Service area · Wilmington, DE
Pallets deliveredin Wilmington, DE.
Wilmington's freight starts at the state-owned port on the Christina River, where fruit, juice concentrate, livestock, steel and vehicles come across the docks. From there, I-95 and I-495 run to Philadelphia and Baltimore, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge carries trucks into New Jersey.
Dock date
In writing, on every quote.
Standard 48x40s often land in 0–2 business days.
Delivered, per pallet
$4.75–$10.50Recycled 48x40s per 53' truck
616How we supply it
An Atlanta broker, a yard near your dock.
Chesapeake Pallets is a pallet broker based in Atlanta. We don't run a yard in Wilmington. For each load we buy from an independent yard close to your dock that has your grade in stock, and the delivered price includes the freight. One account manager handles the quote, the paperwork and the invoice.
Where we deliver
Around Wilmington.
Docks sit along the Christina River and the Wilmington riverfront, in Edgemoor and Claymont up I-495, in New Castle and Newport, around Newark and Bear, at Delaware City, and south of the canal in Middletown and Townsend.
- Wilmington riverfront
- Edgemoor
- Claymont
- New Castle
- Newport
- Newark
- Bear
- Glasgow
- Delaware City
- Middletown
- Townsend
- Kennett Square
Served from our Atlanta office through vetted yards near Wilmington.
Wilmington at a glance
What Wilmington makes and moves.
Banks, hospitals and chemical and materials companies dominate Wilmington's office economy, but goods move mostly through the port and the warehouses south of the city. The port's operator lists more than a million square feet of cold and ambient warehousing, including 20 million cubic feet of cold storage, and it handles containers, forest products, steel, livestock and project cargo. Construction is under way on a new container terminal at Edgemoor, with its first waterside phase targeted for the end of 2028. To the northwest, Kennett Square, considered a Wilmington suburb, sits in mushroom country that grows about half the nation's crop.
Cold rooms set the tone for pallet demand. Imported fruit and local mushrooms move through chilled, damp rooms where weak boards soften and break, so packers want tight decks and fresh lumber. Breakbulk handlers need sturdy, heavy-duty pallets for steel, lumber and machinery. Fulfillment centers in Middletown and along US 301 cycle ordinary 48x40s quickly and care more about matching grades than anything else.
Who buys pallets here
The docks that run on pallets in Wilmington.
- 01
Christina River fruit cold stores
Reefer ships discharge fresh fruit and juice concentrate at the port, which lists 20 million cubic feet of cold storage near its berths. Importers and repackers rebuild that cargo into grocery loads, and cold, damp rooms wear out tired wood, so they want sturdy 48x40s, often AAA or new.
Food & beverage → - 02
Kennett Square mushroom growers
Mushroom farms around Kennett Square, the Chester County borough just over the state line, produce roughly half of the U.S. mushroom crop. Growing and packing rooms stay cool and wet all year, so shippers ask for tight, well-built pallets that hold up to moisture and repeated cooler trips.
Food & beverage → - 03
Middletown fulfillment and US 301
Middletown has an e-commerce fulfillment center and fast-growing commercial development along the US 301 toll road and DE 1. Fulfillment and retail warehouses there turn recycled 48x40s at high volume, so they need one consistent grade per trailer and pallets that fit racking, conveyors and automated wrappers.
3PL & warehousing → - 04
Port breakbulk and project cargo
Steel, forest products, livestock, autos, wind-energy parts and other project cargo cross the same Wilmington docks as the fruit. Warehouses handling steel, lumber and machinery near the port lean on block pallets, custom sizes and heavier stringer stock than retail freight needs, plus HT wood for anything going back out by sea.
3PL & warehousing →
- Warehousing and storage · NAICS 493
- 104establishments
- Food manufacturing · NAICS 311
- 31establishments
- Grocery wholesalers · NAICS 4244
- 97establishments788 jobs0.49× the US share of jobs
How freight moves
Ports, rail and interstates.
I-95 crosses the city between Philadelphia and Baltimore, and I-495 runs along the riverfront, less than a quarter mile from the port, according to the port. The Delaware Memorial Bridge carries I-295 and US 40 to New Jersey and the Turnpike. South of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, DE 1 and the US 301 toll road pass Middletown. A Class I railroad serves the port directly. Container exporters can load at Wilmington or at Philadelphia's Packer Avenue terminal, and the Port of Baltimore is a run down I-95.
- I-95
- I-495
- Delaware Memorial Bridge
- US 301
- Port of Wilmington
- Packer Avenue terminal
Which pallet to order
The right grade for Wilmington.
Cold-store and mushroom docks should start at AAA or new 48x40s, since fresh lumber and tight decks stand up better in wet rooms; Grade A can work for dry staging. Middletown fulfillment buildings usually run Grade A outbound and Grade B for internal moves. Steel, lumber and machinery handlers near the port need block pallets or custom sizes. Export boxes loaded here or at Packer Avenue need HT pallets stamped under ISPM 15. Heat treatment kills pests; it does not stop mold in a cold room.
Delivered prices
Price a load to 19801.
Full-truckload ranges with freight in. Your ZIP and count set the firm number on the call.
Grade B
$4.75–$6.75
per pallet, delivered
Repaired, sound, ready to load.
Grade A
$6.75–$8.75
per pallet, delivered
Three solid stringers. No plugs, no companions.
AAA
$8.50–$10.50
per pallet, delivered
Clean, uniform, no repairs.
Block
$6.25–$8.50
per pallet, delivered
Full 4-way entry on every side.
New
Quoted
to your spec
Fresh lumber, built to your spec.
Freight included — never a separate line.Heat-treated: +$1.00–$1.50/pallet.Full-truckload ranges as of Thursday, October 15.
Delivering to Delaware. Your account manager narrows this to one number for 19801, same business day.
Delivered, freight included
$6.75–$8.75/pallet
- Load total
- $4,158–$5,390
- Trucks
- 1 × 53'
- On your dock
- Exact date on your quote — often 0–2 business days after your PO
Full truck — best per-pallet price.
Your first load runs as a no-contract test load.
Typical delivered ranges as of Thursday, October 15. Your account manager confirms a firm price on the call — same business day.
Straight answers
Buying pallets in Wilmington.
Can you deliver pallets to cold stores near the Port of Wilmington?+
What pallet should a Kennett Square mushroom grower order?+
Do you deliver to fulfillment centers in Middletown and along US 301?+
Will the Edgemoor container terminal now under construction change pallet needs?+
What do pallets cost delivered to Wilmington, DE?+
When will a load reach Wilmington, DE?+
Your first Wilmington load, priced today.
One full truck, billed at the quoted price. Net 30, no contract. Your dock date in writing on every quote.