How deep should a pallet flow lane be?

Five to twenty pallets is typical. Depth should match how much of one SKU moves through in a cycle - a lane that never fills is wasting a pick face. We size depth from your actual movement data, not a rule of thumb.

What keeps pallets from moving too fast down the lane?

Lane pitch is calculated for the load, and brake rollers or separators control travel from there. Pallets index forward at a walking pace, protecting both product and frames.

Does pallet condition matter?

A great deal. Broken bottom boards and heavy overhang cause most hang-ups in flow lanes. If your pallet pool is rough, full-width rollers are the safer specification, and we'll tell you that up front rather than after installation.

Can flow racking work in a freezer?

Yes - cold storage is one of the strongest arguments for it, since density directly reduces refrigerated cubic feet you're paying to cool. Components get specified for the temperature range so bearings and brakes behave in the cold.

How does pallet flow compare to pushback rack?

Flow gives you true FIFO but needs an aisle on both ends of the lane. Pushback runs LIFO and works from a single aisle. If rotation drives the operation, flow wins; if floor space is the binding constraint, pushback usually does.

Is pallet flow more expensive than selective racking?

Per position, yes - rollers, brakes, and structural rail cost more than beams and decking. Per square foot of building, it can come out ahead once you account for how many pallets a deep lane holds behind one pick face.

St. Louis, Missouri

Pallet Flow Rack in St. Louis, MO

Name: St. Louis Pallet Racks
Address: 1118 Hampton Ave Ste 219, St. Louis, MO, 63139, US
Telephone: (314) 338-4815
Price range: $$

Food inventory in Carondelet is arriving by production lot, yet the oldest pallets are getting trapped behind fresh receipts. A constrained dock approach makes separate receiving and shipping paths as important as adding positions.

Pallet flow rack moves loads from a receiving face to a separate picking face on controlled gravity lanes. It supports first-in, first-out movement within the assigned lane, but does not eliminate the need for lot separation or suitable pallets. Our consultation checks weight range, bottom-board condition, throughput, and lane occupancy before choosing rollers and brakes. Set a clear load-to-pick direction without relying on operators to reshuffle dates. Start with your building drawing and current load information so the proposal addresses the immediate bottleneck rather than selling capacity you cannot use.

(314) 338-4815

Why St. Louis Warehouses Work With Us

Planning around North Riverfront, The Hill, and Carondelet starts with how the local operation handles material, not with a standard rack diagram. Older city industrial buildings combine changing roof heights, dense column grids, and loading doors that were positioned for a different shipping operation. Food processors, printers, and regional distributors need those constraints accounted for before more steel occupies the floor.

For this project, the central decision is straightforward: set a clear load-to-pick direction without relying on operators to reshuffle dates. Flow through racking needs working room at both ends, and that room belongs on the drawing just as much as stored positions do. We compare deeper lanes with a larger number of shorter lanes so rotation, SKU variety, and daily dispatch can be evaluated together. Loaded travel testing and clear lane assignments are part of the handover discussion.

As a division of Warehouse Equipment & Supplies Co., St. Louis Pallet Racks gives you a single point of contact for the free warehouse consultation, layout revisions, component questions, and installation planning. We explain what is included, identify unresolved measurements, and keep changes visible in an itemized quote. If your operating priorities change, the drawing is reviewed before material is released rather than leaving your team to work around a surprise.

Free warehouse consultation
CAD layout with storage counts
One contact for layout, delivery, and installation

Pallet flow rack lanes with gravity rollers installed

Flow racking system loaded with pallets at the pick face

How Pallet Flow Rack Works

Load one side, pick the other, and let gravity enforce first in, first out.

Load end

Pallets enter at the high end of the lane. Each new pallet stages behind the one before it, so put-away is a single move made from the load-side aisle.

Gravity conveyor

Full-width rollers or skate-wheel tracks, set on a pitch calculated for the pallet weight, carry loads forward under control rather than free rolling.

Braking and separation

Brake rollers and pallet separators regulate travel and stop pallets from bunching, protecting both the product and the structure underneath it.

Pick end

Pickers work a face of first-in pallets. Pull one and the next indexes forward automatically, so the pick aisle stays organized without anyone re-facing stock.

What Your Pallet Flow Rack Project Includes

We review how inbound batches reach the load face and how outgoing orders leave the pick end, keeping staging and turning space visible on the plan. A deep lane that stores the required count can still be unsuitable if lot separation needs more faces. The comparison makes those operating differences explicit and records the test loads needed before commissioning the supplied lanes.

Flow racking is engineered per lane, not pulled off a shelf. Pallet weight, deck condition, bottom-board orientation, and desired lane depth all drive the roller or wheel selection and the pitch calculation, so the first step is pinning down exactly what's moving through the lane.

From there we set lane count and depth against your throughput. Fewer, deeper lanes maximize storage; more, shallower lanes give the pick face more SKU variety. Both versions get modeled with position counts so the tradeoff is visible before you buy, not found after.

The itemized quote covers frames, beams, rail and roller assemblies, brakes, entry and exit guides, and guarding. At installation the crew sets pitch, tests loaded travel in every lane, and tunes brakes before the system goes live.

Afterward you have documented capacities, a lane map your team can hand to new hires, and a local contact for brake rollers and wheels as the system racks up cycles.

What We Need to Plan It

Do you need strict pallet-level FIFO, or is lane-level rotation enough?
How many pallets per SKU move through in a typical week?
What's the pallet weight range, and what condition are pallets usually in?
How deep can lanes run in your footprint?
Is the storage area ambient, cooler, or freezer?

Where This Service Fits

Date-coded food, beverage, and pharmaceutical inventory
High-volume SKUs with steady, predictable turns
Cold storage where every cubic foot carries a cost
Staging finished goods coming off a production line
Operations that need FIFO documented, not just assumed

Recent Installations

A look at pallet rack installations our crews have completed for warehouses across the St. Louis metro area.

View More Projects

Get a Pallet Flow Rack Quote

Tell us about your St. Louis operation and we will follow up with layout planning and pricing. Prefer to talk? Call (314) 338-4815.

St. Louis Pallet Racks

1118 Hampton Ave
Ste 219
St. Louis, MO 63139

Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday: Closed

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