TSE Pallet Rack Blog

As reported: Jeff Berman, Group News Editor — Modern Materials Handling, 11/18/2009

Data released from Panjiva, an online search engine with detailed information on global suppliers and manufacturers, indicates that there was a 3% increase in the number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. market from August to September compared to a 1% increase during the same timeframe in 2008.

While this data does not portend a holiday-related impact on manufacturing data, it is an improvement over previous sequential data. Panjiva data indicated that from August to September the number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. fell by 5%, following a 1% dip from July to August.

From October 2008 to October 2009, the number of companies shipping to the U.S declined from roughly 147,000 to 139,000, a 5.4% annual decline. And from October 2007 to October 2008, the number of companies shipping to the U.S declined from roughly 157,000 to 147,000, a 6.4% annual decline.

Panjiva also reported that there was a 2% increase in the number of U.S. companies receiving waterborne shipments from global manufacturers from September to October, following a 4% decline from August to September.

“We are certainly trending positive from September to October,” said Panjiva CEO Josh Green. “This continues to be the takeaway from these numbers, but we are still operating at a fairly low number of absolute activity.”

On a comparable level, the Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index-known as the PMI-has eclipsed 50 for the last three months, which indicates decent economic growth on a sequential basis.

Green explained that these similar numbers are moving on parallel and are modestly positive signs, rather than signs of a robust and rapid recovery.

“We will take these numbers for now, considering where we all were last year, which was seeing the economy head off a cliff,” said Green.

When talking with manufacturers and suppliers of late, Green said the general consensus he has received of late is one of general caution. There was a hope that 2009 holiday would provide a boost for the manufacturing world, he said, but realistically that is not showing up in the data, nor is it what companies are expecting either, added Green.

“People are being cautious and waiting for the recovery to gain steam,” he said. “Optimism is great but where the rubber meets the road is in how many companies are making orders. We are seeing orders being kept low, because companies don’t want to be burned with a build up of inventory.”

[PR from ACT Research) Net orders for heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles soared to 21,500 units in October, the highest level since January of 2008, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT), the leading independent source of analysis in the market for trucks and other commercial vehicles.

In the latest release of the State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles, ACT indicated Class 8 new orders were up across all three North American regions as well as exports. Medium-duty Class 5-7 net orders were also at their highest level of the year, up 50 percent from the prior year.

“The sharp spike in orders and the near-term placement of a majority of the orders is a clear indication of pre-buy activity in the United States and Canada,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. “Mexico and non-NAFTA export markets also had stronger orders, likely indicating increased confidence in the economic outlook.”

ACT Research is the recognized leader in data, market analysis and forecasting for the commercial vehicle (CV) industry.In the latest release of its State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles, ACT indicated Class 8 new orders were up across all three North American regions as well as exports. Medium-duty Class 5-7 net orders were also at their highest level of the year, up 50 percent from the prior year. For more information on ACT, please go to our web site at http://www.actresearch.net.

There are plenty of shipping companies serving the U.S. To ensure that you’re getting the best pricing, do some comparison shopping. To find the best deals, check out shipping comparison sites such as ShipGooder.com or FreightQuote.com. These are 2 online services that assist you in price comparison.

Special Large Quantity Discount on Beams for Your Pallet Rack!

Terminal Steel is offering a discount when you buy a large quantity 144″ x 4 1/4″ step beams (2,700# capacity).

If you’re in the market for tear drop step beams now is the time to take advantage. We currently have 6,000 of these step beams in stock. Call 1.866.543.4873 to find out details. Visit our pallet rack section to find out about our other products.

It’s always best to try to maximize your warehouse space. Making sure that you have the right pallet racking in place is the right approach. There are several solutions to help maximize your space. Industrial Equipment News does a great job of relaying how your selection of Portable Racks, Cantilever Racks, Pallet Flow Racks, or Customized Racks/Containers should best be determined.

Terminal Steel has new & used pallet racks, cantilever racks, customized racks and rigid and collapsible containers in stock. Most items can be shipped within 24 hours. Call us at 1 866.543.4873 to find out how Terminal Steel can save you money on your next pallet rack purchase.

Tom Andel a blogger for Modern Materials Handling recent post clarifies how a dusty Division 2 warehouse might require expensive EX equipment that has extra safeguards against flammable vapors and dusts. Tom does a great job of explaining it all at http://www.mmh.com.

The vast majority of pallet rack failure comes from a forklift or other loader hitting the rack. Pallet rack failure could also be caused by overloading with product.

Warehouse facilities need to implement safety regulations, as well as take preventative measures. Most of the collisions are at the corners of aisles. Here are a few ways a company can provide some protection to the pallet rack from these collisions.

1. Put guarding one to two feet in front of the rack ends
2. Add reinforcing cores to your uprights to increase their collision resistance
3. Install column protectors to the uprights which will help deflect impacts.

Companies should also conduct regular audits of their pallet rack syestems to ensure that loads are sitting properly on the rack beams and that any damaged  racking is replaced immediately.

Simple measures like these need to be put into place to create a safe work environment for all.

The very nature of pallet rack requires that companies follow a set of safety rules to ensure this safety. I found the following information on the wiki site and wanted to pass it along to those responsible for the safety of their warehouse.

1. Pay attention to any loose components in the pallet rack system, and take the time to report any damage in the pallet rack frame; such frame damage could cause the pallets to fall.
2. It is the owner’s legal responsibility to communicate this important warning to all who are around storage racks:
   “Never climb on racks during or after assembly. Storage racks are not designed to be stepped on or climbed on. A slip or fall may result in serious injury.”
   It is especially important to have highly visible warning signs if the pallet rack system is used in retail environments, such as wholesale centers, where the public is present.
3. Use only quality pallets that are not damaged. To save money, or perhaps from neglectful management, some warehouses use pallets until they become faulty and dangerous. Regular inspection of pallets for broken or fractured planks or stringers, protruding nails, and missing support blocks is essential. Damaged pallets can cause loading and unloading problems; for example, loose stringers can get hung up on the pallet racks, which can cause loads to fall from high positions. Also, faulty pallets can cause obstruction problems in flow systems by jamming certain pallet rack designs.
4. Always ensure that the proper motorized equipment is being used for the application.
5. Do not obstruct the end of aisles by staging pallets in these areas. Doing so can cause severe and potentially fatal injuries and accidents.
6. Never overload or exceed the recommended load specifications for a racking system. Overloading may cause a catastrophic failure of your storage rack system.
7. Rack Audits (safety checks) should be performed on a regular basis by a qualified inspector familiar with RMI design and safety standards to make sure all aspects of system are up to 100% operationally safety.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallet_rack

From the  August 2009 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business^®

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August, following 18 consecutive months of contraction, and the overall economy grew for the fourth 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. “The year-and-a-half decline in manufacturing output has come to an end, as 11 of 18 manufacturing industries are reporting growth when comparing August to July. While this is certainly a positive occurrence, we have to keep in mind that it is the beginning of a new cycle and that all industries are not yet participating in the growth. The August index of 52.9 percent is the highest since June 2007. The 4 percentage point increase was driven by significant strength in the New Orders Index, which is up 9.6 points to 64.9 percent, the highest since December 2004. The growth appears sustainable in the short term, as inventories have been reduced for 40 consecutive months and supply chains will have to re-stock to meet this new demand.”

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#1 Figure Your Load:

• Measure the width and height of your pallets while loaded with product. Include the actual pallet in your dimensions.
• Determine the heaviest weights of your pallet loads.

#2 Select Your Uprights

• Figure how tall your building’s ceiling is, or how high you want to go with your loads. You’ll want to decide how tall your pallet rack upright should be by dividing the height of your total pallet loads. Make sure that you take into account about 6” clearance top to bottom for each level, and don’t forget to take into account your beam height.
  If your warehouse has 21’ ceilings, your pallets are 4’ high and you’re using 5” beams, you would be able to have 4 tiers of pallets. 4x 4’ = 16’ plus 4 times 5” = 20”, plus 4 x 6” clearance = 24” 16’ + 1’8” + 2’ = 19’8”. However, you do not need to have the pallet rack go up to the top of the highest pallet. In this scenario, you would want to buy the rack at least 15’2” to give clearance for all the pallets.  Pallet rack is readily available in 16’ heights.
• The depth of your pallet rack upright is based on the depth of your pallet. You want it to be the same size or 6” shorter when wire decks are being used
• You’ll need to determine what capacity upright you need by adding up the maximum weight for each pallet and multiplying it by the number of pallets in a pallet rack bay. If your 4’ high pallets weigh 3000# each and you’re putting 2 on each shelf, then 4 high, you’ll need to have pallet rack uprights that have a 24,000# capacity. Your rack supplier can help you with ensuring your pallet rack uprights meet your needs.

#3 Select Your Pallet Rack Beams

• Make sure you use the maximum weight that you’ll be storing when figuring out beam capacity. In this example you’ll be putting 2 pallets on each shelf, therefore you’ll need beams that have a 6000# capacity. Beams that have heavier capacities will be taller. A 3.5” x 120” beam has less capacity that a 5” x 120” beam.
• To determine how wide to buy your beams, take the width of your pallet and add at least 2” between the uprights and each pallet, for easier placement and retrieval.

#4 Do the Math

• Add up all of the information from the steps above. Make sure that when you plan your aisles you make room for the turning radius of your forklift.