[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":220},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page:\u002Fguides\u002Fplastic-pallets-in-the-cold":3},{"tier":4,"sections":5,"faq":118,"sources":119,"related":129,"plate":170,"form":171,"scene":170,"path":172,"crumb":173,"ruler":174,"answer":175,"title":176,"h1":176,"description":177,"type":178,"schema":179,"reviewed":181,"crumbs":182,"jsonld":189},3,[6,14,26,39,83,88],{"h2":7,"blocks":8},"Why cold matters",[9,12],{"t":10,"text":11},"p","Nelson Company's guide to pallet materials notes that freezing can make some of them brittle. A pallet that bends and recovers in a warm dock can crack when struck in a freezer. The resin, the additives and the design all change how it behaves.",{"t":10,"text":13},"Refrigerated warehouses are a large part of storage in the United States, and USDA reports on cold storage capacity every year. A pallet bought for a cold room has to be bought for that room.",{"h2":15,"blocks":16},"What to ask the maker",[17,24],{"t":18,"items":19},"ul",[20,21,22,23],"The lowest temperature the rating was taken at.","Whether the pallet has been tested for impact at that temperature.","Which resin it is: HDPE and polypropylene behave differently.","Whether recycled content changes the cold behaviour.",{"t":10,"text":25},"If the maker cannot give a temperature, treat the cold rating as undefined. The usual claim, \"suitable for freezers\", is a sales line unless a number comes with it.",{"h2":27,"blocks":28},"Handling in a freezer",[29,35],{"t":30,"items":31},"ol",[32,33,34],"Warm a pallet slowly if it has been frozen, and do not drop it.","Use forks that enter squarely; a scraped deck cracks first at the scratch.","Retire any pallet with a crack, however small.",{"t":36,"title":37,"text":38},"note","Another ask","Cold rooms and fire listings often meet: a freezer full of plastic is a sprinkler question as well. See the [fire rated hub](\u002Ffire-rated).",{"h2":40,"blocks":41},"Trailers for your volume",[42,44],{"t":10,"text":43},"Suppose 2,560 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 3 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 2 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 5 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 2,560 to 13,460.",{"t":45,"head":46,"rows":54,"caption":82},"table",[47,48,49,50,51,52,53],"Pallets to return","Rehrig Pacific Heavy-duty nestable (1,200 per trailer)","Rehrig Pacific Standard-duty nestable (1,260 per trailer)","Nelson Company Nestable, stackable, rackable (1,800 per trailer)","PHS Plastic EXP 116 nestable (1,260 per trailer)","PHS Plastic EXP 100 nestable (2,340 per trailer)","Rackable (540 per trailer)",[55,60,64,68,72,77],[56,57,57,58,57,58,59],"2,560","3","2","5",[61,62,62,57,62,57,63],"4,740","4","9",[65,66,66,62,66,57,67],"6,920","6","13",[69,70,70,66,70,62,71],"9,100","8","17",[73,74,63,75,63,59,76],"11,280","10","7","21",[78,79,80,70,80,66,81],"13,460","12","11","25","Trailers = pallets ÷ the maker's per-trailer figure, rounded up. An example of arithmetic, not a quote.",{"h2":84,"blocks":85},"Testing in your own cold",[86],{"t":10,"text":87},"A rating taken at room temperature says little about a freezer. Ask whether the maker has data at your temperature and, failing that, run a handful of loaded pallets through a full cold cycle, watching the corners and the deck centre. A small trial costs an afternoon and answers a question no sheet can.",{"h2":89,"blocks":90},"Words on this page",[91],{"t":92,"rows":93},"dl",[94,97,100,103,106,109,112,115],[95,96],"Stretch wrap","Elastic film wound around a loaded pallet to hold the load together.",[98,99],"Cube utilisation","How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.",[101,102],"Dynamic load","The weight a pallet holds while it is moved by a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor. It is lower than static because motion adds shock.",[104,105],"Nest increment","The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.",[107,108],"Racking load","The weight a pallet holds when it rests on two rack beams with an open gap between them. It is usually the lowest rating and only exists for pallets built for racks.",[110,111],"Nest ratio","How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.",[113,114],"Polypropylene","Another common pallet resin, lighter and stiffer than some others, with its own behaviour in the cold.",[116,117],"Closed loop","A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.",[],[120,123,126],{"label":121,"url":122},"Nelson Company, what material is used for plastic pallets","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nelsoncompany.com\u002Fblog-post-what-material-is-used-for-plastic-pallets.cfm",{"label":124,"url":125},"USDA NASS, cold storage","https:\u002F\u002Fesmis.nal.usda.gov\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Frelease-files\u002F795764\u002Frfwh0126.txt",{"label":127,"url":128},"Wikipedia, High-density polyethylene","https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHigh-density_polyethylene",[130,134,138,142,146,150,154,158,162,166],{"path":131,"title":132,"blurb":133},"\u002Findustries\u002Ffood-and-beverage","Food and beverage","Food and beverage buyers want a pallet they can wash, with paper they can show an auditor. FDA does not approve pallet models, so ask the maker for resin and.",{"path":135,"title":136,"blurb":137},"\u002Fguides\u002Fplastic-pallet-creep","Guide: Plastic pallet creep","Creep is slow deformation of plastic under a steady load. A pallet can carry a load for an hour and bow under it after a month, which is why a rating at rest.",{"path":139,"title":140,"blurb":141},"\u002Ffire-rated","Fire rated","FM 4996 and UL 2335 listing for plastic pallets: what the tests are and why an unlisted pallet can change sprinkler design.",{"path":143,"title":144,"blurb":145},"\u002Fguides","Plastic Pallet Guides","Guides on nest ratio, the three load ratings, ISPM 15, fire listing, creep and cold, written from maker spec sheets.",{"path":147,"title":148,"blurb":149},"\u002Fguides\u002Fstatic-dynamic-and-racking-load","Static, dynamic and racking","Static is the load a pallet holds at rest, dynamic the load it holds on the move, racking the load it holds across an open gap. They are three tests, and the.",{"path":151,"title":152,"blurb":153},"\u002Fguides\u002Fispm-15-and-plastic-pallets","Guide: ISPM 15 and plastic pallets","ISPM 15 regulates wood packaging material in international trade. A plastic pallet is not wood, so it needs no heat-treatment or fumigation mark.",{"path":155,"title":156,"blurb":157},"\u002Fexport\u002Fplastic-export-pallets","Built light","Plastic export pallets built light on purpose, many nestable, with no wood treatment needed. What gives up weight.",{"path":159,"title":160,"blurb":161},"\u002Frackable\u002Fplastic-pallet-racking","Plastic pallet racking","Racking load is the weight across an open span between beams, often the lowest rating. How to match it to your racks.",{"path":163,"title":164,"blurb":165},"\u002Fheavy-duty","Heavy duty","Heavy duty plastic pallets sorted by static, dynamic and racking load, with the style trade-off for each band.",{"path":167,"title":168,"blurb":169},"\u002Fnest-calculator","Nest calculator","Pick a footprint and style, enter stacks, and see how many nestable pallets fit an empty 53 ft trailer against loaded ones.",null,false,"\u002Fguides\u002Fplastic-pallets-in-the-cold","Cold",8,"Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle. A rating taken at room temperature says little about a pallet that lives in a freezer, so ask for the cold figure.","Guide: Plastic pallets in the cold","Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle. A rating taken at room temperature says little about a pallet that lives in a freezer, so ask for the cold.","guide",[180],"Article","November 12, 2026",[183,186,188],{"path":184,"name":185},"\u002F","Home",{"path":143,"name":187},"Guides",{"path":172,"name":173},{"@context":190,"@graph":191},"https:\u002F\u002Fschema.org",[192,202,210],{"@type":180,"@id":193,"name":176,"url":194,"description":177,"inLanguage":195,"isPartOf":196,"publisher":198,"headline":176,"dateModified":200,"author":201},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides\u002Fplastic-pallets-in-the-cold#article","https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides\u002Fplastic-pallets-in-the-cold","en-US",{"@id":197},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F#website",{"@id":199},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F#org","2026-11-12",{"@id":199},{"@type":203,"@id":199,"name":204,"url":205,"email":206,"areaServed":207},"Organization","Nestable Plastic Pallets","https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F","info@nestableplasticpallets.com",{"@type":208,"name":209},"Country","United States",{"@type":211,"itemListElement":212},"BreadcrumbList",[213,216,219],{"@type":214,"position":215,"name":185,"item":205},"ListItem",1,{"@type":214,"position":217,"name":187,"item":218},2,"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides",{"@type":214,"position":4,"name":173,"item":194},1794519998222]