Pallet Styles for Closed-loop manufacturers

The return leg, priced in trailers

Plastics, parts and component plants often ship to one customer and take the pallets back. The loaded trip pays for itself; the empty trip has to be counted. The per-trailer figures makers print make that arithmetic possible.

What to weigh against the saving

• Rating: the best nesters are the lightest and carry the least.
• Racking: standard-duty nestables list no racking load.
• Handling: stacks of empties have a height limit for safety.
• Customer: some loops fix the model.

Rehrig Pacific's heavy-duty nestable carries 10,000 lb static and 3,500 lb dynamic and still nests at 2.55 in. For many loops it is the pallet that clears the rating and the return.

Counting the loop

1. Count pallets returned per week.
2. Take a maker's per-trailer figure for the model.
3. Divide and round up.
4. Compare the nestable with a stackable or rackable.

The calculator does it with a click; the nest ratio guide shows where the numbers come from.

How tall the empties stand

Stack height is the other half of the return leg. For the Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable, a stack of 5 stands 16.70 in and a stack of 29 stands 77.90 in, against 188.5 in un-nested.

A stack worked out

Take a stackable rated 30,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 3,958 lb it can hold 7 above, a stack of 8. With 8,000 lb per pallet it can hold 3 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.

What a closed loop depends on

A loop works when pallets come back in the numbers they left, so the quiet cost is shrinkage: the ones that never return. Track them by count at each hand-off, and the nest figure becomes a statement about stack height at your own dock rather than only about trailers.

Words on this page

GMA pallet

The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.

Closed loop

A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.

Static load

The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.

Stretch wrap

Elastic film wound around a loaded pallet to hold the load together.

Nest increment

The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.

Nest ratio

How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.

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.

Dunnage

Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.