Plastic bulk containers in Florida

Florida is a distribution state. Warehousing and storage had 105,401 jobs in 2025, 5.54% of the US total, and grocery wholesale 63,967. Polk County, between Tampa and Orlando, had the most warehousing jobs, 19,862, ahead of Duval around Jacksonville at 15,372 and Miami-Dade at 13,042.

Distribution centres use collapsible containers for returns and staging, and grocery distributors use lidded solid-wall bins and produce bins. USDA counted 254 million cubic feet of refrigerated warehouse space in October 2025, for citrus, vegetables and imported produce.

Food manufacturing had 39,390 jobs and pharmaceuticals 13,320. Florida is the southern end of I-75, which runs from Miami to Michigan, so a container loop from Florida can reach the Midwest on one interstate. In the heat, ask for stacking ratings at temperature; plastic is weaker warm.

Florida's citrus, tomato, strawberry and sugar cane harvests all run through winter and spring, the reverse of most northern growing seasons. Plant City's strawberries, Immokalee's tomatoes and the cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee each pull bins in their own months, so one stack of bins can serve more than one crop if growers share. Humidity is constant: bins stored wet grow mould in corners, so drain holes and a smooth floor help. The I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando, and the Lakeland area between them, hold much of the state's warehousing for grocery and retail. Hurricane season is worth a thought too: empty plastic bins blow around a yard, so band or weight them before a storm.

Florida buyers include citrus packers, tomato and strawberry growers, and distribution centres along I-4 wanting collapsibles.

Sugar mills near Belle Glade use heavy bins.