Pallet Prose – Part 1

They seem simple enough—a rigid platform, usually made from wood or plastic, used as a base for storing or shipping goods—but pallets make up just one term in the diverse language of the industry. We’ve compiled a few more terms below to aid in your discussion when determining which pallets are right for your organization.

ASTM: The American Society for Testing and Materials, or ASTM, develops and maintains international wood shipping standards including IPPC.

Block Pallet: A pallet with blocks between the pallet decks or beneath the top deck.

Deck: One or more boards or panels comprising the top or bottom surface of the pallet.

Deck Mat: Assembly of deckboards and stringerboards, forming the deck of a block pallet.

Deckboard: Element or component of a pallet deck, oriented perpendicular to the stringer or stringerboard.

Drive-Screw Nail: Continuously helically threaded or fluted pallet nail.

Exchange Pallet: A multiple-use pallet intended for a designated group of shippers and receivers where possession of the pallet is transferred with the ownership of the unit load; also known as a pool pallet.

Expendable Pallet: A pallet intended for a limited series of handlings during a single unit load movement from shipper to receiver.

Fastener: A device for connecting pallet components such as nails, staples, screws, bolts, lag bolts, adhesives, and welds.

Fork Entry: Opening between decks, beneath the top deck or beneath the stringer notch to admit forks.

Flush Pallet: A pallet with deck boards flush with the stringers, stringer boards, or blocks along ends and sides of pallet.

Four-Way Pallet : A pallet with openings at both opposite pallet ends and sides sufficient to admit hand-pallet jacks; a full, four-way entry pallet.

Grocery Industry Four-Way Pallet (GMA): A generic reference to the pallets used in grocery manufacturing, distribution, and retailing. Oftentimes referred to as a “GMA pallet” because it is specified by the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association.

Hardwood: Wood from broad-leaved species of trees (not necessarily hard or dense).

Inner Deckboard: Any deckboard located between the end deckboards.

IPPC: The International Plant Protection Convention, or IPPC, addresses the need to prevent and control the introduction and spread of pests and plant products. IPPC specifies the materials and/or treatments for pallets traveling internationally so that the pallets are incapable of being a carrier of invasive species of insects and plant diseases.

Multiple-Use Pallet: A pallet designed for repeated uses under different unit load conditions.

Stay tuned to our blog for terms N-Z in an upcoming post…In the meantime, let’s talk about your pallet needs. For a free consultation, contact our national pallet specialists.