Grand Rapids pallets: what the docks ship on
Grand Rapids sits on the Grand River about 25 miles east of Lake Michigan. The river once floated logs to its mills, and furniture is still on the list of what the city ships, beside health care, food and beverage and printing.
- Size
- 48x40, built-to-drawing furniture skids
- Build
- Stringer for freight, skid for furniture
- Grade
- A or new for showroom goods
- Trades
- Furniture, health care, food and beverage, printing
- ZIPs
- 49503 to 49508, 49525, 49546, 49548
Roads and rail you will hear named
- I-96 runs along the north and northeast of the city
- I-196, the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, crosses east to west
- US 131 runs north to south
- M-6 bends around the south side
- M-11 follows Wilson Avenue, Ironwood and Remembrance Drive, and 28th Street
Gerald R. Ford International Airport lies in Cascade Township, east of the city, and processed over 65 million pounds of cargo in 2024 according to the airport. Read Cascade Township for that side.
Four loads, four pallets
| Trade | Pallet question |
|---|---|
| Office furniture | A footprint built to the product, usually new; see office furniture |
| Health care and medical | Clean, consistent stock; see medical devices |
| Food and beverage | Dry 48x40s with no loose nails; see food and grocery |
| Printing | Heavy paper stock on stiff decks; ask about deck coverage |
Steelcase and Corewell Health are among the city's larger employers. Lead a request with the trade, since no single pallet fits the city, then the size, the grade and the weekly count.
Manufacturing is the base
Greater Grand Rapids had more than 78,500 manufacturing jobs in 2023, per The Right Place, and about four out of five manufacturers in the region have fewer than 250 employees (Colliers, 2017). Most of the docks in the city belong to mid-size plants that buy a few hundred pallets at a time.
ZIP codes
The city is covered by ZIP codes 49503, 49504, 49505, 49506, 49507, 49508, 49525, 49546 and 49548. Downtown loading docks, industrial streets near the river and warehouse districts toward the south fall in different ones, so name the one your dock uses.
Breweries, printers and hospitals
The city is also known for its medical district, and health care employs a large share of its workers. Hospitals and clinics receive supplies on pallets and break them down in loading rooms, producing pallets that go back to suppliers or out to be cleared.
| Trade | Load | Pallet |
|---|---|---|
| Craft brewing | Kegs and cased beer | Sound B with stiff decks |
| Printing | Reams and rolls of paper | Flat, dry A with near-solid decks |
| Hospital supply | Cartons of clinical goods | New or A, clean |
Sources: Wikipedia, "Grand Rapids, Michigan" (read 11 November 2026); The Right Place 2023 Manufacturing Report; Ford Airport 2024 statistics.
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