-70, US-63, US-54 | Regional distribution, state government |
| Joplin | I-44, I-49 | Food plants and distribution toward Oklahoma |
| Cape Girardeau | I-55 | River freight and regional manufacturing |
Kansas City: rail yards and animal health
Kansas City is one of the busiest rail centers in the country, with several Class I railroads meeting there. BNSF, Union Pacific and CPKC all run intermodal service through the area, and some of the largest terminals sit just over the state line in Kansas.
Underground business parks carved into old limestone mines hold distribution and cold storage space that stays at a steady temperature year round. Plastic pallets suit those spaces because they do not take on moisture from the cave walls.
The region between Kansas City and Manhattan, Kansas, is known as the Animal Health Corridor, with a large share of the world's animal-health companies operating in it. Their vaccine and medicine shipments want clean, smooth decks.
St. Louis: beer, pet food and the rivers
St. Louis has been a brewing city since the 1800s, and the largest brewer in the US still runs its flagship brewery there. Cased bottles, cans and kegs ride on forks all day, so the dynamic rating of the exact model matters more than its static figure.
The city is also a center of pet food, with large plants and headquarters in the metro. Kibble bags are dense, slippery loads that benefit from an anti-slip deck.
The Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet just north of the city, and St. Louis is one of the busiest inland ports in the country by tonnage. Barges carry grain, coal and chemicals, and terminals along both banks transfer them to rail and truck.
Vehicles and the auto supply chain
Ford builds trucks and vans at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, and GM builds midsize trucks and vans at Wentzville, west of St. Louis on I-70. Parts reach both plants on returnable loops that often use the 48x45 footprint common in the auto trade.
A returnable plastic pallet keeps the same dimensions trip after trip, which matters for automated lines. Ask for the dynamic figure if it will move on conveyors.
Farm country, the Bootheel and the Ozarks
Outside the metros, Missouri is a farm state. Corn and soybeans cover the northern plains, cattle graze the Ozark hills, and the Bootheel in the far southeast grows rice and cotton on flat Mississippi Delta ground along I-55.
Feed mills, seed companies and meat plants serve that farm economy, and many of them run on wood pallets out of habit. Plants that wash floors daily, or that ship to grocery customers asking for cleaner packaging, are the ones that tend to switch. Poultry and egg operations in southwest Missouri near the Arkansas line fit the same pattern.
Delivering across Missouri
A truckload travels on a 53-foot dry van, about 52.5 feet long and 100 inches wide inside. A heavy-duty nestable 40x48 that Rehrig Pacific publishes fits 1,200 to a trailer, while rackable models with runners load far fewer. Smaller orders go LTL.
Springfield is home to several large trucking companies, so freight capacity through southwest Missouri tends to be easy to find. Ozark towns away from I-44 and US-65 sit on two-lane roads, which can add to an LTL delivery.
Selling surplus pallets from Missouri
Brewers and pet food makers change pallet programs when they switch packaging or customers. Send count, footprint, resin, condition and pickup ZIP, and we offer for them as pallets or as regrind. Read the date clock before you send details, since age is one thing a buyer asks about.
Questions buyers ask
Do you deliver to Kansas City underground storage parks?
Yes. Tell us the dock details and any height limits, and we quote a delivered price to that ZIP.
Which rating matters most for a St. Louis brewery?
The dynamic load, because cased beer and kegs move on forks constantly. Get it from the maker's sheet for the exact model.
Can animal health shippers get smooth-deck pallets?
Yes. Closed, smooth decks in virgin resin are available from several makers; ask for their documentation.
Can a Bootheel rice mill order fewer than a truckload?
Yes. LTL carriers run I-55 between St. Louis and Memphis, and a mill near Sikeston or Kennett can take a few stacks at its dock.
Sources
Last reviewed November 8, 2026.