Pushback Rack Systems in Chicago, IL

Pushback rack answers the question every 3PL and e-commerce operator along the I-55 corridor eventually asks: how do we fit more pallets of the same SKU into a building we're already paying for? Pallets ride nested carts on inclined rails, two to six deep in a single lane, and the driver loads and unloads from one aisle only.

In the big-box parks of Joliet, Elwood, Romeoville, and Bolingbrook - where CenterPoint Intermodal and the BNSF and Union Pacific terminals keep product churning - pushback is how fulfillment operations hold several pallets per SKU without surrendering a second aisle. Food and beverage distributors in Bedford Park and the Clearing district use it heavily in cooler and freezer space, where every refrigerated square foot carries real cost.

We model pushback next to a selective layout of the same footprint so the position gain and the price per pallet are both on paper before you commit, and we size carts and rails to your actual pallet weight and overhang.

The I-55 and I-80 corridor in Will County is where pushback earns its keep most visibly. Fulfillment and 3PL buildings around CenterPoint Intermodal in Joliet and Elwood, and along I-355 in Romeoville and Bolingbrook, run high SKU counts with several pallets behind each one - exactly the profile pushback was built for.

Closer in, the picture shifts. Food and beverage operations in Bedford Park, the Clearing district, and Cicero put pushback into coolers and freezers where density cuts refrigeration cost. In older O'Hare-submarket buildings in Elk Grove Village and Franklin Park, where clear heights run lower, a well-planned pushback block can recover positions the building's height won't give you. Winter matters here too: unheated docks and staging areas are part of life, and we schedule and spec installation with Chicagoland winters in mind.

Pushback layouts are built around the pallet, not the building. We start by confirming pallet type, footprint, overhang, and load weight, because cart spacing and rail incline follow that profile rather than a generic 48x40 assumption.

Next we set lane depth. Deeper lanes store more, but only pay off if you actually carry that many pallets per SKU - so we compare a two-deep and a four-deep version of the same footprint and show what each does to total positions and to how many pick faces you're left with.

The quote covers frames, beams, rails, carts, and guarding, itemized so you can see exactly what the added density costs per position - the number that matters more than the sticker price. Rails and carts are set and tested at installation, and cart travel is verified in every lane before handover.

You end up with a CAD drawing, capacity ratings, a system drivers pick up in a shift, and a local source for replacement carts and wheels down the road.

Recent Installations

A sample of racking projects completed across the region.

Pushback Rack Questions From Chicagoland Buyers

Where We Work

Located in Chicago, we serve the entire Chicagoland area with industrial pallet racks and warehouse storage solutions.