In the US alone, it's estimated that 1.9 billion pallets are hard at work on the daily. Essential to supply chains, these unassuming platforms are busy transporting everything from your morning coffee to the high-tech components helping to lift rockets into space. Roughly 90% of US pallets are made from wood. That's according to the latest Annual Pallet Report published by Modern Materials Handling. With so many wooden pallets in circulation, you may be asking if wooden pallets are really a sustainable choice. Yes, yes they are.
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The question I get most often from customers wanting to buy plastic pallets is, "how many fit on a truck?" Seems like a straightforward question, right? Well, if we're talking about standard 48x40 plastic pallets, I can tell you that we've got 26 to 30 skid spots to work with on a typical 53' dry van tractor trailer. Next comes some basic math (and maybe a tape measure). Most times we can come up with a solid count. Every once in a while we run up against an exception - usually because of a change in the truck scheduled to pick up the load. Yes, you read that right. Plastic CP9 chemical pallets are available for quick delivery.
Just recently, ten (10) truckloads of these brand new CP9 plastic pallets were successfully placed in the polymers and additives sector. A great choice for any industry, these 45x45 pallets are now stocked in our Columbus, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee warehouses. Choosing a pallet fastener can be a delicate balancing act. Ideally, you want to land somewhere between a lower price-per-pallet and a fit secure enough to safely do the job. Let's first look at nails. They're commonplace and often the fastener of choice. Why? Well, nails tend to flex with the wood and help maintain strength. Nails are usually cheaper. But, nails can also fail - especially if a lot of vertical force is expected on the load. We're talking product loss or handler injury. Yikes. So... are screws better? Sometimes, yes. When it comes to moving product, manufacturers are in a pickle. Pallets are in short supply. Prices are up. Packaging of every kind is being impacted by current market conditions.
Reverse distribution can help by keeping you in a consistent supply of all packaging assets. Find out if it will work for you. You love the sofa on the floor at Pickering and Clydesdale Furniture Emporium so you plunk down your credit card to make the purchase. Nine months? Nine months??? That's an entire school year. Think about that. A kid meeting his new teacher today may be starting summer vacation before you're sinking into that comfy new couch.
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