Plastic pallets vs wood vs pooled pallets: which one fits your operation

Warehouses and plants ask us the same pallet question in different ways: should we buy plastic, keep buying wood, or rent pooled pallets? The answer depends mostly on whether your pallets come back to you.

Wood pallets

Wood is the default for one-way shipping, where the pallet leaves with the load and doesn't come back. It's widely available and easy to repair. The trade-offs are weight, splinters and nails, moisture, and inconsistent quality from load to load. For wood pallets, request a wood pallet quote or contact us and we'll tell you what we can do for your area.

Pooled (rented) pallets

Pooled pallet programs rent you pallets and collect them from your customers. They suit shippers sending into retail and grocery distribution centers that expect them. They come with program rules and fees, and they belong to the pool, not to you. If a customer requires a pooled pallet, follow that program. Ask us if you need to talk it through.

Plastic pallets

Plastic pallets cost more up front and pay off when they come back to you: in-plant moves, closed-loop shipping between your own sites, and work areas that get washed down. They don't splinter, don't absorb moisture and weigh the same every time.

Our plastic pallets and skids from Vestil come in 48 × 40 in and 48 × 48 in sizes. They weigh from 20 lb for the lightest skid to 70 lb for the heaviest 48 × 48, and are listed with static capacities from 3,300 lb up to 22,000 lb.

Check the right capacity

• Static capacity is the load the pallet holds sitting still on the floor. That's the figure on our listing.
• Dynamic capacity is the load it holds while a forklift or pallet jack moves it. It's lower.
• Rack capacity is the load it holds spanning open rack beams. It's lower again, and some plastic pallets aren't rated for racking at all.

If your pallets go into racking or move loaded on forks, ask us for the dynamic and rack ratings on the model before you order.

Size, entry and the pallet jack

48 × 40 in is the common US size, and 48 × 48 in is used for drums and larger loads. Check the fork opening height against your pallet jack. On our models it runs from about 3-3/8 in to 3-13/16 in, listed per model. See the pallet jacks and lifts if you need equipment to match.

Ordering

Plastic pallets ship by LTL freight. Send your ZIP and dock or liftgate details for an accurate quote, usually within 1 business day. Buying pallets with stretch film and strapping? Send us your list.