Pallets in Novi
Novi has cold storage, truck leasing and auto electronics side by side. Its 2023 top employers include Harman (848), Ryder (660), Lineage Logistics (655) and Yanfeng (475).
What is here
- Cold storage
- Lineage Logistics, 655 employees in 2023
- Logistics
- Ryder, 660
- Electronics and interiors
- Harman (848), Yanfeng (475), Magna and Hanon
- ZIPs
- 48167, 48374, 48375, 48376, 48377
Novi sits where I-96 and I-275 meet, which is why a cold-storage company and a truck-leasing firm have settled there. The city is a distribution place first, and a manufacturing one second.
Cold storage is hard on pallets
A cold-chain warehouse moves wood between freezing air and ordinary air, and condensation follows. Pallets in that cycle take on moisture, and wet wood is prone to mold; wood below 20% moisture will not support it. The practical lesson is to store stock dry and let air move through the stack. The mold guide explains how.
What each employer family produces
- Cold storage: large counts of uniform 48 x 40, many of them damp. Needs prompt pickup.
- Truck leasing: few pallets, but trailers full of them for short-term needs.
- Electronics and interiors: clean, light freight on standard sizes.
Grade A is the right target for the cold chain and the electronics side.
Questions from cold-chain and logistics docks
Our pallets are damp from the freezer. Are they worth anything?
Dry them. Wood below 20% moisture will not support mold, so a few days in moving air changes the picture.
A leasing company has trailers full of pallets. Can they be moved?
Count them per trailer and note the condition. That is a natural fit for a bulk order.
Are electronics pallets cleaner?
Generally. The goods are light and packed in cartons, so pallets stay dry and unmarked.
Where two interstates meet
Novi's position makes it a handy handover point. A truck coming from the northwest or the southwest can reach it without crossing the core, which is why distribution firms cluster here.
The interior of a cold warehouse
Inside a cold store, the air is dry and cold, and the pallets are stacked tall on racks. The trouble comes at the door, where cold pallets meet warm air and gather condensation. A pallet that comes out wet and stays wet will grow mold within days. If your dock holds cold-chain stock, note how you handle that transition.
The auto electronics and interior makers nearby ship warm, dry goods on dry pallets. A route that includes both can move good dry stock past the cold store's door and carry it away before the damp can reach it.
Hours
Cold stores run around the clock. Match the pickup to the dock's quiet hour.
Logistics employers
I-96, I-696 and I-275 converge in Novi, and M-5 runs through it. Ryder System, Lineage Logistics, Harman and Yanfeng appear among its largest employers in the city's 2023 financial report, and a CSX line has run through the township since 1870-71.