Truckload economics on LTL-sized consumption.
A full truckload bought at truckload pricing, held in our yard under your name, and released a pallet at a time against your call-offs. You get the freight cost of a big order with the cash flow and floor space of a small one.
Set up a standing order
Tell us your monthly consumption and we will model it against spot buying.
Who it suits
Anybody consuming boxes continuously in quantities too small to fill a trailer each time — which is most buyers, and almost none of them are offered this.
The problem it solves
Empty packaging is low-density freight, so the cost curve has steps rather than a slope. Four LTL releases of five pallets each costs roughly twice a single truckload of twenty. But most operations cannot receive twenty pallets at once, and nobody wants to give over the floor space even if they could.
A standing order separates the buying decision from the receiving decision. We buy and grade the whole quantity at once, band it, and park it. You call it off in whatever increments your dock can handle.
What you commit to
- A total quantity and a term — typically a truckload across three to twelve months.
- A named grade and size run, so we can grade the whole lot to one standard in one pass.
- A rough release cadence, which we use to plan grading capacity. Rough is genuinely fine.
- Taking the balance by the end of the term, or rolling it into the next one.
What we commit to
- A fixed price for the term, insulated from spot market movement.
- The stock physically segregated and tagged under your name, not notionally allocated.
- Next-day release on Zone 1 and 2 lanes, two to four days further out.
- Insurance against fire and flood while the material is with us.
- No storage charge. Holding graded stock is what a yard is for.
Why we like it as much as you do
Predictable release schedules let us plan grading capacity weeks ahead instead of reacting to a spot enquiry. A grader who knows next Tuesday's work on the previous Thursday is markedly more productive than one who does not, and that productivity is where the discount comes from. This is not a loss-leader; it is a genuinely cheaper way for both sides to operate.
| Approach | Shipments | Pallets each | Relative total cost | Your storage | Price certainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTL, four releases | 4 | 5 | 1.00× | Minimal | Spot, varies each time |
| Partial truckload, two releases | 2 | 10 | 0.68× | Moderate | Spot, varies |
| Full truckload, one delivery | 1 | 20 | 0.44× | Significant | Fixed once |
| Standing order, held by us | 1 + call-offs | As you need | 0.49× | None | Fixed for the term |
Costs normalised against the LTL option. The last row adds a small holding cost on our side and removes your storage problem entirely, which is why most repeat customers choose it over the pure truckload buy that looks cheapest on paper.
Four steps, about a week.
Most of the elapsed time is us grading the quantity, not administration.
Model it
Send twelve months of consumption, or your best guess. We compare spot buying against a standing order and show both.
Agree the spec
Size run, grade, quantity and term. One spec for the whole lot, which is what makes the grading efficient.
We buy and grade
The full quantity graded in one pass, bundled, banded, tagged under your name and photographed.
Call it off
Email or a shared sheet. Next day on Midwest lanes. The balance stays tagged until you want it.
Supply and demand move in opposite directions for most of the year.
If you buy on a fixed monthly schedule you are riding across this blind. It is a pattern rather than a law — but there is a calendar, and most buyers do not know it exists.
| Period | Inbound supply | Outbound demand | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| January – February | Very high | Low | Best availability and price of the year |
| March – April | High | Moderate | Good availability; grade A plentiful |
| May – June | Moderate | Moderate | Balanced; agriculture starts pulling gaylords |
| July – August | Low | High | Tightening; lead times extend |
| September – October | Low | Very high | Tightest of the year |
| November – December | Rising | Falling | Availability recovers, grade quality dips |
Six things move the number, and volume is only the fourth.
Used box pricing confuses people because the obvious lever — how many you want — is among the weakest of the six. Spread is the gap between best and worst case on our own quote data.
| Factor | Spread | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Destination lane | 2.8× | Within-Midwest versus a long nationwide haul |
| Size-run consistency | 2.1× | A single matched size versus genuinely mixed sizes |
| Grade | 1.9× | Grade C versus grade A on the same size |
| Order volume | 1.3× | One pallet versus a full truckload, same lane and grade |
| Timing flexibility | 1.15× | Take-it-when-it-lands versus a fixed delivery date |
| Season | 1.1× | March versus October on the same lane |
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 |
Standing orders, specifically.
What if my requirement changes mid-term?
Tell us. We will re-spec the balance where the material allows it, or roll the remainder into the next term. We are not going to hold you to a size run your business no longer needs.
Do I pay up front?
Normally on release rather than on commitment, for approved accounts. Some customers prefer to pay up front to lock a price against an expected market move, and we are happy either way.
What happens if you run out of that size?
You have the physical stock, segregated and tagged. That is the point — you are not competing with spot demand for it. If we fail to hold it, that is our failure to fix at our cost.
Is there a minimum?
Practically, a truckload — around twenty pallets. Below that the freight advantage that justifies the arrangement does not exist and spot buying serves you better.
Can I combine products?
Yes. Boxes, lids, liners, corner boards and pallets can all sit under one standing order and release together on the same trailer.
What if the market falls during my term?
You pay the agreed price. That cuts both ways and it is what fixed pricing means. If the move is dramatic and the relationship is long-term, come and talk to us — we have adjusted before.