Shipping Pallets

Why use pallets?

Most freight shipping items require palletization. Pallets are portable platforms used to package items for freight shipping. Though there are different pallet sizes, most commonly you’ll use a standard 40 X 48 pallet to ship items. Pallets are important, first and foremost, because they help protect your freight. Crating is another option when shipping freight, especially for items easily damaged. It’s important to palletize your freight for several reasons:

  • Pallets protect your shipment during transit, loading and unloading
  • Pallets make loading and unloading faster and easier for the carrier
  • Pallets allow carriers to maximize space inside the trailer

See one of our shipping experts walk through the do’s and don’ts of choosing the correct pallet.

How to prepare shipments on pallets.

When preparing your item(s) on a pallet, it’s important to secure your shipment to the pallet and test it to make sure your item(s) are properly balanced and securely in place. The two recommended methods for securing items to a pallet are strapping and shrink wrapping.

When strapping items to a pallet, make sure you use at least two straps and loop them through the forks of the pallet. You also want to firmly tighten or ratchet the straps in place for the most secure fit.

See how the experts brace and block their freight for easier handling.

Shrink wrapping is also a popular method of securing shipments to pallets. Depending on the shipment, make at least 5 full wraps around the entire shipment and pallet, ensuring that the entire finished shipment and pallet feels like one, solid piece.

See how the experts strap or shrinkwrap shipments to the pallet for maximum security and safety.

Finally, before pick up, inspect your shipment and make sure your items are still firmly in place and have not shifted.

 

Crush cones and fragile items.

Beyond firmly securing your fragile shipment to a pallet, crush cones are a simple device to use that tell the carrier not to stack other items on top of your freight. These small, often triangular, cones can be attached to the top of your shipment by straps or packing tape.