Pallets & accessories
A box rarely travels alone. Recovered GMA pallets, gaylord lids, poly and foil liners, corner boards, slip sheets, strapping and stretch film — all reclaimed where we can get it.
Quote pallets & accessories
Give us a size and a count and we will photograph the actual pallet before you commit.
- Pallets
- 48" × 40" GMA, A & B grade
- Liners
- 2 – 6 mil poly, foil, FDA options
- Strapping
- Poly, polyester, recovered steel
- Minimum
- Mixed pallet accepted
- Recovered pallets repaired in-house, not landfilled
- Lids and bottoms matched to your gaylord size
- Corner boards and edge protectors from recycled board
- Take-back on film and strapping where volume allows
Work out the cube before you ask for a price.
Box Studio gives you the erected cube, the knocked-down cube, the pallet fit and the trailer count for any size — then attaches the spec to the form above.
We repair them. Almost nobody does.
A GMA pallet with one cracked deck board is not scrap; it is a twenty-minute job on a bench. We buy recovered pallets, repair them in-house with reclaimed lumber, and grade them A or B.
Grade A GMA
Four-way 48" × 40", no visible repairs, square and flush. Retail-facing and racking duty.
Grade B GMA
One or two replaced boards, structurally sound and racked without complaint. Our volume product.
Custom footprints
42" × 42", 48" × 48" drum decks and odd sizes, sourced and repaired to order.
The parts that decide how long a box lasts.
Most container failures we see are caused by an accessory that was missing, not by board that was weak.
| Item | Options | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Gaylord lids | Telescoping cap, matched to all ten stock sizes | Stops repeated flap folding — adds 2–3 trips per container |
| Separate bottoms | Triple-wall tray with locating lip | Takes vertical load off the sleeve for heavy or sharp material |
| Poly liners | 2, 4 and 6 mil; clear and black | Moisture and contamination barrier; the cheapest insurance available |
| Foil liners | Laminate, moisture barrier | Humidity-sensitive powders and food ingredients |
| Odour-barrier liners | Multi-layer | Hemp, cannabis biomass, aromatic material |
| Corner boards | L-profile, recovered board, 2–6 ft | Prevents strapping cutting into the container edge |
| Slip sheets | Kraft and plastic | Replaces a pallet where push-pull handling is available |
| Strapping | Poly, polyester, recovered steel | Polyester holds tension on corrugated far better than steel |
| Stretch film | Hand and machine, recycled content | Take-back arrangement where volume allows |
| Edge protectors | Recovered board, die-cut | Protects the top edge on stacked and racked containers |
If you buy one accessory this year, buy corner boards. Strapping applied directly to corrugated is the second most common cause of early container death we see, and it is the cheapest one to eliminate entirely.
Eleven liners, and what each one is actually for.
For most bulk applications the liner matters more than the board. It carries the moisture barrier, the food-contact claim and — for powders — the static behaviour.
| Type | Gauge | Barrier | Relative cost | Suited to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard poly | 2 – 4 mil | Moisture | 1.0× | Resin pellets, granulate, general bulk | Clear, so fill level is visible from outside |
| Heavy poly | 6 mil | Moisture, puncture | 1.6× | Sharp or abrasive granulate | Resists puncture from angular material |
| Antistatic poly (topical) | 4 mil | Moisture, static | 1.4× | General dust control | Stops working below ~30% relative humidity |
| Antistatic poly (permanent) | 4 mil | Moisture, static | 2.1× | Dry or heated facilities | Additive integral to the film; humidity-independent |
| Static dissipative | 4 – 6 mil | Controlled discharge | 3.0× | Electronics feedstock | Needs a verified grounding path to work |
| Conductive / Type C | 6 mil | Grounded discharge | 4.2× | Combustible dust | Only safe as part of a bonded, grounded system |
| Foil laminate | — | Moisture, light, vapour | 3.4× | Humidity-sensitive powders | Opaque; fill level needs a separate check |
| Multi-layer odour barrier | — | Moisture, odour | 3.8× | Hemp, cannabis, aromatics | EVOH or metallised layer; plain poly will not do this |
| FDA-compliant poly | 2 – 6 mil | Moisture, food contact | 1.3× | Food ingredients, pet food | Supplied with a letter of guarantee |
| Spouted liner | 4 mil | Moisture | 1.9× | Gravity discharge lines | Bottom spout; halves emptying time |
| Vented liner | 2 mil | Partial | 1.5× | Respiring produce and biomass | Closed but not sealed — stops internal humidity build-up |
What holds the load together, and what it does to the box.
Strapping applied directly to corrugated is the fourth largest cause of container death in our retirement coding — and the only one eliminated completely by an accessory costing pennies.
| Type | Break strength | Tension retention | Recyclable | Use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polypropylene | 200 – 600 lb | Poor | Yes, with film | Light bundling, carton closing | Loses tension quickly; fine for short trips |
| Polyester (PET) | 600 – 2,000 lb | Excellent | Yes | Palletised loads, bulk containers | Holds tension on corrugated far better than steel |
| Woven cord | 500 – 2,400 lb | Good | Limited | Irregular or settling loads | Absorbs load movement without snapping |
| Steel | 1,200 – 9,000 lb | Poor on board | Yes, separately | Metal, lumber, rigid loads | Cuts into corrugated; avoid without corner boards |
| Paper-based | 150 – 400 lb | Moderate | Yes, same OCC stream | Light bundling in a closed loop | Goes into the bale with the box; no separation step |
| Type | Recyclable | Tamper evidence | Use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water-activated paper (gummed) | Yes, same stream | High | E-commerce, reusable cartons | Bonds into the fibre; strongest closure for reuse |
| Reinforced water-activated | Mostly | Very high | Heavy cartons, export | Fibreglass reinforcement; separates at the mill |
| Acrylic BOPP | Tolerated | Low | General carton sealing | Cheapest; leaves residue that downgrades grade A |
| Hot-melt BOPP | Tolerated | Low | High-speed lines | Better initial tack, worse residue |
| Filament | No | High | Bundling, heavy closure | A prohibitive in an OCC bale; strip before baling |
| Paper masking | Yes | Low | Labelling, temporary marking | Our re-face station's preferred option |
Eight decks, and what sits on them.
Specify your container to the pallets you actually own, not to the standard. A 48 × 40 GMA pallet in the real world runs anywhere from 47.5 to 48.5 inches.
| Footprint | Construction | Typical use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48" × 40" GMA, 4-way | Stringer, notched | North American standard | Real examples run 47.5 – 48.5 inches. Measure yours. |
| 48" × 40" block | Block, 4-way true | Automated handling | Better for AS/RS and robotics |
| 48" × 48" drum | Stringer | Chemical, octabins | Suits the 41-inch octabin footprint |
| 42" × 42" | Stringer | Beverage, telecom | Common in soft-drink distribution |
| 48" × 45" | Stringer | Produce field pack | Matches vented produce bins |
| 36" × 36" half | Block | Retail display | Store-level display base |
| 1200 × 1000 mm | Block | International | The closest metric equivalent to GMA |
| 1200 × 800 mm EUR | Block | Europe | Too narrow for most US bulk containers |
| Pattern | Compression retained | Stability | Wrap needed | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column (aligned) | Up to 100% | Low | Required | Heavy uniform loads into racking |
| Brick (offset rows) | ~60% | Good | Recommended | Mixed weight, manual handling |
| Pinwheel | ~60 – 70% | Highest | Recommended | Odd footprints with a centre void |
| Full interlock | ~45% | Highest | Optional | Light loads where toppling is the risk |
What actually fits in the truck.
Every cube figure we quote is calculated against these, at a realistic 72% packing efficiency rather than a theoretical 100%.
| Unit | Inside dimensions | Volume | Pallet positions | Payload | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53' dry van | 630" × 100" × 110" | 3,489 ft³ | 26 | 45,000 lb | Our standard outbound unit |
| 48' dry van | 576" × 99" × 108" | 3,100 ft³ | 24 | 44,000 lb | Older fleet, still common on LTL |
| 28' pup | 330" × 100" × 108" | 1,750 ft³ | 12 | 22,000 lb | LTL linehaul segment |
| 26' straight truck | 306" × 96" × 96" | 1,700 ft³ | 12 | 10,000 lb | Liftgate deliveries to sites without docks |
| 40' container | 474" × 92" × 94" | 2,390 ft³ | 20 | 59,000 lb | Export; corrugated avoids ISPM 15 |
| 40' high cube | 474" × 92" × 106" | 2,694 ft³ | 20 | 58,000 lb | Preferred for low-density freight |
Most container failures are caused by a missing accessory
When we code retired containers by cause of death, the top four are forklift strikes to the lower panel, moisture through the flutes, top-edge crush, and strapping cutting into a corner. Three of those four are substantially prevented by something costing a fraction of the container: a lid, a pallet, and a corner board.
That is the whole argument for this page. Nobody gets excited about corner boards. They are the highest-return packaging purchase available to most operations.
Pallets: we repair them, and almost nobody does
A GMA pallet with one cracked deck board is a twenty-minute bench job with reclaimed lumber, not scrap. The economics hold comfortably at one or two replaced boards and stop at two broken stringers, where labour exceeds value and you end up with something nobody fully trusts. Knowing where that line sits matters more than any individual repair.
One safety rule overrides all the economics: a crack running through more than half the stringer depth at a fork notch is a reject, never a repair. We check that first, on every pallet, before anybody gets interested in deck boards.
Stretch film, the invisible waste
Film is designed to be stretched 150 to 300 per cent of its original length. Hand-wrapping typically achieves 10 to 50 per cent, which means most sites buy three to four times the plastic they need for the same containment force. A dispenser with an adjustable brake and ten minutes of showing people how to use it halves consumption with no capital at all.
And over-tight film on an unprotected corrugated corner produces exactly the same diamond-shaped crush as strapping does — which is the second reason corner boards exist.
Six decisions worth getting right.
Each of these is cheap to change and expensive to get wrong, because the cost shows up as container life rather than as a line on an invoice.
Lid depth
Roughly 20% of container height as a rule of thumb — about seven inches on a 36-inch gaylord. Too shallow and it protects the rim only; too deep and it is wasted board.
Lid fit
Order the cap against the sleeve's OUTSIDE dimensions. Mixing up inside and outside is the most common accessory ordering error we see.
Corner board length
Must exceed the strap path it protects. A board sized for a 36-inch container on a 44-inch one leaves eight inches of corner directly under the strap.
Strapping material
Polyester holds tension on corrugated far better than steel, which cuts in. Polypropylene loses tension quickly and is fine only for short trips.
Liner gauge
2–4 mil for pellets, 6 mil for abrasive or sharp material, antistatic for powders, barrier film for odour. The liner usually matters more than the board.
Pallet grade
Grade A for retail-facing and racking duty; grade B — one or two replaced boards, structurally sound — for everything else, which is most things.
What the rack does to the box.
Container specification and racking choice are the same decision made twice. Drive-in and push-back racking are where we see the most container damage, because the container is handled blind.
| Rack type | Beam span | Load capacity | Effect on containers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selective pallet rack | 96 – 144" | 2,500 – 6,000 lb/level | Most common; one pallet deep |
| Double deep | 96 – 108" | 2,500 – 5,000 lb/level | Needs a reach truck; container squareness critical |
| Drive-in | N/A, rails | 2,000 – 4,000 lb/pallet | Container damage risk is highest here |
| Push-back | 96 – 120" | 2,200 – 4,500 lb/pallet | Dynamic load; overhang is unforgiving |
| Pallet flow | 96 – 120" | 2,000 – 3,000 lb/pallet | Bottom-board condition decides whether it rolls |
| Floor stacking | N/A | Board-limited | Where box compression strength actually binds |
| Item | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Single-person lift, ideal zone | Up to 35 lb | Between knuckle and shoulder height, close to the body |
| Single-person lift, absolute | 50 lb | Common carrier and insurer threshold for cartons |
| Two-person lift | Up to 100 lb | Requires clear path and matched heights |
| Carton max gross, 32 ECT | 65 lb | Certificate limit, not a handling recommendation |
| Carton max gross, 48 ECT | 120 lb | Mechanical handling expected |
| Gaylord, loaded | 1,800 – 2,400 lb | Forklift or pallet truck only |
| Pallet jack, manual | 5,500 lb | Flat floors only |
| Counterbalance forklift, typical | 5,000 lb at 24" load centre | Derates sharply as load centre moves out |
How long each thing actually takes.
Measured from a confirmed order, not from the first email. Artwork approval and procurement onboarding sit outside these figures and are usually the real critical path.
| Item | Lead time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Graded used shippers, stock size | Same week | Often 48 hours on Midwest lanes |
| Graded gaylords, stock size | Same week | Knocked down and banded |
| Reconditioned gaylords | 7 – 10 days | Bench time plus re-grading |
| Lids, liners and accessories | Same week | Ships on the same pallet |
| Recovered pallets, repaired | 3 – 7 days | Depends on repair queue |
| New stock-size boxes | 2 – 5 days | 60+ sizes held in St. Louis |
| New custom die | 10 – 15 working days | Includes die making and first article |
| Printed new board, 1 – 4 colour | 10 – 15 working days | Plate making included |
| Honeycomb panel, stock | 5 days | Pressed from recovered board |
| Die-cut dunnage to profile | 7 – 10 days | Tooling for non-standard profiles adds time |
| Printed retail display | 10 – 12 days | Artwork approval is usually the critical path |
| Baler placement | 2 – 4 weeks | Site survey, delivery and commissioning |
Seven things about your dock that change the quote.
Declared before the quote these are free to plan around. Discovered on delivery day they are the single most common reason a cheap quote becomes an expensive invoice.
| Item | Specification | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dock height | 48 – 52" typical | Below 44" a standard trailer needs a leveller or a ramp |
| Dock leveller capacity | 20,000 – 30,000 lb | Loaded gaylords on a pallet truck approach the limit |
| Door width | 8 – 9 ft | Double-stacked knocked-down bundles are wide |
| Apron depth | 100 – 130 ft | A 53-foot trailer needs room to square up |
| Liftgate requirement | If no dock | Add $75 – $150; declare it before the quote, not after |
| Receiving window | 3-day window ideal | Lets us consolidate; worth more than a volume discount |
| Forklift availability | 3,000 lb minimum | A loaded gaylord plus pallet exceeds many electric walkies |