Pallets in Monroe
Monroe has Michigan's only Lake Erie port, with La-Z-Boy (522 employees) and Gerdau Macsteel (450) among its top employers in 2010.
What is here
- Furniture
- La-Z-Boy headquarters
- Steel bar
- Gerdau Macsteel
- Power
- DTE generation
- Port
- Lake Erie
- Food
- SYGMA foodservice distribution
- ZIPs
- 48161, 48162
The employer counts above are from 2010, so they show the mix of trades rather than today's headcount. The mix itself is unusual for the region: furniture, steel and a foodservice distributor within one small city.
Each trade, one pallet
| Trade | What its pallets look like |
|---|---|
| Furniture | Flat, clean, standard 48 x 40; see furniture |
| Steel bar | Heavy, oily, often cores; see steel and metals |
| Foodservice | Dry Grade A in volume |
| Port | Mixed, with foreign stamps; see the stamp guide |
A trip, not a stop
Monroe is south of the main metro and a pickup is a proper run. A full trailer is the sensible unit: 26 straight or 30 turned of a 48 x 40 on one layer. The trailer guide shows how to plan one. A group of docks that can fill a truck between them makes the trip worth it for everyone.
Questions from Monroe docks
We are far south. Is the trip worth it?
For a full trailer, yes. For a few pallets, join a neighbor.
Does a foodservice dock need Grade A?
Usually. Dry, clean and uniform stock is the safest.
Port pallets bear foreign stamps. Does that matter?
It matters for export. A legible mark is valuable; the guide explains why.
Four employers, four piles
A furniture maker, a steel bar mill, a power station and a food distributor have almost nothing in common as pallet sources, which is why each pile should be listed on its own line.
The power station and the port
DTE's generation station and the Lake Erie port are the two heavy users of equipment in the city. Maintenance outages at a station bring spare parts, large valves and pipe, which arrive on skids and pallets built for the load. The port handles bulk and general cargo, and what is not bulk is often on pallets from abroad.
A request from either should state the load rating needed, since a pallet that is fine for office supplies will not carry a valve body. Say whether the pallets will be used once and discarded, or returned.
Roads out of town
Monroe has freeway access north to the rest of the metro and south to Ohio. A truck leaving fully loaded usually heads north, so a pickup early in the morning avoids afternoon congestion on the way back.
Distance
Monroe is the farthest city on the list from the center. Count the trip into the price.
Highways, rail and port
Monroe has five I-75 interchanges, US 24 (Telegraph Road) through the city and M-50 ending at US 24. Norfolk Southern, CSX and Canadian National run freight there, and the Port of Monroe is Michigan's only Lake Erie seaport.
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