Pallets in River Rouge and Zug Island
River Rouge is a small city that is mostly industry. Zug Island covers 0.93 square miles of it, and port terminals line the river.
What is here
- Zug Island
- 0.93 square miles, heavily industrialized
- Terminals
- Port terminals line the Rouge
- History
- Shipbuilding
- ZIPs
- 48218, 48209
Little of the city is residential, and what is not housing is steel, bulk handling and river terminals. The freight is heavy and the pallets get hard use.
The stock it produces
- Cores. Many pallets come off these docks cracked, rusted or oily.
- Heavy block builds that are worth repairing.
- Skids and dunnage, which are not pallets for resale.
A buyer can only decide on an honest description, so say which is which. Pallet cores covers what happens to ones that are past repair.
Access
Much of the land is gated and controlled. Give the gate name, the contact and any safety training required when you send the request. A pickup that cannot get through the gate is the most common reason for a failed first trip here.
Questions about industrial riverfront
Can a pallet that sat in the weather be reused?
Sometimes. Dry out the wood, check the nails and look for splits. Soft or blackened boards mean a core.
Do terminals use their own pallets?
Many use skids and crates rather than pallets. Anything that is a standard wooden pallet can be listed.
We have bent steel strapping on our pile. Does it matter?
Remove it first if you can. Strapping tears tires and hands.
Gates and permits
Many sites on the river need a badge, a hard hat and an escort. Include these in the request: a driver who cannot reach the pile wastes the trip for everyone.
Safety first
Heavy industry means heavy rules. Many sites require safety induction, personal protective equipment and an escort, and some forbid cameras. The pallet request should say whether any of these apply, and the driver should be told before arrival. A pickup that stops at a gate for an hour while someone finds a hard hat is a pickup nobody wants to repeat.
The same care applies to the pile itself: nails, banding and stacked heights in an industrial yard can be hazardous. A pile taller than two pallets over head height should be restacked before anyone approaches it.
Bridges and rail crossings
Industrial riverfront areas have rail crossings and movable bridges that can hold a truck for minutes. Allow slack in the schedule, and tell the driver which crossing the route takes.
Rain and soot
Industrial air leaves a film on outdoor stacks. Say if yours has stood long.
Zug Island
Zug Island, a heavily industrialized and unpopulated 0.93 square miles of the city's land, sits where the River Rouge meets the Detroit River. Jefferson Avenue crosses the river on the West Jefferson Avenue-Rouge River Bridge.