Questions sellers ask

Before you send

Marks and pools

Condition and rules

After you send

Words you will meet

Nest ratio

How many empty pallets fit in the height of one.

Heat treated (HT)

ISPM 15 treatment for wood: core at 56 C for 30 minutes. Not needed for plastic.

ISPM 15

The international standard for treating wood packaging against pests. Plastic pallets are outside it.

Closed loop

Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.

One-way pallet

A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.

Multi-trip pallet

A pallet designed to be returned and reused many times.

FM 4996

FM Approvals standard that rates a pallet as equal to wood in fire tests.

Creep

Slow bending of plastic under a heavy load held for a long time.

GMA pallet

The 48 x 40 in North American standard footprint.

Euro pallet

800 x 1200 mm footprint.

Open deck

Top deck with gaps between slats or ribs; lighter and drains.

Closed deck

Solid top deck with no gaps; keeps small items from falling through.

Picture frame

A raised rim around the deck edge that keeps cartons from sliding off.

Lip

Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.

Anti-slip

Textured deck or rubber grommets that reduce load slip.

Stackable

Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.

Who asks, and what they need

Distribution centres with surplus pallets

Sell or recycle excess lots, mixed makers and colours, broken pallets.

Plants changing packaging or pallet size

Retire a whole stock of one footprint at once; want it sold or ground up, not landfilled.

Retailers that collect pooled or one-way pallets

Stacks of marked and unmarked pallets left by suppliers; need to know which can be sold and which belong to a pool.

What the sources say

• USDA APHIS lists plastic pallets among products not subject to APHIS regulation, as an alternative to wood packaging material. (aphis.usda.gov)
• USDA APHIS requires wood packaging material entering the US to be treated and certified under ISPM 15, and lists plastic pallets among alternatives that are not subject to APHIS regulation. (aphis.usda.gov)
• Wood packaging material entering the US must be treated and certified per ISPM 15. (aphis.usda.gov)
• iGPS announced FM approval in 2008 for its all-plastic RFID-tagged pooled pallet, which had UL 2335 certification from 2007. (freightwaves.com)
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 heavy-duty nestable pallet is 48.25 x 40.25 x 6.5 in, weighs 28.5 lb, is rated 10,000 lb static and 3,500 lb dynamic, has a 2.55 in nest increment and 1,200 units per 53 ft trailer; the page lists no racking rating. (rehrigpacific.com)
• Steel, aluminum, plastic and engineered-wood pallets are exempt from ISPM 15; wood must reach a core temperature of 56 C for at least 30 minutes for heat treatment. (en.wikipedia.org)
• PHS lists a 48 x 48 stackable pallet (STK 207) at 4,000 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. (phsinc.com)
• PHS lists a 56 x 44 beverage pallet (STK 285) at 2,500 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. (phsinc.com)
• PHS lists a 48 x 32 stackable pallet (STK 783) at 3,500 lb dynamic and 15,000 lb static. (phsinc.com)
• FM 4996 passes a pallet if fire is controlled at 5.9 mm/min (0.15 GPM/ft2) within a 10-minute test of eight 1.2 m stacks. (iccsafe.org)
• A 48 x 40 pallet fits 30 stacks in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, per one supplier. (nelsoncompany.com)
• Cabka says plastic export pallets are exempt from ISPM-15 treatment, that there is no single export size, and that its nestable export designs include extra-lightweight and air-freight versions. (cabka.com)
• FDA's Food Traceability Rule (FSMA section 204) requires businesses that make, process, pack or hold foods on the Food Traceability List to keep Key Data Elements for Critical Tracking Events and share them within 24 hours of a request; FDA says Congress directed it not to enforce the rule before July 20, 2028. (fda.gov)
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet weighs 44.2 lb with a dynamic rating of 4,000 lb, static 10,000 lb and edge rack 2,000 lb. (rehrigpacific.com)
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet is high-pressure injection molded co-polymer polypropylene, with 540 per 53 ft trailer. (rehrigpacific.com)
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable pallet weighs 26.5 lb with a static rating of 10,000 lb and dynamic 3,000 lb. (rehrigpacific.com)

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