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What are the types of shelving suitable for storing steel materials, and what are their characteristics?
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Publish Time:
2025-09-28
Steel, as a core industrial raw material, possesses Heavy weight (individual pieces or bundles can weigh hundreds of kilograms), diverse shapes (plates, profiles, pipes), and prone to rusting These features require storage racks to meet four core requirements: "high load-bearing capacity, adaptable design, corrosion resistance, and easy access." Currently, the market offers four main categories of racks specifically designed for steel storage. Each type differs significantly in terms of load-bearing capacity, space utilization, and suitability for various steel shapes, making it essential to choose based on actual storage needs.
I. Beam-type Heavy-Duty Racks: The Go-To Choice for General-Purpose Steel Storage
The beam-type heavy-duty rack is the most widely used type in steel storage, enabling multi-level storage through a "column + beam" composite structure. Its core advantage lies in High load-bearing capacity, compatible with various steel profiles, and offering flexible storage and retrieval. , especially suitable for the tiered storage of large, heavy steel materials.
1.1 Applicable Steel Types
Covers most common steel forms, including:
- Bundles of round steel and threaded steel bars (single bundle weight: 500–3,000 kg);
- Medium-to-thick steel plates (thickness: 8–50 mm, single-sheet weight: 200–1,500 kg);
- Small steel semi-finished products (such as stamped parts and forged components, requiring storage on pallets).
1.2 Core Features and Performance Parameters
The beam-type racking system is specially designed for the characteristics of steel storage, with key parameters and features as follows:
- Load-bearing capacity : Single-layer load capacities typically range from 500 to 5,000 kg, with some custom models reaching up to 8,000 kg (data source: "China Warehouse Rack Industry Development White Paper 2025"), effectively meeting the weight requirements for heavy-duty steel materials.
- Structural Design :The beam features a "wrapped-welded beam + safety pin" structure, preventing the beam from detaching due to vibrations during steel storage. The columns are made of Q345 high-strength steel, offering a 30% improvement in bending resistance compared to conventional steel.
- Corrosion-resistant treatment : The surface is treated with "acid pickling and phosphating + electrostatic powder coating," achieving a salt spray test resistance of over 480 hours, effectively protecting steel materials from moisture-induced rust in storage environments;
- Access Efficiency : Supports direct operations by forklifts and stackers, with single-bin access time ≤ 2 minutes—ideal for steel storage scenarios requiring frequent inbound and outbound movements.
1.3 Applicable Scenarios and Cases
- Typical scenario: Steel material warehouses for small to medium-sized steel traders and machinery processing plants, requiring efficient storage of various steel forms along with high-frequency access.
- Application Case: A heavy machinery factory implemented beam-type heavy-duty shelving to store steel plates with thicknesses ranging from 10 to 30 mm. Each shelf is designed with three levels, capable of supporting up to 3,000 kg per level. This innovative storage solution has increased storage density by 2.5 times compared to traditional floor stacking methods, while also boosting forklift access efficiency by 40% (Source: Company Warehouse Transformation Case Study Report).
Cantilever racks are the best choice for storing bar-shaped and irregularly shaped materials.
II. Cantilever Racks: A Dedicated Storage Solution for Long-Bar Steel Materials
The cantilever rack features a single-sided extension structure consisting of "columns + cantilever arms," addressing Long-shaped steel materials (such as structural sections and pipes) are difficult to store in layers due to their excessive length (6–12 meters). The pain point is dedicated storage equipment for long materials such as I-beams, angle steel, and seamless steel pipes.
2.1 Applicable Steel Types
Focusing on long-length and specially shaped steel materials, including:
- Long-shaped profiles: I-beams, channel sections, angle steels (length 6–12 m);
- Tubular products: seamless steel pipes, welded pipes, stainless steel pipes (diameter 50–300 mm, length 6–18 m);
- Plates: Long strip steel plates, coil plates (width 1–3 m, length 6–10 m).
2.2 Core Features and Performance Parameters
For the storage needs of long-strip steel materials, the design highlights and performance data of cantilever racking are as follows:
- Advantages of Cantilever Structures The cantilever arm can extend either singly or doubly on one side, with a length ranging from 1.2 to 2.5 meters and an adjustable spacing (300–800 mm), allowing it to accommodate long materials of varying diameters or widths while preventing steel from bending or deforming due to overhang.
- Load-bearing and Stability : Single-arm load capacity ranges from 100 to 1,500 kg; the upright posts are fabricated by welding H-shaped steel or square tubes, and each base is equipped with a weighted foot to prevent the center of gravity from shifting during storage of long materials, thus avoiding shelf tipping (overturning resistance factor ≥1.5, compliant with GB/T 25800-2023 "General Technical Specifications for Storage Racks").
- Accessibility and convenience : Supports forklifts and overhead cranes working in conjunction with lifting attachments. Long materials can be directly pulled out from one end of the cantilever, eliminating the need to move other goods—making it especially ideal for scenarios involving "small-batch, high-frequency" storage and retrieval of long items.
2.3 Applicable Scenarios and Cases
- Typical scenario: Long-material warehouses at steel structure plants, shipyards, and pipeline engineering companies, which require dedicated storage for profiles or pipes longer than 6 meters;
- Application Case: A steel structure enterprise stores 10-meter-long I-beams (each weighing 800 kg) using double-sided cantilever racking designed with four levels of cantilevers, each capable of supporting up to 1,000 kg. This storage solution increases storage capacity by three times compared to conventional floor stacking, while reducing the time required to retrieve I-beams from 15 minutes to just 5 minutes. (Source: China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing Case Database)
Common modular loft platform shelving
3. Pallet Racking: Standardized Storage for Bundled or Boxed Steel Materials
Pallet racking achieves standardized steel storage "by the pallet unit," with its core advantage being Coordinate the pallet with the forklift to create an efficient operational workflow. , ideal for steel products packaged in bundles or boxes, particularly well-suited for automated warehousing scenarios.
3.1 Applicable Steel Types
Requires pallet support; suitable for:
- Bundles of small steel materials: coiled reinforcing bars and steel wires (single bundle weight ranges from 300 to 800 kg, stackable on pallets);
- Steel in boxes: small stamped parts, standard components (such as bolts and nuts), stacked on pallets after being packed into boxes;
- Packaging materials: Laminated steel sheets, color-coated sheets (individually wrapped and then stacked in multiple layers on pallets).
3.2 Core Features and Performance Parameters
The design of pallet racking systems revolves around "standardization and efficiency," with the following key features:
- Unitized Storage : Using standard pallets (1200mm × 1000mm) as the storage unit, each pallet can support a load of 500–2000 kg and allows for multi-level stacking (3–5 layers), increasing space utilization by up to 4 times compared to storing items directly on the floor.
- Automated Adaptation : It can be seamlessly integrated with automated equipment such as AGVs and stackers to achieve "unmanned storage and retrieval," making it ideal for intelligent warehouses in large-scale steel enterprises. (Data shows that automated pallet racking systems boost storage and retrieval efficiency by 60% compared to manual operations; Source: "Smart Warehouse Technology Application Report 2025.")
- Protective Design : The pallet positions are equipped with stop bars and anti-collision posts to prevent pallets from sliding off or steel materials from being damaged due to forklift collisions. Additionally, some shelving units can be fitted with moisture-proof layers, making them suitable for storing moisture-sensitive cold-rolled steel sheets.
3.3 Applicable Scenarios and Cases
- Typical scenario: The finished goods warehouse of a large steel plant, or the standardized storage center of a steel trader, requiring bulk storage of neatly packaged steel materials;
- Application Case: A large steel enterprise implemented a cold-rolled steel plate finished goods warehouse that utilizes pallet racking combined with AGV operations. Each pallet holds three layers of coated steel plates (totaling 1,200 kg), and the racking system is designed for four storage levels. The facility processes up to 500 pallets daily, reducing the mispick rate from 0.5% to just 0.01%. (Source: Annual Report on Intelligent Warehouse Transformation by the Company)
4. Through-Type Racking: A High-Density Option for Bulk Steel Storage
Through-type racking (also known as "drive-in racking") achieves efficiency through a structure that integrates "aisles with storage locations." High-density storage , suitable for large-volume, single-variety steel products, and particularly well-suited for storage requirements following the "first-in, last-out" principle.
4.1 Applicable Steel Types
Focusing on bulk, same-type steel materials, including:
- Bulk steel products of the same specification: threaded steel bars and round steel bars of the same model (each bundle has a consistent weight, with bulk quantities of 50 bundles or more);
- Large-format板材: Hot-rolled steel plates (standardized specifications, stackable in multiple layers);
- Repetitive storage of steel materials: A specific specification of pipe that ensures long-term, stable use (e.g., specialized steel pipes used by chemical enterprises).
4.2 Core Features and Performance Parameters
The core advantage of drive-in racking lies in "maximizing space utilization," with the following specific features:
- High-density storage : Traditional shelving’s separate aisles are eliminated, allowing forklifts to directly enter the shelves to pick up and put away goods, achieving a space utilization rate of 80%-90%—a 30%-40% improvement compared to beam-type racks (Source: "Guidelines for Evaluating Warehouse Shelving Space Utilization").
- Load-bearing and Structure : Single storage unit supports a load of 800–3,000 kg; features a dual-column design for the uprights, with beams connected to the columns via a mortise-and-tenon joint, enhancing torsional strength by 25%—ideal for the compact storage of heavy steel materials.
- Storage Mode : Adopting the "first-in, last-out" model, this approach is ideal for steel materials that are stored and retrieved in bulk, such as seasonal-demand-stable threaded steel bars used in construction.
4.3 Applicable Scenarios and Cases
- Typical scenarios include bulk storage facilities for construction steel traders and temporary stockpiles of raw materials at steel plants, where large quantities of steel bars of a single specification are stored.
- Application Case: A certain construction steel trader stores Φ25mm threaded steel bars (with each bundle weighing 1,500 kg) using drive-in racking, designed with 5 storage levels. This setup allows for a total storage capacity of 200 bundles, reducing the storage area by 40% compared to beam-type racking. Additionally, the time required for batch outbound operations has been cut from 2 hours to just 1 hour. (Source: Case Report from the China Warehousing Association.)
V. Comparison of Shelf Types Suitable for Steel Storage and Selection Recommendations
5.1 Comparison Table of Core Parameters for Four Major Shelf Types
|
Shelf Type
|
Single-layer load-bearing capacity (kg)
|
Applicable Steel Forms
|
Space utilization
|
Access Efficiency
|
Corrosion Resistance (Salt Spray Test)
|
Applicable Scenarios
|
|
Beam-type heavy-duty shelving
|
500–8,000
|
Bundles of steel, medium- and thick-sized steel plates, semi-finished products
|
60%-70%
|
High (≤2 minutes / storage location)
|
≥480 hours
|
A wide range of steel products, with high-frequency access
|
|
Cantilever Racking
|
100–1,500 (single arm)
|
Long-shaped profiles, tubes, and long strips of sheet material
|
50%-60%
|
Middle (5–8 minutes / root)
|
≥480 hours
|
Long-material storage, small-batch retrieval
|
|
Pallet Rack
|
500–2000 (per single pallet)
|
Bundles of small steel materials, steel boxes, and packaging boards
|
70%-80%
|
High (Automated Adaptation)
|
≥500 hours
|
Standardized storage, automated warehouse
|
|
Through-type shelving
|
800–3000
|
Bulk steel materials of the same specification, large-scale sheet products
|
80%-90%
|
China (Bulk Access)
|
≥480 hours
|
Single category, bulk storage
|
5.2 Key Factors for Selecting Steel Shelving Units
- Steel material weight and shape matching : Heavy steel materials (single bundle ≥3,000 kg) should preferably be stored using beam-type or through-type racks; long-bar steel materials (length ≥6 m) must be stored using cantilever racks; standardized packaged steel materials should be stored on pallets.
- Access Frequency and Pattern : For high-frequency, multi-category access, choose either beam-style or pallet-style (automated) systems; for bulk, low-frequency access, opt for through-type systems.
- Environmental Adaptability : In humid environments (such as the rainy season in southern regions or coastal areas), shelves with salt spray test ratings of ≥500 hours should be selected, or an additional galvanized layer should be applied.
- Space utilization requirements : If the warehouse area is limited and you need to maximize storage capacity, choose a through-type system; if space is ample and you require flexible access, opt for a beam-type system.
Written at the end
When selecting steel storage racks, it’s essential to focus on the dual core considerations of "steel material characteristics + storage requirements": Beam-type racks are versatile and universally applicable, Cantilever racks are specifically designed for long materials, Pallet racks offer standardized efficiency, and Drive-in racks excel in high-density, bulk storage scenarios. As the steel industry continues its smart transformation, future steel storage racks will increasingly integrate advanced technologies such as "enhanced load-bearing capacity (e.g., using Q690 high-strength steel)," "intelligent monitoring systems (e.g., equipping with weight sensors to prevent overloading)," and "eco-friendly corrosion protection solutions (e.g., adopting chromium-free passivation processes)." These innovations will deliver safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly solutions for steel storage. When making their selection, companies can refer to the rack features and comparison charts outlined above, carefully aligning them with their specific steel types, retrieval frequencies, and available space conditions to develop the optimal storage strategy.
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