Plastic pallets delivered in Oregon

Portland sits where I-5 meets the Columbia

Most of Oregon's freight passes through Portland. I-5 runs the length of the Willamette Valley from Vancouver, Washington, south through Salem and Eugene to Medford and the California line. I-84 heads east from Portland through the Columbia River Gorge toward Hood River, The Dalles, Hermiston and Boise. I-205 and I-405 loop the metro, and the industrial districts along the Columbia and in Rivergate hold much of the state's warehousing.

The Port of Portland's marine terminals handle autos, grain, minerals and other bulk cargo. Container service there has come and gone over the years, so many Oregon exporters truck boxes north to Tacoma or Seattle. Upriver, barges on the Columbia and Snake carry grain down to export elevators on the lower river.

Hillsboro, Tualatin and Wilsonville on the west and south sides add electronics, metals fabrication and regional grocery distribution, and the I-5 Interstate Bridge to Vancouver, Washington, is a daily bottleneck for trucks crossing the river.

Oregon's pallet users, region by region

Food plants in the valley

The Willamette Valley grows most of the hazelnuts produced in the US, along with blueberries, blackberries, grass seed and nursery plants. A lot of that crop is frozen or processed near where it's grown, in plants that wash down every shift.

Tillamook County's creamery is one of the best-known cheese plants in the West, and dairy farms surround it on the coast. Dairy rooms favor a closed, smooth deck in HDPE that a crew can scrub and sanitize. The resin rule at 21 CFR 177.1520 covers polyethylene and polypropylene for food contact, but whether a finished pallet meets it is the maker's paperwork, not ours, so we ask for it on your behalf.

• Plastic pallets for dairy →
• Food grade plastic pallets →

Fabs, footwear and the west side

Intel's largest US site is in Hillsboro, and the chip plants there draw suppliers of process chemicals, wafers and equipment. Controlled areas in a fab generally keep wood out because it sheds fibers and dust, which makes a wipeable plastic pallet a practical requirement for anything that crosses into them.

Nike's headquarters is in Beaverton, and several apparel and outdoor brands run offices and distribution around Portland. Footwear and apparel cartons are light but bulky, so those DCs care more about racked load and footprint than about raw static strength.

• Cleanroom plastic pallets →

Delivery by van or LTL

Full loads travel on a 53-foot dry van, roughly 52.5 feet long inside. The number that fits depends on the model's height and whether it nests. Rehrig Pacific's published heavy-duty nestable 40x48, for one example, ships 1,200 to a 53-foot trailer.

Partial orders go LTL. Portland, Salem and Eugene see frequent LTL service on I-5, while the coast, central Oregon and the eastern counties take longer routing. Siskiyou Summit on I-5 and the Gorge on I-84 both see winter weather that can slow a delivery.

Bend and Redmond are reached over the Cascades on US 20 or US 26, or up US 97 from Klamath Falls; give us the delivery ZIP and the carrier routes it.

• Trailer and container loads →

Selling used pallets in Oregon

Seasonal processors often end a pack with more pallets than they need for the off-season. Send the count, footprint, resin, condition and pickup ZIP. We reply with an offer to buy them as pallets, or as regrind when they're cracked past reuse.