Used plastic pallets in Missouri

Where Missouri's pallet work sits

Warehousing and storage in Missouri employed 26,726 people at 523 sites in 2025, an average of 51.1 per site, by the BLS count of private employers.

Missouri against the country

Each line is Missouri's private-sector figure beside the national total, with the share it makes up and, where the data allows, its rank among the fifty states.

What the ratios say

The BLS withholds counties where a figure would identify one employer, which means the 0 counties shown for Missouri understate what the state holds.

• Size of site: 51.1 jobs in the typical Missouri warehouse, fewer than the 81.5 found across the country (37 percent fewer).
• Food manufacturing employs 1.69 people for every warehousing job in Missouri; across the US the ratio is 0.93.
• Missouri holds 2.6% of the nation's food manufacturing jobs and 1.4% of its warehousing jobs, so food is the heavier of the two lines here.
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing adds 6,745 jobs, 1.9% of the US total.
• Motor vehicle assembly accounts for 13,274 jobs in Missouri, 4.6% of the US total, with another 8,376 in parts.
• Refrigerated space works out at 3,891 cubic feet for every warehousing job, against 2,098 nationally.
• The 2 metros below account for 141% of the state's warehousing jobs, counting disclosed counties only.
• South Carolina runs warehouses of nearly the same size, at 51.5 jobs per establishment against 51.1 here.
• For food manufacturing, Michigan is the closest match at 44,404 jobs, 864 below Missouri's 45,268.
• If warehousing jobs were split evenly across 50 states, each would hold 2.0% of the total; Missouri holds 1.41%, which is 0.70 times an even share.
• South Carolina sits above Missouri with 424 more warehousing jobs, and Mississippi sits below with 1,272 fewer.

Where Missouri ranks

Missouri and the 21 states above it hold 84% of the country's 1,901,976 warehousing jobs between them. The median state has 23,211, so Missouri is 3,516 jobs above it; California, the largest, has 236,923, or 9 times as many.

Industries that use pallets in Missouri

The line that stands out in Missouri is motor vehicle manufacturing, 2.5 times as concentrated as it is across the US. Automotive plants reuse pallets in a loop and load them heavily, so ask for static and dynamic ratings and for one maker.

• Motor vehicle manufacturing: 13,274 jobs in Missouri, 4.6% of the 288,633 across the US, or 0.50 for every warehousing job in the state.
• Dairy product manufacturing: 6,107 jobs in Missouri, 3.6% of the 168,222 across the US, or 0.23 for every warehousing job in the state.
• Meat and poultry processing: 16,925 jobs in Missouri, 3.0% of the 556,647 across the US, or 0.63 for every warehousing job in the state.
• Fruit and vegetable preserving: 4,877 jobs in Missouri, 2.8% of the 173,844 across the US, or 0.18 for every warehousing job in the state.
• Chemical manufacturing: 22,970 jobs in Missouri, 2.6% of the 892,426 across the US, or 0.86 for every warehousing job in the state.

The ladder around Missouri

At 22nd of 50 states by warehousing jobs, Missouri has these neighbours in the ranking, two above and two below.

Metros we list in Missouri

2 metros in Missouri have a page with ZIPs, counties and corridors.

When something looks wrong

• Stop unloading and photograph the fault before anything moves.
• Count how many pallets show the same fault, to see if it is a lot problem or a one-off.
• Tell the desk or the seller in writing the same day, with the photographs attached.
• Hold the affected stacks apart until you hear back.
• Keep one sample pallet unused, so the maker or an inspector can examine it.

Asking for a lot in Missouri

USDA counted 104 million cubic feet of gross refrigerated warehouse space in Missouri on 1 October 2025, 12th among the states; ask the maker how a pallet behaves frozen.

• Ask for a uniform closed-loop lot in 48 x 45 in to match heavy-duty bulk containers
• Write the Missouri ZIP where the lot will land
• Say how many pallet-loads, or whether you need a truck

Other states

• Arkansas
• California
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• West Virginia

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