Plastic pallet recycling in Michigan: what the yards hold and where it goes

How Michigan compares

Across 576 establishments, warehousing and storage in Michigan employed 40,753 people in 2025. That is 2.14% of the national total and puts the state 16th of 50, with an average of 70.8 jobs per site.

The state sits in the East North Central states, a Census division. Its sites average 70.8 jobs against 81.5 across the country, and it holds 2.47% of the nation's warehousing establishments.

Where the warehousing jobs sit in Michigan

The counties with the most warehousing jobs, from the same BLS count: Wayne (22,255), Oakland (4,113) and Macomb (3,556).

• Wayne County22,255 jobs, 54.6% of the Michigan total.
• Oakland County4,113 jobs, 10.1% of the Michigan total.
• Macomb County3,556 jobs, 8.7% of the Michigan total.

What fills the yards in Michigan

5 further industries are named in the market data for Michigan. Each retires pallets for its own reasons.

• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing111,465 private jobs in 2025, 21.4% of the US total. 48 x 45 pallets matching heavy auto parts bulk containers, and 48 x 40 for general parts flows. Often heavy-duty HDPE with high static ratings. Uniform stock is easy to describe: one footprint, one colour, one maker. Say if oil or metal swarf was on the decks. In a pile from here, photograph the stack and a runner close up.
• Motor vehicle manufacturing44,870 private jobs in 2025, 15.5% of the US total. 48 x 45 pallets matched to bulk containers for parts, heavy duty, closed loop with known sites. In a pile from here, photograph the plant or supplier markings.
• Plastics product manufacturing32,916 private jobs in 2025, 5.7% of the US total. Retired stock after a product line ends. Some processors regrind their own scrap, and a pallet pile is one more feedstock. In a pile from here, photograph moulded codes and maker marks.
• Fruit and vegetable preserving7,444 private jobs in 2025, 4.3% of the US total. Beverage-style 56 x 44 and 48 x 40 pallets for cans and jars, plus 43 x 43 bulk bag pallets for additives and ingredients. A pack season ends and the yard is cleared. Sugar and acid residue stain decks. A customer standard change retires a footprint. In a pile from here, photograph a stack from the side, and a stained deck.
• Refrigerated warehousing3,158 private jobs in 2025, 4.3% of the US total. Hygienic, easy-to-wash pallets in 48 x 40, often PP or HDPE with closed or solid decks, because cold stores need surfaces that drain and wash clean. In a pile from here, photograph the cracks at corners and along the deck.

The rest of Michigan's pallet economy

Private jobs in 2025: food manufacturing 44,404, pharmaceutical manufacturing 11,060, motor vehicle assembly 44,870 and auto parts 111,465. Measured against the national share of employment, motor vehicle parts manufacturing is the most concentrated pallet-using industry here, at 7.5 times.

Cold storage in Michigan

USDA counted 88 million cubic feet of gross refrigerated warehouse space in Michigan on October 1, 2025, 15th of 36 states. Cold stores wear pallets differently, and the refrigerated warehousing page says how.

What the size of the state means

Michigan is a mid-table warehouse state. The jobs sit in a few places, and a pile outside them is the exception. Give the ZIP early, because distance to the nearest cluster decides how a load is placed.

Big metros elsewhere in the East North Central states

Against Michigan's 40,753 warehousing jobs, the largest metros in the same division are Chicago, Illinois (59,586, 1.46 times), Indianapolis, Indiana (41,067, 1.01 times), Columbus, Ohio (34,200, 0.84 times), Cincinnati, Ohio (19,940, 0.49 times), Cleveland, Ohio (13,652, 0.33 times) and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (8,262, 0.20 times).

Next to Michigan

The table sets the warehousing counts of Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin against Michigan.

Metros we cover in Michigan

Detroit and Grand Rapids each have a page with ZIPs, counties and a corridor note.

• Detroit-Warren-Dearborn30,083 warehousing jobs, 11th of 60 metros. ZIPs 48150, 48174, 48180.
• Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood3,125 warehousing jobs, 50th of 60 metros. ZIPs 49512, 49544, 49548.

Marked pallets in Michigan

No Michigan-specific rule on stray proprietary pallets appears in our sources. Check every pallet for marks first; California's AB 1760 is the one rule we cite.

Describing a Michigan load

For a Michigan pickup: ZIP, count, footprint. From motor vehicle parts manufacturing, photograph the stack and a runner close up. From motor vehicle manufacturing, photograph the plant or supplier markings.