The nestable plastic pallet, model by model

The three nestables on file, side by side

Reading the line the way a dock supervisor would

Start with weight, because the weight is what a person lifts and what a trailer axle sees: 26.5 lb for the standard-duty, 28.5 lb for the heavy-duty, a lean 18.0 lb for the Nelson model. The Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which its page says suits air freight, and it works with automation and most roller conveyors.

Then static against dynamic. Both Rehrig models are rated 10,000 lb static, but the heavy-duty is rated 3,500 lb dynamic against 3,000 lb, a 500 lb gain in motion for 2 lb of pallet and 0.05 in more nest. That is a small price in empties: 1,200 against 1,260 per trailer, or 60 fewer pallets.

Finally racking, the number that decides whether the pallet can sit on a beam. Nelson prints 2,700 lb for its multi-use model. Neither Rehrig nestable page lists one. If it is not on the sheet, it does not apply.

What the sheet leaves out

• The load is assumed to be evenly spread. A concentrated load on one corner is not what 10,000 lb means.
• Static is a rating at rest. Held a long time, plastic can creep; see the creep guide.
• Temperature. Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle and reduce performance.
• Recycled content changes the colour and sometimes the paperwork. Rehrig Pacific offers the standard-duty with up to 90 percent recycled content in black, and the heavy-duty with up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour.

Trailers for your volume

Suppose 1,310 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 2 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 1 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 3 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 1,310 to 6,870.

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 6 stands 19.25 in and a stack of 18 stands 49.85 in, against 117.0 in un-nested.

Questions to put to the maker

• How many empties can stand in one nested stack before the stack leans?
• Where on the pallet is the model name moulded, so a returned stack can be matched to its sheet?
• Is the nest increment measured on a new pallet, or one that has been in service?
• Does the nest figure change with the deck type, open or closed?
• Is the pallets-per-trailer number for nested empties, or for loaded pallets?
• What happens to the rating if a stack is stored outside in the sun?
• Is there a version of the model with a lower nest increment, and what does it give up?
• Which exact model is the figure for, and does the sheet give the nest increment or only the pallets per stack?

From the dock

• A trailer loaded to the roof is limited by cube, not weight, which is why empties are priced by the trailer.
• A pallet that nests well but cracks at the corner after a season is not a bargain; ask for the service record.
• Warehouses with low ceilings find nested stacks fit under sprinkler lines that tall un-nested stacks would hit.
• Mixing two models in one nested stack can fail: legs that differ by a fraction of an inch will wedge rather than seat.
• Nesting pays only when pallets come back. A one-way shipment gains nothing from a deep nest except cheaper freight out.
• Forklift operators prefer stacks that stand square to the tines; a leaning stack gets re-stacked by hand.
• Hollow legs collect meltwater and grit; a rinse before nesting keeps stacks from sticking together.

Words on this page

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.

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.

Recycled content

The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.

Dunnage

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

UL

Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.

Creep

Slow, permanent bending of plastic under a steady load. A pallet can hold a load for an hour and bow under it after a month.

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.