Palletizing Your Shipment

Whether you are looking for ways to pack and ship your online sales, or you are simply looking to move cargo from one region to another, you need to come up with a way to ensure that your cargo will be safe while in transit. Another important factor to consider while shipping cargo is cost. In this article we will focus on palletized freight and how much you can save on pallet shipping cost.

What Is Palletized Freight

A Shipping company can choose to bring multiple pieces of shipments together to provide increased protection from damage and this is what is referred to as palletized freight. A pallet can hold multiple contents since they are secured in one place. Each pallet is considered one piece. Pallets are portable firm platforms which are commonly made from either plastic or wood and normally weigh between 20 to 70 lbs.

In order for the shipment to be secure, a pallet should be able to accommodate it without overhang. A pallet with overhanging edges can easily be subject to impacts that can result in compression damage, abrasions, and punctures. The main advantage of palletizing freight is that a shipping company will charge less on pallet shipping cost and shipping costs will be much cheaper than when you choose not to palletize your freight.

How To Palletize Your Freight

Select Pallets
Always ensure that you pick pallets that are large enough to prevent your shipment from overhanging.
Ensure the pallets you choose have closely spaced pallet deck boards
Pallets should be rigid enough to support the load.
Avoid using pallets with protruding nail heads and broken boards.
Pick pallets with four-way forklift entry to make handling easier and reduce damage to the load.

Stack Boxes On Pallets

If your shipment contains stackable pieces or boxes:

Ensure that packing boxes are of proper strength to withstand stacking.
Ensure cartons are securely closed, stapled and or sealed.
Don’t leave any spaces or void areas between or on top of cartons to prevent internal vibration.
Ensure that each pallet piece has an address label complete with consignee and shipper information.
To achieve the greatest stacking strength, make sure the boxes are aligned in columns, corner to corner.
Boxes should not extend past the pallet edges.

Secure Shipment to Pallet

In order to safely pack and ship pallets, ensure that you band or strap your load to the pallet. To prevent smaller pieces from getting separated or lost from the load, stretch wrap using a minimum of 60 gauge.

Label Shipment

For safety and to ensure that a shipping company delivers shipment to the right address, it is advisable to label each pallet with complete address information, including postal code and phone numbers of the shipper and consignee. Make a label for each side of a pallet and on top of the pallet.

How To Protect Your Palletized Freight From Damage

Use Banding or Strapping

Banding or strapping pieces together helps to prevent loss or separation while in transit. If you are using straps, ensure they are tightly drawn to the load which may require running it underneath the top deck boards of the pallet.

Use Stretch Wrapping

The plastic stretch wrap being applied around the pallet should be tight enough to prevent pieces from shifting.

Use Edge Boards

Corner boards help to stabilize the load, prevent damage to corner edges, and increase vertical stacking strength. In order to be effective, these boards should be used on all corners.

Use Load Protector

Load protectors are layers of heavy paperboard or corrugated fiberboard that help to evenly distribute the weights of cargo that can be stacked onto each other.

To ensure that your shipment will remain secure, you can ask professionals to pack and ship your pallets instead of doing it yourself.

Advantages Of Using Pallets For Shipments

Portability

Smaller items can be combined and stacked together on a single pallet which not only makes it easier to transport them but also helps to protect goods from damage due to handling.

Strength

Pallets are much stronger compared to plastic wrappers and cardboard boxes. If you have more than one pallet to ship, you can stack heavier objects on a single pallet without the worry that the pallet will break.