The Role Of Wooden Pallets In The Transport Industry

By Author: Mick Coop.
Total Articles: 1
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The wooden pallet is ubiquitous in the transport industry for very good reasons. Moving goods and raw materials easily both nationally and internationally has been facilitated by using pallets which have evolved over time into the design in use today.

The wooden pallet is ubiquitous in the transport industry for very good reasons. Moving goods and raw materials easily both nationally and internationally has been facilitated by using pallets which have evolved over time into the design in use today.

What is a wooden pallet?

A pallet is basically a slatted wooden platform which is raised on blocks of wood at each corner. This allows a forklift truck to put its forks under the pallet (and the goods stacked on it) to raise it up and move it on to a truck or into racking or wherever else it needs to go. The pallet has evolved more or less in line with the forklift truck as trade expanded after the 1940’s and goods had to be moved more efficiently so pallet sizes were determined by the type of transport they were being moved on. Pallet sizes in the UK for instance were determined by the size of a lorry trailer ...
... as most goods were delivered by road, whereas in the EU most goods are transported by rail, causing a slightly smaller size to be used. In any event the system of using wooden pallets to move goods has been accepted as the norm around the world for many years.

Why wooden pallets

Wood has been the preferred material to manufacture pallets for several reasons. Wood is plentiful and can be sourced in an environmentally friendly way to make sure it is a greener product. As a material wood is malleable so wooden pallets can be made easily into different sizes and configurations to suit the job they are designed for. When pallets get damaged, an unfortunate by-product of the transport business, they can be easily repaired and put back into service. Eventually a wooden pallet comes to the end of its life and at this point it can be recycled into wood chips or similar for use as animal bedding or sawdust.

Wood is not the only material used to make pallets from these days and other materials like plastic or even cardboard can be found but wood is the most popular because of its robustness and comparatively cheap cost. Wooden pallets have been found to be the most useful aid to the transporting and storage of goods, they can be used many times and offer a secure and safe platform to keep goods secure.
Resource: http://www.whirlowdale.com/wooden-pallets.aspx