Ask for a load

What helps us answer first time

A request that names five things gets a straight answer. Footprint comes first, because the container, the drum or the receiving country usually sets it: 48 x 40 in for general freight, 48 x 48 in for four drums, 45 x 45 in for CP9 chemical, 48 x 45 in for auto bins, 43 x 43 in for bulk bags.

• Footprint. For example 48 x 40 in. If you are not sure, say what rides on the pallet and we will say which footprint it points at.
• Style. Nestable, stackable, rackable, heavy duty or export. "Not sure" is an honest answer; the form has it.
• How many. Pallets, or stacks if you count that way. The nest calculator turns either into trailers.
• Racking. Will the pallets sit on rack beams? Standard-duty nestables usually carry no racking rating, so this one answer can change the style.
• Where and when. Your ZIP, and whether this is a one-off load or a loop that repeats.

What happens to a request

A person reads it, checks the footprint and the three ratings against what you said the pallet will do, and replies with questions or a sourcing plan. We do not quote from this page, and sending a request is not an order.

Ratings we mention are always a maker's published figure for a named model. Before a pallet goes on a beam or under a heavy stack, confirm the figure with the maker for the exact model, because the sheet assumes an evenly spread load.

Rather work out the trailer first?

Open the empty trailer nest calculator, pick a model or type your maker's figures, and send the result from there. The numbers carry into this form where it asks for quantity, style and footprint.

Fire listing, food-contact paperwork and cold performance are model questions. Say in the optional message if any of them apply, and we will ask the maker for the documents rather than guess.

Why the first screen is short

The first step asks only for what decides the answer: what you need, how many and where the pallets sit. A longer form would lose people who are only comparing, and everything else can follow in a reply. If you have more to say, the optional message box takes it, including a link to a maker sheet.

Counts can be loose. "A few thousand a month" is enough to start; the desk turns it into trailers with the nest calculator before answering. What matters more than a precise count is whether the pallets come back empty, because that decides whether nesting pays.

A few details save a round of emails. Mention the receiving dock height if a trailer is involved, whether forklifts or pallet jacks do the handling, and any building rule such as a weight limit per bay. Say too if the pallets will live outdoors, in a freezer, beside a washdown line or under a sprinkler head, because each of those turns a general answer into a particular one. Names and numbers from an existing supplier help us compare like with like.

If you are replacing a pallet that has been failing, send a photograph of the break. A cracked corner, a split deck and a bowed centre each point to a different cause, and naming the failure often narrows the choice of model before any sheet is opened. The same goes for a pallet that is merely hard to handle: describe the trouble in plain words, such as catching on the dock plate, sliding off the conveyor or wedging in the stack.

Where a request involves a repeat order, say how often it recurs. A monthly return of empties, a seasonal peak before a holiday and a single one-off clearance of a warehouse each point toward a different style, and knowing the rhythm lets the reply suggest whether renting, buying or trialling a handful makes more sense.

Photographs help more than adjectives. A phone picture of the pallet from the side shows leg shape; a picture of its underside shows whether it has runners; one of the moulded mark, usually near a corner, gives the model name. Three pictures can identify most pallets a plant already owns.

You will not be asked for a card, a purchase order or a credit application here. This is a request for a conversation about a load, and the answer comes by email.