Size · Construction

Stringer or block: the decision under every other pallet decision

Before footprint, before grade, before species — how a pallet is built decides how it can be picked up, how strong it is, and how cheaply it can be repaired.

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Stringer pallets use three or more parallel boards on edge to support the deck and offer two-way or partial four-way entry; block pallets use nine solid blocks and offer full four-way entry from any side.

Stringer construction is lighter, cheaper and easier to repair and dominates North America. Block construction is stronger, more consistent and easier to automate, and dominates Europe. Neither is better in general — only for a given job.

Side by side

Typical differences for a 48" x 40" footprint.
	Stringer	Block
Support members	3 – 5 boards on edge (1.5" x 3.5")	9 blocks (4" x 4" x 3.5")
Fork entry	2-way full, 4-way partial if notched	Full 4-way, all sides
Pallet jack entry	Two faces only	All four faces
Weight	33 – 40 lb	60 – 75 lb
Typical cost, new	$17 – $26	$26 – $42
Strength	Good; stringers are the weak point	Higher and more uniform
Repairability	Excellent and cheap	Harder; block replacement is slow
Automation friendliness	Moderate	High
Dominant region	North America	Europe
Typical lives	6 – 8 with repair	10 – 15 with repair

The notch is the compromise. Cutting notches into a stringer gives forks four-way access but weakens the stringer exactly where bending stress is highest. It is why a notched stringer pallet's racking load is lower than its static load suggests, and why notch blow-out is one of the most common failures we repair.

Which to choose

Choose stringer when

You are shipping domestically in North America and the pallet may not come back.
Cost per trip matters more than cost per life.
You repair your own pallets or use a recycler who does.
Weight matters — air freight, manual handling, weight-based shipping.
Your handling is forklift-led rather than pallet-jack-led.

Choose block when

Pallet jacks need access from all four sides — retail back rooms, in particular.
You run automation with tight tolerances.
The pallet stays in a closed loop and durability pays back.
You are shipping to Europe, where block is the norm.
Loads are heavy and racking is unsupported-span.

Most North American operations should default to stringer and only move to block when a specific requirement forces it. Most European operations should do the reverse. The costly mistakes happen when a company imports a habit from one region into the other without checking.

Hybrids and edge cases

Two constructions sit between the extremes and are worth knowing about.

Perimeter-base stringer

A stringer pallet with a full perimeter bottom deck. Behaves more like a block pallet on racking, without the block cost. A good compromise for unsupported spans.

Stringer-block hybrid

Blocks under a stringer-style deck, giving four-way entry at moderate weight. Uncommon in the recycled stream but buildable new.

Skid (no bottom deck)

Runners only. Cheap, light, easy to sweep under — and unsuitable for racking or for stacking loaded.

How each one fails, and what that costs

Construction determines failure mode, and failure mode determines cost of ownership far more than purchase price does.

Failure modes by construction, from our own repair line data.
Construction	Most common failure	Share	Repair cost	Repairable?
Stringer	Lead board crushed	31%	$1.75	Yes, easily
Stringer	Notch blow-out	14%	$3.20	Yes, plug
Stringer	Stringer split on nail line	9%	$4.10	Yes, companion
Stringer	Stringer broken through	2%	—	No
Block	Bottom board detached	—	$2.10	Yes
Block	Block crushed or split	—	$5.80	Yes, slower
Block	Top deck board split	—	$1.90	Yes
Block	Multiple block failure	—	—	No

The notch is the whole argument

Cutting a 9" x 1.5" notch into a stringer removes material exactly where bending stress peaks, and then invites a forklift driver to put a fork into the gap and lever against it. Twenty-three per cent of everything we repair is a notch-related failure. Block pallets simply do not have this failure mode, and that is most of why they last twice as long.

Automation, conveyors and what machines object to

The fastest-moving change in pallet specification over the past five years has nothing to do with pallets. It is that warehouses automated, and automation is far less tolerant than a forklift driver.

Construction versus automated handling.
System	Stringer, Grade A	Stringer, Grade B	Block
Roller conveyor	Usually fine	Poor — bottom deck gaps	Excellent
Chain conveyor	Good	Poor	Excellent
AS/RS shuttle	Good if consistent	No	Excellent
Robotic palletiser	Good	No — height variation	Excellent
Automated wrapper	Good	Marginal	Excellent
AGV / AMR	Varies by design	No	Excellent
Manual forklift	Excellent	Good	Excellent

If you are automating, revisit the pallet specification during the project, not after. We have been called in twice by sites that commissioned an AS/RS, kept their existing Grade B supply and spent six weeks diagnosing jam rates that had an eight-dollar answer.

A decision framework

Five questions, in order. The first “yes” usually settles it.

Do pallet jacks need to enter from all four sides? Retail back rooms and tight aisles. If yes → block.
Does it touch automation? Conveyors, AS/RS, robots. If yes → block, or Grade A stringer with tight consistency.
Is it a closed loop you control? If yes, durability pays back → block is worth costing.
Is it going to Europe? If yes → block is the norm at the receiving end.
Anything else? → stringer. Lighter, cheaper, easier to repair, and it is what the North American recycled stream actually contains.

Five-year cost of ownership for 1,000 pallets in a closed loop with repair.
	Recycled stringer Grade A	New stringer	New block
Initial purchase	$10,750	$21,000	$34,000
Replacements over 5 years	$21,500	$10,500	$0
Repairs	$9,000	$12,000	$18,000
Total 5-year cost	$41,250	$43,500	$52,000
Trips delivered	≈ 15,000	≈ 18,000	≈ 30,000
Cost per trip	$2.75	$2.42	$1.73

Note the two different answers in that table. Lowest total cost is the recycled stringer; lowest cost per trip is the block pallet. Which one is right depends entirely on whether you need 15,000 trips or 30,000 — and on whether the pallets actually come back to deliver them.

Questions people actually ask

Is a notched stringer pallet really four-way?

For forks, yes. For pallet jacks, no — the jack's load wheels need the full opening and cannot drop through a 9" notch. That distinction catches people out constantly.

Which is stronger?

Block, for most loading patterns, and more importantly it is more consistent. A stringer pallet's strength depends heavily on the grain and any previous repair to the stringers.

Can you repair block pallets?

Yes, but it is slower and costs more. Replacing a block means removing and re-nailing both decks at that corner. For Euro pallets there are also licensing rules around re-stamping.

Which is more sustainable?

Block pallets contain more timber but last longer, so per trip they are usually lower-impact in a closed loop. In an open loop where the pallet disappears after one trip, the lighter stringer pallet wins.

Which construction does the recycled market actually contain?

Stringer, overwhelmingly, in North America. Non-pooled block pallets appear intermittently and are worth more. If you standardise on block you are largely committing to buying new.

Can a stringer pallet be made four-way for a pallet jack?

Not properly. Notches admit forks but not jack wheels. Some designs use full-width cut-outs, which weakens the stringer badly. If you need jack access on four faces, use block construction.

Are block pallets always heavier?

Almost always — 60 to 75 lb against 33 to 40 lb for a comparable stringer pallet. That matters on air freight, weight-based rates and manual handling.

Which is better for racking?

Block, generally, and more importantly it is more consistent. But racking capacity is a property of your beam spacing as much as the pallet, so verify rather than assume.

What is a perimeter-base stringer pallet?

A stringer pallet with a full perimeter bottom deck. It behaves much more like a block pallet on unsupported spans without the block cost, and it is a genuinely under-used compromise.

Let's keep your pallets in the loop

Whether you have 40 broken cores behind the dock or need 4,000 Grade A pallets a month, the conversation starts the same way.

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