The plants
The Detroit region produces 1.7 million vehicles a year. Stellantis' Sterling Heights Assembly builds the Ram 1500 in a 5,000,000 sq ft plant with 7,008 employees (2022). Jefferson North Assembly in Detroit, opened in 1991, builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango with 5,096 employees. GM's Factory Zero on the Detroit-Hamtramck border covers 365 acres with 4,500,000 sq ft of floor space. Ford's River Rouge complex in Dearborn, completed in 1928, builds the F-Series.
We name those plants because their freight is the freight of this region. We do not claim any of them as a customer. Each plant takes parts in containers, and each ends up with empties. How a given plant handles them is its business.
Where empties come from
- Launches. Ramp-up brings a surge of inbound boxes before the line is running at rate.
- Program ends. A program closes and its packaging has no next use.
- Inbound changes. A supplier changes pack and the old boxes sit.
- Stamping. Coil, blanks and finished panels each have their own container, and some of them are gaylords.
What a plant sells, and what it needs
| A plant sells | A plant needs |
|---|---|
| Single-trip gaylords, 48 x 40 or 48 x 45 in | Gaylords for scrap, trim and internal moves |
| Knocked-down stacks on pallets | Backup packs for its own outbound parts |
| Crushed or wet boxes for OCC | A pickup that does not tie up a dock door |
Read clearing empties after a launch or program for the staging tips, and recycling for boxes past reuse. Then send a request.
Facts and figures
- Automotive packaging for ocean containers is generally one-way (expendable) because returning it costs too much (Automotive Logistics, January 13, 2017). (automotivelogistics.media, retrieved 2026-11-11.)
- The longer the logistics leg, the less practical returnable packaging becomes, and spare parts shipped to service centers usually go one-way in expendable packaging. (macfarlanepackaging.com, retrieved 2026-11-11.)
Terms
- returnable container: A plastic, metal or wood container that cycles between a supplier and a plant; gaylords stand in for them when the returnables run short.
- backup pack: The expendable pack a supplier ships when its returnable containers are short; it should match the returnable's footprint and pack quantity.
- expendable packaging: One-way packaging, usually corrugated, that is not returned to the shipper; in automotive it covers long lanes, export and shortages of returnables.
- standard pack quantity: How many parts go in one container under the customer's packaging spec.