01
Treating the panels and forgetting the frame
Plywood is exempt from ISPM-15, so people conclude the crate is. The solid cleats holding it together are not exempt.
FixTreat and mark the assembly.
01The four things we build
Cleated plywood boxes
Plywood panels framed with solid cleats. Strong, weather-resistant, and the standard for export machinery, instruments and anything where dust ingress matters. Because plywood is exempt from ISPM-15, only the cleats require treatment and marking — which simplifies compliance and lowers cost.
Open slat crates
A frame with gapped boards. Lighter and cheaper than a closed box, lets the contents be inspected without opening, and allows air movement for goods that must not sweat. Not suitable where dust or weather is a concern.
Heavy skids
Two or three runners with a deck on top and nothing underneath. Designed for very heavy, one-way moves where the load is bolted down and the skid never needs a pallet jack. Cheaper than a full pallet and stronger per pound of lumber.
Custom shipping cases
Engineered internal bracing, foam or bolted mounts, shock and tilt indicator mounting points, drop-side access. Built one at a time around a drawing, for equipment where the crate costs less than the deductible.
02Choosing a design
| Load | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machine, 6,000 lb, export | Cleated plywood box on integral skid | Weatherproof, bolt-down, ISPM-15 simple |
| Granite slabs, domestic | A-frame slat crate | Weight is edge-borne, air movement irrelevant |
| Lab instrument, air freight | Foam-lined case, minimum weight | Every pound is charged |
| Motor, 900 lb, one-way | Heavy skid, banded | Cheapest compliant option |
| Spare parts, mixed, export | Closed plywood box, partitioned | Consolidation and dust exclusion |
| Bulk components, domestic reuse | Collar on a standard pallet | Folds flat for the return trip |
03Export compliance for crates
Crates trip more shipments than pallets do, because the compliance question is more subtle. A single crate can contain both exempt and non-exempt material, and the border agency will look at the non-exempt part.
- Plywood panels — exempt, no mark required.
- Solid wood cleats, frames, runners, skids — not exempt, must be treated and marked.
- Internal solid wood bracing and blocking — not exempt. This is the classic oversight.
- Dunnage placed loose in a container — not exempt and frequently forgotten entirely.
We treat and stamp the whole assembly rather than trying to argue component by component at a border. Read ISPM-15 explained for the full standard, or run a mark through the stamp decoder.
By the numbers
The figures worth remembering
Four numbers that decide most of what follows on this page.
- Minimum order — crating is quoted per job
- 1Minimum order — crating is quoted per job
- Maximum single-unit length
- 24 ftMaximum single-unit length
- Load rating on engineered skid bases
- 20,000 lbLoad rating on engineered skid bases
- Working days depending on complexity
- 3–10Working days depending on complexity
Rules of thumb
Carry these in your head
- 01The crate costs less than the deductible. Spec it that way.
- 02Internal bracing is wood packaging. Treat it.
- 03Drop-side access prevents more damage than extra bracing.
- 04If it comes back, a collar beats a crate on both cost and return freight.
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
Weather exposure
Closed plywood for anything that sees rain or sits on a quay. Open slat crates do nothing about weather.
- 02
Dust sensitivity
Instruments and electronics need a closed box; a slat crate will not protect them.
- 03
Access requirements
Drop-side and lid-on-top designs cut unpacking damage claims more than extra bracing does.
- 04
Internal restraint
Bolted mounts, foam, cradles. The crate protects the outside; the bracing protects the contents.
- 05
Handling
Forklift pockets, crane lugs, or a skid base. Say how it will be lifted at the far end, not just at yours.
- 06
Indicators
Shock and tilt indicator mounting points, if the contents justify them.
- 07
ISPM-15
Plywood is exempt; cleats, runners and internal bracing are not.
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
Crating what a collar would carry
For domestic closed loops, a collar on a standard pallet costs a tenth of a crate and folds flat for the return.
FixCheck the collar option first wherever weather and dust are not concerns.
03
Specifying a skid where a pallet is needed
A skid has no bottom deck, so it cannot be jacked from underneath and it concentrates floor load on two runners.
FixUse skids for heavy one-way machinery moves; use pallets where anything needs to jack it.
Side by side
Which design for which load
| Load | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machine, 6,000 lb, export | Cleated plywood box on integral skid | Weatherproof, bolt-down, simple compliance |
| Granite slabs, domestic | A-frame slat crate | Weight is edge-borne, air movement irrelevant |
| Lab instrument, air freight | Foam-lined case, minimum weight | Every pound is charged |
| Motor, 900 lb, one-way | Heavy skid, banded | Cheapest compliant option |
| Spare parts, mixed, export | Closed plywood box, partitioned | Consolidation and dust exclusion |
| Bulk components, domestic reuse | Collar on a standard pallet | Folds flat for the return trip |
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
Domestic closed loops
A collar on a standard pallet costs a tenth of a crate, reuses 40–60 times and folds flat to two inches for the return. Where weather and dust are not concerns, it wins outright.
- 02
Loads a standard deck already carries safely
Crating is quoted per job and priced accordingly. If the product is stable, stackable and weatherproof on its own, a crate is packaging you are paying for twice.
- 03
Anything needing a pallet jack underneath
A skid has no bottom deck, so it cannot be jacked from below. If the receiver only has a jack, say so before the design is fixed.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Panel material and thickness | 1/4 in to 3/4 in plywood, or OSB. Thickness is driven by span and weight, not preference. | Largest single input |
| Internal restraint | Bolted mounts, foam, cradles and shock indicators are engineering, not packaging. | Can exceed the crate cost |
| On-site build | Building around a machine in place avoids moving an uncrated asset twice, at the cost of a crew and a day. | Job-specific |
| Treatment | Plywood is exempt from ISPM-15; every solid component is not. | $1.10–$1.90 equivalent by volume |
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
“Which components are solid wood, and will all of them be treated and marked?”
- 02
“How will this be lifted at the destination — forklift, crane or jack?”
- 03
“Is there a drop side, or does the lid have to come off first?”
- 04
“What is the internal restraint, and has it been designed for the actual shock loads?”
- 05
“Can you build on site, and what does that add?”
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.
- ISPM-15
Applies to every solid wood component over 6 mm — cleats, runners, skids and internal bracing. Plywood, OSB and particleboard are exempt.
- ASTM D6039
Standard specification for wood-cleated panelboard shipping boxes — the common reference for cleated plywood crate construction.
- MIL-STD-2073 / MIL-STD-1660
US military packaging and unit-load standards, occasionally invoked in defence and aerospace contracts.
- ISTA transit testing
Test protocols for packaged product in distribution, used where the contents justify validating the design.
Vocabulary
The terms used on this page
Defined the way the trade uses them, not the way a dictionary would.
- 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.
- Pallet collar
- A hinged four-sided wooden frame that converts a flat pallet into an open box and folds to about two inches for return.
- ISPM-15
- International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, governing treatment of solid wood packaging crossing international borders.
- IPPC mark
- The stamp showing compliance with ISPM-15: wheat symbol, country code, facility number and treatment code. Missing any element invalidates it.
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.
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
Compliance6 min readPriya Raghunathan
Methyl bromide is finished. What that means for your export packaging.
MB is still a valid treatment code under ISPM-15. That is not the same as it being a good idea, and the gap between those two facts is where shipments get held.
Read
- ISPM-15
- methyl bromide
- export
Compliance6 min readPriya Raghunathan
Reading an IPPC stamp: a field guide
The mark has four required elements. I have seen shipments held because one of them was missing and nobody at either end knew what they were looking at.
Read
- ISPM-15
- export
- compliance
Reference
Full specification
The numbers our own graders and builders work to. Print it, or paste it into a purchase order.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Types | Cleated plywood box, slat crate, skid, custom case, collar system |
| Panel materials | 1/4 to 3/4 in plywood, OSB on request |
| Frame | Solid SYP or hardwood cleats, 1x3 to 2x6 |
| Maximum single unit | 24 ft length, 8 ft width, 8 ft height |
| Load rating | To 20,000 lb on engineered skid bases |
| Closures | Screw, nail, lag bolt, cam-lock, drop side |
| Treatment | ISPM-15 HT on all solid components |
| Minimum order | 1 unit |
| Lead time | 3–10 working days depending on complexity |
Questions
Answers to what buyers actually ask
Straight answers, including the ones that cost us the sale.
Do you crate machinery on site?
For projects within our regular haul territory, yes — we bring lumber and build around the machine in place, which avoids moving an uncrated asset twice. Outside that radius we supply a knock-down kit with an assembly drawing.
Does a plywood crate need an ISPM-15 stamp?
The plywood itself is exempt, but almost every plywood crate has solid wood cleats, a solid runner base, or internal bracing — and those do require treatment and marking. In practice, treat and stamp the assembly.
What's the difference between a skid and a pallet?
A skid has no bottom deck. It is lighter, cheaper and easier to drag or slide, but it cannot be jacked from the underside and it distributes load onto the floor across two runners rather than a full base. For heavy one-way machinery moves it is usually the correct choice.
Can you build a crate from a drawing we supply?
Yes. Send a dimensioned drawing or a 3D model and we will quote to it, and flag anything we would engineer differently before we start cutting.
How do you decide between a crate and a heavy-duty pallet?
By what the load needs protecting from. A pallet carries weight; a crate also resists impact, restrains movement and conceals the contents. If the risk is handling damage, theft or a fragile surface, it goes in a crate. If it is purely mass, a reinforced skid is cheaper and easier to handle.