The shipping pallet is a portable, rigid, horizontal and a composite platform which is mainly a base for storing, assembling, transporting or stacking of the goods as a unit load. Pallets are usually made of hardwoods or softwoods. Pallets can also be made of plastic, metal, paper, and recycled materials. The superstructure which they possess is quite useful in supporting the weight of big and heavy goods.
Pallets are useful in protecting, transporting, and stacking of goods. Equipment such as pallet jacks, fork-lifters, or conveyors will be used to handle pallet shipments. Packages on pallets are typically secured with the help of a stretch wrap, shrink wrap, pallet collar, strapping, etc. Pallets are part of the standard shipping method in almost every industry that ships freight. They make it quick and easy to unload onto trucks and containers.
When do you use palletized shipment?
Typically, it is more expensive to ship a pallet than a single package. But if you have many packages to send, it may become cheaper to place them on a pallet rather than sending a few boxes separately. Besides the lower price, palletised shipments do not get damaged, lost or delayed that easily. Before you decide to ship a pallet, ensure that it can be easily picked up with a bigger vehicle by the receiver. You can also consider pallet shipping if your shipment is big and heavy. Bear in mind that the whole pallet shipment will head to the same direction. If your parcels have a different addressee, you should ship them separately and not use pallet shipping.
What can you send on a pallet?
Anything from building materials, washing machines, dishwashers, bicycles, furniture, domestic appliances, engines and machineries and lots of smaller, boxed, stackable items going to one destination. The list is endless.
How much will it cost?
The cost depends on the location, how fast you need it to get there and the size/weight of the palletised goods. You can get a quick quote on pallet delivery from the Shiply website, which links you to hundreds of thousands of rated shippers.
Here are six reasons why palletizing your goods is an effective method of shipping them:
- Pallets make goods much easier to move and handle.
- Palletized shipment enables effective tracking and counting of inventory.
- For certain commodities like fresh produce, pallets provide beneficial air circulation and drainage which regular shipping containers don’t, thus preventing spoilage of goods.
- Palletized shipments are stronger because they are on a base of strong plastic, wood, or metal rather than being wrapped in cardboard or plastic
- Palletized goods will have maximized protection and lower chances of being damaged during shipment.
- Despite being lightweight, pallets are still very durable. Moreover, they take up much less space than other shipping containers and as they are uniform in shape, they can be stacked, reducing the amount of floor space they require.
Whether you choose to ship a pallet or multiple packages, you can take a look at instant quotes for both types on the Shiply platform. Give it a try!
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