The words people use at you in a pallet yard

70 of 70 terms.

A

Anti-skidHandling

A rubberised or textured pad applied to a pallet deck to stop loads sliding in transit. Common on beverage and drum pallets.

AS/RSHandling

Automated storage and retrieval system. Robotic racking that demands tight dimensional tolerance, which is why Grade A or new pallets are specified for it.

B

BearerConstruction

A structural member running under the deck to support it. On a stringer pallet the stringers are the bearers; on a block pallet the bottom boards act as bearers between the blocks.

Block palletConstruction

A pallet supported by nine solid blocks rather than stringers, giving full four-way fork and pallet-jack entry. The European norm.

Board footMaterials

A unit of lumber volume: 144 cubic inches, or a board 12" x 12" x 1". A 48x40 stringer pallet contains roughly 23 board feet.

Bottom deckConstruction

The lower boards of a pallet. Full, three-board, perimeter or absent. Determines how the pallet behaves on racking and on conveyor rollers.

Butted deck boardConstruction

Deck boards laid tight against each other with no gap. Increases deck coverage and cost; used where small items would fall through.

C

ChamferConstruction

A bevelled edge on a deck board that helps forks and pallet-jack wheels enter cleanly. Reduces lead-board damage significantly.

CHEPPooling

A global pallet pool operator whose blue pallets remain its property. They cannot legally be bought, sold or recycled by third parties.

Companion stringerRepair

A full-length board nailed and usually glued alongside a cracked stringer to restore its load path. Defines a pallet as Grade B under most standards.

CoreGrading

A used pallet bought as raw material rather than as a working pallet. Feeds the repair and dismantling lines.

Corner boardAccessories

Laminated paper or plastic angle placed at the corners of a load so strapping does not cut into cartons. Also adds vertical compression strength.

D

De-nailingRecycling

Removing nails from recovered deck boards so the lumber can be re-used or planed. Followed by metal detection, because one missed nail destroys a blade.

Deck boardConstruction

Any board forming the top or bottom surface of a pallet. Lead boards are the outermost and fail first.

Deck coverageConstruction

The percentage of the pallet footprint actually covered by boards. A standard 48x40 GMA is about 87%.

Dielectric heatingCompliance

An ISPM 15 treatment method using microwave or radio-frequency energy to heat wood to 60 °C for one minute throughout the profile.

Double-face palletConstruction

A pallet with both a top and a bottom deck. Distinguished from a skid, which has runners only.

Drop trailerLogistics

A trailer left on a customer's site to be loaded at their own pace and swapped when full. The lowest-friction arrangement for continuous pallet generators.

DunnageHandling

Loose material — boards, blocks, airbags — used to brace and protect a load in transit. Also subject to ISPM 15 if it is solid wood.

Dynamic loadEngineering

The maximum weight a pallet can carry while being lifted and moved. Typically about half the static load for wooden pallets.

E

EPALPooling

European Pallet Association. Licenses the production and repair of genuine exchangeable Euro pallets and owns the oval brand mark.

Euro palletSizes

The 1200 x 800 mm EPAL/EUR 1 block pallet. The most tightly specified pallet in the world and the most frequently counterfeited.

Exchange poolPooling

A system in which pallets are swapped one-for-one between participants rather than bought. Widespread in Europe; effectively absent in North America.

F

Flush palletConstruction

A pallet whose deck boards end flush with the stringers, with no overhang. Easier to handle by clamp; less forgiving of mis-set forks.

Four-way entryConstruction

A pallet that can be entered by forks from all four sides. Full four-way requires block construction; notched stringers give partial four-way.

Freight classLogistics

The NMFC classification that determines LTL shipping cost. Pallets themselves usually fall in a low-density, higher-class band.

G

GMA palletSizes

The 48" x 40" grocery standard pallet, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that standardised it in the 1960s.

Grade A / #1Grading

A used pallet with original stringers and no more than two replaced deck boards. Suitable for racking and automation.

Grade B / #2Grading

A structurally sound used pallet with visible repairs — companion stringers, plugs, up to four replaced boards. Floor use only.

H

HardwoodMaterials

Deciduous timber — oak, poplar, maple, gum. Heavier, stronger and better at holding nails than softwood. The dominant species group in North American pallets.

Heat treatment (HT)Compliance

Heating wood to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 continuous minutes to satisfy ISPM 15. Verified by core probes, not air temperature.

I

IPPC markCompliance

The wheat-ear symbol, country code, facility number and treatment code stamped on ISPM 15 compliant wood packaging. Must appear on at least two opposite sides.

ISPM 15Compliance

The international phytosanitary standard governing wood packaging in cross-border trade. Applies to solid wood over 6 mm; exempts plywood and other processed boards.

K

KD-HTCompliance

Kiln dried and heat treated. Both were achieved; kiln drying alone does not satisfy ISPM 15.

L

Lead boardConstruction

The outermost deck board at each end of a pallet. Takes fork impact and is the most frequently replaced component.

LTLLogistics

Less-than-truckload. Shared freight for shipments too small to fill a trailer. For pallets it is usually only economic below about 180 units.

M

Methyl bromide (MB)Compliance

A toxic, ozone-depleting fumigant permitted under ISPM 15 but banned by a growing number of importing countries. RePallet Co. neither uses nor accepts MB-treated wood.

MoffettLogistics

A truck-mounted forklift carried on the back of a trailer. Allows delivery to sites with no forklift of their own.

N

Nested palletConstruction

A plastic pallet designed to stack inside another when empty, cutting return-freight volume by up to four to one.

NotchConstruction

A cut-out in a stringer, typically 9" wide and 1.5" deep, giving partial four-way fork entry. Also the most common failure point.

Notch blow-outRepair

Failure of the timber above or below a stringer notch. Repaired with a plug rather than a full stringer replacement.

O

Open-loopLogistics

A distribution pattern where pallets leave your control and do not return. Favours cheap, repairable wooden pallets.

OverhangHandling

A load extending beyond the pallet deck. Removes perimeter support and is a leading cause of both product damage and pallet failure.

P

Pallet collarAccessories

A hinged timber frame that turns a flat pallet into a walled, stackable box and folds flat for return.

Pallet jackHandling

A manual or powered truck that lifts a pallet by its openings. Needs full openings, so it cannot enter through a stringer notch.

PECOPooling

A North American pallet pool operator whose brown-painted pallets remain its property.

Perimeter baseConstruction

A bottom deck running around the full perimeter of the pallet. Improves racking behaviour on a stringer pallet.

PlugRepair

A shaped block routed into a damaged stringer notch and fastened in place. Restores structure without replacing the stringer.

Pooled palletPooling

A pallet owned by a pool operator and rented rather than sold. Recognisable by painted blocks or stringer ends. Cannot legitimately be bought or recycled by third parties.

R

Racking loadEngineering

The weight a pallet can carry across an unsupported span between rack beams. The smallest of the three ratings and the only one that keeps people safe.

Reversible palletConstruction

A pallet with identical top and bottom decks, usable either way up. Doubles effective deck life at the cost of more lumber.

Ring-shank nailMaterials

A nail with annular rings along the shank that dramatically improves withdrawal resistance. The reason quality pallets produce fewer shiners.

RunnerConstruction

A longitudinal support member, particularly on a skid. Often used interchangeably with stringer.

S

ShinerRepair

A nail that has backed out and protrudes from the deck. Tears packaging, cuts hands and jams automation. Sheared or reset before any graded sale.

Single-face palletConstruction

A pallet with a top deck and runners but no bottom deck. Properly called a skid.

SkidConstruction

A single-face pallet with runners and no bottom deck. Cheap and easy to sweep under; unsuitable for racking or loaded stacking.

Slip sheetAccessories

A thin fibreboard or plastic sheet used instead of a pallet, moved by a push-pull attachment. Saves height, weight and storage.

SoftwoodMaterials

Coniferous timber — pine, spruce, fir. Lighter and cheaper than hardwood, with lower nail-holding capacity and shorter service life.

Static loadEngineering

The weight a pallet can support at rest on a flat, solid floor. The largest of the three ratings and the least operationally useful.

Stretch wrapAccessories

Plastic film applied around a load for containment. Cheap per load, and a significant recurring waste stream in high-volume operations.

StringerConstruction

A board on edge running the length of a pallet and supporting the deck. Three is standard on a 48x40 GMA.

Stringer palletConstruction

A pallet supported by stringers rather than blocks. Lighter, cheaper and easier to repair than block construction. The North American norm.

T

Tare weightLogistics

The weight of the pallet and packaging alone. Matters when freight is charged by weight, and when a scale ticket must be net.

Toll repairServices

An arrangement where a customer's own pallets are collected, repaired and returned rather than exchanged for different stock.

Top capAccessories

A lid that closes a collared pallet so a second load can be stacked on top and the contents are protected from dust.

Two-way entryConstruction

A pallet that can be entered by forks from two opposite sides only. Cheapest construction; awkward in tight aisles.

U

UIC 435-2Compliance

The International Union of Railways specification that defines the Euro pallet, including board dimensions and the 78-nail pattern.

Unit loadHandling

The pallet, the goods and the packaging treated as one handling unit. The concept the whole industry is built on.

W

Wing palletConstruction

A pallet whose deck boards overhang the stringers at each end. The overhang gives extra deck area but is vulnerable to fork damage.

Z

Zero landfillSustainability

An operation that sends no material to landfill. In pallet recycling this is genuinely achievable because every fraction — wood, steel, fibre — has a buyer.