TSE Pallet Rack Blog

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August for the 13th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 16th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business^®

The report was issued today by Norbert J. Ore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Manufacturing activity continued at a very positive rate in August as the PMI rose slightly when compared to July. In terms of month-over-month improvement, the Production and Employment Indexes experienced the greatest gains, while new orders continued to grow but at a slightly slower rate. August represents the 13th consecutive month of growth in U.S. manufacturing.”

For more information, please view the original article at http://www.ism.ws/ismreport/mfgrob.cfm

Terminal Steel sells a lot of pallet racking. While all sizes and capacity of pallet rack is sold,  the most common pallet rack we sell is this configuration:

• 96″ step beam
• 42″ deep x 14′ tall uprights
• Average pallet rack capacity 25,000 pounds

Lighter weight capacity is also a top seller for us. These racks have an 18,000 pound capacity. Of course your warehouse size and your product pallet loads  is what determines your company’s specific pallet rack needs. Give us a call at 1.866.543.4873 to get a quote on your ware house racking needs.

While February retail numbers being up slightly seems like good news, with unemployment still high and other economic factors, there is still caution in the air.

The news is encouraging, but the numbers have not yet been truly reflected in freight demand. Although volumes in some modes of transport are showing some good growth patterns recently, due in part to easy year-over-year comparisons.

Some recent freight transportation-related metrics include:
-a 3.4 percent increase in shipments from January to February for the Cass Freight Index but a 0.9 percent year-over-year decline;
-steady growth in rail carload and intermodal volumes in recent weeks, according to the Association of American Railroads;
-advance seasonally-adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was up 3.1 percent in January for its highest level since September 2008, following a revised 1.3 percent (previously reported 2.1 percent) increase in December and a 2.6 percent November gain, according to the American Trucking Associations; and
-two straight months of volume growth for retail container cargo ports in December and January following 28 straight months of declines, according to the Port Tracker report from the NRF and Hackett Associates.

For this complete story visit Supply Chain Management Review.

There are 4 questions to answer that will be very helpful for assessing your company’s pallet rack needs. These questions are:

1. What size pallets will you be using?
2. What height do you need?
3. What beam size and load capacity do you need?
4. Do you need wire decking or pallet supports?

How you answer these questions will be helpful in the layout of your pallet racking system and warehouse. Your goal is to utilize your available space to it’s fullest capacity.

For further assistance in your pallet rack and warehouse needs, please call a Terminal Steel representative at 1 866.543.4873.

Terminal Steel is interested in sharing with our readers. This includes events that we feel you’ll be interested in attending. We know a lot of our readers are within the Supply Chain Management field.

The annual ISM conference will be April 25 -28 in San Diego, CA. This year there will be 5 tracks:

• Track 1 — Risk Management
• Track 2 — Best Practices in Supply Management
• Track 3 — Logistics
• Track 4 — Leadership, Management and Talent
• Track 5 — Services Procurement

The Keynote speaker on Monday April 25, will John Engler.
John Engler will speak on:
Speeding the Recovery: Manufacturing and the Global Supply Chain
As President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the former Governor of Michigan (three terms) the largest industry trade group in America, John Engler has unique insights into the state of manufacturing. (NAM represents both small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.) As NAM President, Engler is a leading advocate for the 12 million Americans employed directly in manufacturing, educating the public and policymakers on issues that affect this critical sector of the U.S. economy. He promotes a broad-based agenda for maintaining U.S. competitiveness by lifting unnecessary burdens on manufacturing: excessive taxation and regulation, the high cost of health care, expensive litigation and soaring energy costs. Engler also focuses on competitiveness through innovation, research and development, implementation of information technology, intellectual property rights, visas for skilled foreign workers and education and training. In line with these goals, the NAM chairs the Compete America Coalition, representing more than 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations. Engler served in the Michigan Legislature and graduated from Michigan State University.

From www.mhia.org

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports ended a nearly two-and-a-half-year streak of year-over-year declines in December and is on track to show gains through the first half of 2010, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

“These numbers are a clear sign that retailers are optimistic about 2010,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Retailers are still going to be cautious with their inventories, but we wouldn’t see these increases in imports if stores weren’t expecting sales to improve. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen year-over-year volume go up, so this is definitely good news.”

U.S. ports handled 1.09 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in November, the latest month for which actual numbers are available. That was down 8 percent from October, traditionally the busiest month of the year, and 10 percent from November 2008. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.

The November number marked the 28th month in a row to show a decrease from the same month a year earlier. But the trend was broken in December, which was estimated at 1.08 million TEU, down slightly from November as the holiday season came to a close but a 1.7 percent increase over December 2008.

Year-over-year increases are expected to continue through the remainder of Global Port Tracker’s six-month forecast range. January is forecast at 1.15 million TEU, a 9 percent increase over January 2010, and February, traditionally the slowest month of the year, is forecast at 1.05 million TEU, up 25 percent from the previous year. March is forecast at 1.16 million TEU, up 21 percent as retailers begin to stock up for spring and summer, April at 1.19 million TEU, up 20 percent, and May at 1.2 million TEU, up 15 percent.

While final data won’t be available until next month, the report estimates that 2009 ended with a total volume of 12.7 million TEU, down 17 percent from 2008’s 15.2 million TEU and the lowest since the 12.5 million TEU reported in 2003.

More, now than ever, it’s important to plan your distribution center’ pallet racking layout s as efficiently as possible. Your distribution center is a very important component in Supply Chain Management and requires comprehensive planning to ensure your return on investment (ROI).

Craig Bertorello, Vice President of Operations, TriFactor LLC outlines the steps to ensure you have covered your bases in calculating how to layout your pallet rack. He starts by relaying the four different scenarios:

Low Activity / Low Storage Requirements
Low Activity / High Storage Requirements
High Activity / Low Storage Requirements
High Activity / High Storage Requirements

He then maintains there are 7 critical steps to ensure your success.

1. Define goals and objectives
2. Document the process
3. Collect information and data
4. Analysis
5. Create a detailed project plan
6. Implementation
7. Post project review

In today’s world it is critical that everything possible is done to remain competitive. Efficient use of warehouse space and proper pallet rack planning is a core component to improving your bottom line.

Please visit www.foodmanufacturing.com for details.

We’ve written several posts on warehouse safety. This video of an accident at a Russian vodka warehouse relays why this is such an important topic. Fortunately the forklift operator only sustained minor injuries in this accident. This was because the strength of the forklifts cage. Good thing for R&D at the warehouse manufacturers. But, it also highlights the need for pallet rack leg protectors. These may, or may not, have helped in this incident, but it may pay to have added protection for your expensive stock!

The other warehouse safety piece is forklift operator training. You really want to make sure that your crew is well trained. This will reduce your accident rate.

The collision caused the entire row of rack, and the one across from it, to come crashing down. In total, there was more than $100,000 in damage done.

embedded by Embedded Video

Your pallet rack purchase is a big investment. Here are a few items to take note of before you purchase your pallet rack.

Know Your Load

The very first thing to take note of is what you are planning to store on the pallet racking. This includes, but may not be limited to:

• Overall dimensions of the material being stored. If loads are on pallets, determine the dimensions with the pallets
• Weight per unit
• Estimated quantity of material the pallet racking is intended.

Know Your Workspace

The very next thing to learn is about the space you have to put your pallet racking. Basically, you want to maximize your use of the space. In order to get the most pallet rack in your warehouse,  keep in mind:

• The overall dimensions of your warehouse space
• What is the condition of your floor? Does it have any slopes or rough areas? Do you know what its load bearing capacity is?
• Are there any obstructions (columns, machinery, doors, etc) in the area?
• How tall is the ceiling? What is your overhead clearance? Make a note of sprinklers, lighting, ventilation systems and any other overhead equipment.
• Make sure that you understand how your pallet racking will impact your building safety. Check to make sure that your evacuation routes and eyewash stations are all available.
• Review requirements for hard hats. Also, if employees are being man-lifted or using order pickers, you’ll need fall protection training and equipment.
• Find out about pedestrian traffic restrictions.
• Are their seismic restrictions in your region? If so, you should check your local building codes regarding the requirements for the type of pallet racking you’re considering.

Know Your Material Handling Equipment

To ensure that your pallet rack system is appropriate for the product stored on the pallet racking is critical. Needed information includes:

• Load capacities of the fork lift or pallet trucks
• Turning radius is required for the equipment (to determine aisle widths)
• Maximum extended height of the lifting equipment (can it reach the top level?)

As reported from http://www.mhia.org

Material handling equipment orders are forecasted to grow 2.0-3.5% in 2010, according to the latest Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing Forecast (MHEM) released by Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA).

“We are in the middle of a contraction this year, but the worst appears to be over,” said Hal Vandiver, MHIA executive vice president of business development. “The decline in new orders is now forecasted to slow slightly in the last quarter of 2009 and hold the total year decline to 35.0% to 38.0%. We now believe that growth in the 2.0 to 3.5% range is possible in 2010.”

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