Figure 6 - Warehouse / Cross Dock Facility

Figure 6 is an example of a Warehouse, where goods are received, sorted, and transferred to other trailers to shipment elsewhere, such as retailers or manufacturing facilities. This image is of a cross-dock facility – a type of warehouse – in Windsor that receives parts from a range of suppliers for a local automotive assembly plant, loads parts according to location within the assembly plant onto trailers, and then dispatches those trailers to the assembly plant in a timely fashion.

A common characteristic of an industrial Warehouse is the large amount of exterior area dedicated to the storage of trailers. The trailers act as a ‘ warehouse on wheels ’ where they are stored nearby and pulled to the Warehouse as needed for unloading. Empty trailers are stored either on-site or off-site for return to the supplier and/or trucking company. Since tractors drop-off trailers and return empty trailers, little of the exterior area is dedicated to the parking of tractors. Another characteristic is a larger parking area for personal motor vehicles, as Warehouses tend to have more employees on site versus a Transport Terminal where most employees are operators of tractors-trailers.

Some industrial facilities make extensive use of tractor-trailers and trucks for the supply of parts and materials to, and for the dispatch of goods from, the industrial facility. Loading facilities differ from one use to the next. However, the unloading and loading of those parts, materials, and goods is accessory to the primary use of manufacturing.