Pallets in suburban Maryland
Suburban Maryland is where DC’s supermarkets, biotech plants and distribution centers actually sit. We work Prince George’s, Montgomery, Frederick and Charles counties, with a page for each place where pallets pile up or are needed.
Four counties, four kinds of pallet
| County | What the dock ships | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Prince George’s | Groceries, manufactured goods, trade and transport; 59,209 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities in 2024 | Prince George’s County |
| Montgomery | Biotech and medical research along I-270 and Route 29; 14,692 manufacturing jobs in 2024 | Montgomery County |
| Frederick | Wholesale and grocery distribution, HVAC manufacturing and biomanufacturing on I-70 and I-270 | Frederick |
| Charles | Distribution and retail; trade, transportation and utilities were 22.6% of jobs in 2024 | Waldorf |
Maryland Commerce, Brief Economic Facts for each county.
The places we have pages for
- Prince George’s: Prince George’s County, Landover, Capitol Heights, Beltsville, Hyattsville.
- Montgomery: Montgomery County, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown.
- Frederick and Charles: Frederick, Waldorf.
Towns without a page are not outside our area; they are just not where we have anything specific to say. Send a count from anywhere in the region.
How the lane to DC works
Prince George’s sits closest, with I-95/I-495, U.S. 1, U.S. 50, U.S. 301, MD 295 and MD 200 through it. Montgomery is a straight run down I-270 or Route 29. Frederick is further out on I-70, I-270 and U.S. 15. Charles County to the south takes U.S. 301. Distance changes how a pickup would be planned and the minimum load worth sending a truck for, which is why the ZIP comes first.
What the suburbs have that the city lacks
The District has little land for warehouses, so the work of storing, sorting and shipping sits in the surrounding counties. Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have most of the grocery and biotech docks, Frederick has the large distribution centers, and Charles County has retail and an Amazon site. A pallet that leaves a District alley may well end up at one of them.
That is why we describe the suburban pages as lanes: each is a road or corridor that one hauling trip can cover, and the page for a place says which road it is on and who ships there.
Choosing a county page
- Grocery, food plants or a federal site: start with Prince George’s County.
- Lab, plant or farm: start with Montgomery County.
- A large distribution dock: start with Frederick.
- A shopping center or retail park to the south: start with Waldorf.
Why the counties look different
Prince George’s grew around rail, highways and a Foreign Trade Zone. Montgomery grew around federal research and then biotech. Frederick grew around highways and wide-open land. Charles grew around the retail needs of a spreading suburb. Those histories explain the freight, and the freight explains the pallets.
Before you write
Have the street address of the dock, the hours it receives visitors, the name of someone who can sign for a pickup, and a rough picture of how the pallets are stacked. With those four details a county page becomes a plan instead of a guess.
Counties as freight regions
Prince George’s County had 59,209 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities in 2024, 18.0 percent of its employment, with rail, a Foreign Trade Zone and Giant Food among its biggest employers. Montgomery County has over 300 biotech companies. Frederick County’s employers include a Costco distribution center, an Aldi distribution center, an air-conditioner maker and a biotech plant. Charles County lists an Amazon distribution site among its major employers.
What each county says about its piles
- Prince George’s: grocery, retail and rail freight, so large piles of fairly clean pallets.
- Montgomery: laboratories and manufacturing, so smaller, cleaner piles and more record keeping.
- Frederick: distribution and manufacturing on the highways, so trailer-scale loads.
- Charles and Waldorf: retail freight at a growing suburb’s edge.
Before you send a count
Say which county the dock is in, the nearest cross streets, and whether a truck can reach the door. A pickup in Frederick and a pickup in Hyattsville are different trips, and the plan changes with the road.
Rail and highways in the pickup plan
Prince George’s County is served by I-95 and I-495, U.S. 1, U.S. 50, U.S. 301, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the ICC, with CSX and Norfolk Southern rail. Frederick County is served by I-70, I-270, U.S. 15, U.S. 40 and U.S. 340, with CSX and Maryland Midland rail. A truck leaving a dock in either county has several ways out, which is why same-week pickup questions are worth asking.
Biotech and the clean pile
Montgomery County had 14,692 manufacturing jobs across 539 establishments in 2024, plus more than 130 trucking establishments. MilliporeSigma is moving into a 250,000 square foot space in Rockville. Laboratory and manufacturing sites generate pallets that stayed indoors, were handled gently and carried clean goods. Those are worth keeping apart from the mixed freight of a yard, and a record of what they carried makes them easier to place.
Waldorf and the southern edge
Charles County had 9,750 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities in 2024, 22.6 percent of its employment. Retail docks along the southern highways receive freight on pallets and have little space for the empties, so Waldorf pickups tend to be smaller, steadier and tied to store delivery days.
In this section
- Prince George's County, MDUsed pallets in Prince George’s County: supermarket and distribution parks, rail and the Beltway. Send a count by ZIP for a call on sale or pickup.
- Landover, MDUsed pallets in Landover, MD: a coffee plant, a grocery headquarters and the Beltway at U.S. 50. Send a count for sale, pickup or clear-out.
- Capitol Heights, MDUsed pallets in Capitol Heights, MD: a small town on the DC line with light industry and an enterprise zone. Send a count for pickup or sale.
- Beltsville, MDUsed pallets in Beltsville, MD: a USDA research center and the U.S. 1 corridor north of College Park. Send a count by ZIP for pickup or sale.
- Hyattsville, MDUsed pallets in Hyattsville, MD: breweries, distilleries and retail on the Route 1 corridor. Send a count for pickup, sale or a regular schedule.
- Montgomery County, MDUsed pallets in Montgomery County, MD: biotech along I-270, manufacturing and groceries. Send a count by ZIP for a sale, pickup or clear-out.
- Rockville, MDUsed pallets in Rockville, MD: biotech manufacturing and biosafety testing, plus the Traville Gateway campus. Send a count for sale or pickup.
- Gaithersburg, MDUsed pallets in Gaithersburg, MD: AstraZeneca, NIST, genetic testing and vaccine makers. Send a count by ZIP for a pickup or sale call.
- Germantown, MDUsed pallets in Germantown, MD: reagent makers and satellite communications on the upper I-270 corridor. Send a count for pickup or sale.
- Frederick, MDUsed pallets in Frederick, MD: Costco and Aldi distribution, HVAC and biomanufacturing on I-70 and I-270. Send a count by ZIP for a call.
- Waldorf, MDUsed pallets in Waldorf, MD: Charles County distribution, retail and an Amazon site. Send a count by ZIP for a sale, pickup or clear-out.
Send the count
Questions
- Which Maryland counties do you serve?
- Prince George’s, Montgomery, Frederick and Charles, plus the District line.
- Do you pick up in smaller Maryland towns?
- Send a count from any ZIP in the region and ask for a pickup; a page exists where we have something specific to say.
- What is a lane?
- A road or corridor that one hauling trip can cover, so several nearby loads can share it.
- Which county has the most grocery docks?
- Prince George’s, where Giant Food and Shoppers are among the largest employers.