01
Using published capacities for point loads
Rated capacities assume uniform distribution. A 900 lb casting on a 40-inch deck does not qualify.
FixAdd stringers, thicken the deck, and use blocking to transfer load into the stringers.
01Designing for point loads
Published pallet capacities assume a uniformly distributed load. Manufacturing rarely provides one. A single die, motor, coil or casting concentrates force onto a few square inches of deck, and the deck board beneath it is 0.625 inches thick.
- Add stringers. A fourth or fifth stringer reduces unsupported span and adds 30–40% to effective capacity.
- Thicken the deck. 0.75 in or 1.0 in boards where the load lands.
- Solid or near-solid decking spreads a point load across more of the structure.
- Blocking and cradles transfer load into the stringers rather than the deck boards.
- Specify the actual load geometry at quote stage, not the total weight.
02WIP pallets are a fleet, not a purchase
Work-in-progress pallets never leave the building. That changes the economics completely: purchase price is a one-off, and repair, dwell-time deflection and handling damage are the recurring costs. A repair-first programme is almost always cheaper than periodic replacement.
| Approach | Year 1 | Year 3 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replace on failure | $28/unit | $84/unit | Three replacements over three years |
| Repair-first programme | $28 + $6 | $28 + $18 | One purchase, periodic repair |
| Heavy build, repair-first | $41 + $4 | $41 + $12 | Higher entry, lowest three-year cost |
03Crating and shipping finished goods
The other half of a plant's requirement is outbound: machinery, spares and assemblies that need a crate rather than a deck. We build cleated plywood boxes, heavy skids and engineered cases to drawing, from a single unit — see crates and boxes.
For export, remember that internal blocking and bracing cut on your own dock is wood packaging under ISPM-15 and needs treating like anything else. It is the most common reason a plant's container gets held.
By the numbers
The figures worth remembering
Four numbers that decide most of what follows on this page.
- Stringers on a typical WIP build
- 4–5Stringers on a typical WIP build
- Minimum deck thickness under point loads
- 0.75 inMinimum deck thickness under point loads
- Racked capacity gained from a fourth stringer
- 30–40%Racked capacity gained from a fourth stringer
- Derate for long-dwell WIP (creep)
- 25–35%Derate for long-dwell WIP (creep)
Rules of thumb
Carry these in your head
- 01Point loads, not total weight, break manufacturing pallets.
- 02A fourth stringer is cheaper than a grade upgrade and does more.
- 03WIP pallets are a fleet, not a purchase.
- 04Internal bracing is packaging. Treat it.
Before you order
The decisions we will ask you to make
A quote turnaround is limited by how many follow-up questions we have to ask. Working through this list removes nearly all of them.
- 01
Load geometry, not just weight
Where the contact points are matters more than the total. Send the footprint of the feet.
- 02
Dwell time
WIP that sits for weeks needs a creep derate that transit loads do not.
- 03
Handling path
Forklift, jack, clamp truck, conveyor, robot. Each has different geometry requirements.
- 04
Does it leave the building?
If not, durability and repairability outrank purchase price entirely.
- 05
Outbound crating
Machinery and spares need crates, and internal bracing is wood packaging under ISPM-15.
- 06
Inter-plant loss
Rarely measured, frequently large. Count it before you fix anything else.
What goes wrong
Expensive mistakes, and the fix for each
Every one of these turns up in ordinary purchase orders. All of them cost multiples of whatever they appeared to save.
02
Replacing WIP pallets instead of repairing them
WIP pallets never leave the building, so purchase price is a one-off and repair is the recurring cost.
FixRun a repair-first programme. Three-year cost drops sharply.
03
Forgetting dock-cut bracing on export crates
It is the most common reason a plant's container gets held.
FixTreated dunnage stock on the dock, physically separated from general timber.
Side by side
Three-year cost of a WIP pallet
| Approach | Year 1 | Year 3 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replace on failure | $28/unit | $84/unit | Three replacements over three years |
| Repair-first programme | $28 + $6 | $28 + $18 | One purchase, periodic repair |
| Heavy build, repair-first | $41 + $4 | $41 + $12 | Higher entry, lowest three-year cost |
Against our interest
When this is the wrong answer
We would rather lose the order than sell you the wrong thing. These are the situations where this page is not what you need.
- 01
Published capacities under point loads
Every rated figure assumes uniform distribution. A casting on a small contact area does not qualify and can halve the effective capacity.
- 02
Replacing WIP pallets on failure
They never leave the building, so purchase price is a one-off and repair is the recurring cost. Replacement is the expensive path.
- 03
Standard three-stringer builds for long-dwell storage
Wood creeps under sustained load. A deck that holds fine in transit can sag visibly after months under the same weight.
What moves the price
Cost drivers, and roughly how much each one is worth
A quote is not a list price with a discount applied. It is these variables added up, which is why two quotes for nominally the same thing can differ so widely.
| Driver | What it is | Rough effect |
|---|---|---|
| Reinforcement | Extra stringers, thicker decking and blocking sized to the load's contact points. | +15–45% over standard |
| Custom footprint | Where equipment dictates the size, lumber yield and setup both suffer. | +15–40% first run |
| Repair programme | The recurring cost that replaces a much larger replacement cost. | $2.20–$4.80 per event |
| Export crating | Quoted per job, with internal bracing that must be treated. | Job-specific |
Due diligence
Questions to ask any supplier
Us included. The answers tell you a great deal, and so does how quickly they arrive — a yard that has these documents ready is a yard that has thought about them.
- 01
“What are the contact points of the load, not just its weight?”
- 02
“How long does a loaded pallet sit before it moves?”
- 03
“What is our inter-plant pallet loss, measured?”
- 04
“Is every solid wood component in our export crates treated and marked?”
- 05
“Would a repair programme cost less than our current replacement rate?”
The rulebook
Standards and authorities that actually apply
Plenty of pallet marketing invokes standards loosely. These are the real documents behind this subject, and what each one does and does not cover.
- NWPCA Pallet Design System (PDS)
Engineering analysis for point loads, deflection and creep — the right tool when a catalogue figure does not apply.
- ASTM D1185
Test methods for pallets and related structures in materials handling and shipping.
- ISPM-15
Covers export crates, skids and the internal bracing cut on your own dock.
- MIL-STD-1660
US military unit-load standard, occasionally specified in defence supply contracts.
Vocabulary
The terms used on this page
Defined the way the trade uses them, not the way a dictionary would.
- Static load
- The weight a pallet supports at rest on a flat, continuous surface. The highest of the three ratings and the least useful.
- Racked load
- The weight a pallet carries spanning two rack beams with nothing beneath the centre. Always the lowest of the three load ratings.
- Skid
- A pallet with no bottom deck — two or three runners with a deck on top. Lighter and cheaper; cannot be jacked from underneath.
- Dunnage
- Loose wood used to block, brace or separate cargo. Covered by ISPM-15 and the single most commonly forgotten item on an export shipment.
- Deck coverage
- The percentage of the pallet face covered by boards. A seven-board 48x40 top deck is roughly 87% coverage.
From the journal
Longer reading on this subject
Written by the people who grade, repair and haul the wood — including the articles that argue against buying from us.
Industry6 min readPriya Raghunathan
What a pallet audit finding looks like in a food plant
There is no such thing as an FDA-certified pallet. What exists is your documented control, and an auditor is testing whether you have one.
Read
- food safety
- audit
- specification
Materials6 min readMarcus Ellery
Nine blocks: an argument for block pallets in closed loops
The strength argument is real and it is not the important one. What decides block versus stringer over a fleet's life is what happens when something breaks.
Read
- block pallets
- closed loop
- repair
Compliance5 min readPriya Raghunathan
Dunnage: the wood that stops containers
The pallets were compliant. The crate was compliant. The two lengths of untreated 2x4 wedged against the load were not, and they were the first thing the inspector saw.
Read
- ISPM-15
- dunnage
- export
Questions
Answers to what buyers actually ask
Straight answers, including the ones that cost us the sale.
What pallet do I need for a 3,000 lb machine?
Almost certainly a custom build — typically five stringers, 0.75 in or thicker decking, and blocking sized to the machine's feet so the load transfers into the stringers rather than the deck. Send dimensions and the footprint of the load's contact points and we will draw it.
Should manufacturing pallets be new or recycled?
Recycled works well for inbound components and general handling. For heavy WIP that sits under load for weeks, a purpose-built heavy pallet on a repair programme costs less over three years despite the higher entry price.
Can you supply returnable pallet systems between plants?
Yes — a managed programme with scheduled supply, collection and repair, plus loss tracking between sites. That last part is usually where the money is: inter-plant pallet loss is rarely measured and frequently large.
Why do our pallets fail under loads that should be safe?
Almost always because the figure used was static rather than racked, or because the load concentrates on a small footprint instead of spreading across the deck. A pallet rated for 2,800 lb at rest may carry far less spanning two beams under a machine base. Specify against how the load actually sits.
Can you match a pallet to our conveyor and AS/RS equipment?
Yes, and here tolerance matters more than grade. Automated handling fails on bottom-board gaps, protruding nails and dimensional drift rather than on strength. We sort to a tighter dimensional specification for automation, or build new where the tolerance band is genuinely narrow.