The advantages of palletization make shipping large quantities of goods easier and less stressful. Once you’ve experienced the advantages of a pallet, you won’t ever want to ship non-palletized freight.
The advantages of palletization that make the biggest impact on the shipping process are:
In this article, we’ll give you more information about each advantage.
Simply put, pallets are platforms that are used when a shipper has to transport a large amount of goods. A single worker can load multiple boxes of freight onto a pallet and secure them using stretch wrap.
Different loading procedures for pallets can vary depending on the company. These procedures dictate how high the pallets can be stacked and how the freight on them should be secured. For example, Amazon’s pallet requirements are slightly different from Walmart's pallet guidelines. In the U.S., pallets are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Pallets come in various dimensions, but the most common size is 48” x 40”. The platforms can be made from either wood, plastic, or metal.
Using pallets to ship large amounts of products is extremely advantageous. Many of the reasons we list reflect the speed and ease that come with shipping products in bulk amounts with pallets.
Using pallets makes loading and unloading goods much easier. Despite how heavy palletized loads are, they can be easily moved with a forklift, pallet jack or other type of device designed to move them from one location to another.
Because pallets don’t require manual handling to move them, they can be moved on and off vehicles much more efficiently. Transporting palletized freight around a warehouse is also much faster.
Pallets are great for maintaining organization in a warehouse or inside the vehicle transporting the load. Having clean floor space is essential to efficient warehouse operations.
Unorganized floor space is a detriment to the safety of workers because they could trip over freight in walkways. Warehouse workers rarely have to worry about these problems when freight is secured to pallets. Pallets can also be placed in trailers and delivery vehicles in a manner that efficiently uses the allotted space.
Since freight secured to a pallet can be loaded and unloaded quickly, there is a faster turnaround rate for delivery vehicles and trailers. This means that once a vehicle or trailer has been unloaded, it can quickly be loaded with more freight.
Fast loading and unloading means that the flow of freight to and from a terminal is constant. Since deliveries are always being made, customers won’t have to worry about delays for their bulk shipments.
The counterpart to palletized freight is non-palletized freight. This type of freight is made up of “loose” boxes that are loaded from the floor of a trailer or delivery truck to the top. Non-palletized freight often makes up the majority of less than truckload shipments.
One of the main downsides of non-palletized freight is that it requires manual handling. Workers are constantly repeating repetitive motions to load or unload this type of freight.
Workers have to consistently follow proper loading procedures to reduce the risk of injury. Despite these procedures, long hours of lifting and stacking boxes can wear a worker down.
Most companies expect their package handlers to load or unload a package every six seconds. Consider how that plays out for someone working a full eight-hour shift.
Non-palletized freight can vary by weight. Regardless of the weight, loading this many boxes or more throughout an entire shift is exhausting.
The advantage of using palletized freight is that it’s much easier for workers to move it than non-palletized. That is because pallets are loaded, unloading and moved around a warehouse with machinery that does all the heavy lifting.
Moving a single pallet one after the other with the help of equipment is much easier than manually loading single boxes one after another by hand.
Speed is of the essence when it comes to transporting goods that have an expiration date. Because pallets can be loaded and unloaded so quickly, perishable items will be able to arrive at their destination before they expire.
The worst thing that could happen when transporting a bulk shipment of freight is for some of your items to be lost. Pallets are beneficial when shipping large amounts of freight because of how well they keep products together.
Freight that is transported on a pallet is either secured with multiple straps, clear plastic, or both. The freight is so well secured that the likelihood of it coming loose or falling off is low.
Non-palletized freight, on the other hand, runs the risk of getting lost (or having a few boxes mysteriously disappear) while the freight is in transit. Fortunately, freight that is stacked on a pallet will be secured in place, which will prevent packages from getting misplaced. .
While freight is always loaded with the utmost care, there is always the potential danger that damage could occur from water, dirt, and debris. Pallets reduce this danger because they keep freight from being kept on the ground.
Pallets will inevitably reach a point where they’ve sustained too much damage to be repaired. Fortunately, pallets can be recycled once they are no longer useful. Wooden pallets can even be used for other purposes such as composting, mulch or kept as scrap wood, making them an environmentally sustainable option.
Although there are many advantages of palletization, there are limits to what type of freight can be palletized. Most types of cargo can fit into traditionally shaped square and rectangular boxes.
However, items with awkward dimensions cannot be palletized. This includes cargo that is extremely long, thin, or is not in a shape that can be easily stacked. The same can be said for small packages. Freight like this should be shipped as non-palletized freight.
Related: Floor Loaded vs Palletized: Which is Right for You?
Here at USA Truckload, we specialize in shipping palletized freight for our customers. We do this by connecting you with a reliable transportation provider from our extensive carrier network. There are a plethora of transportation services you’ll be able to use when you choose USA Truckload as your 3PL.
This includes:
Start moving your freight with USA Truckload by filling out your Request for Proposal (RFP). If you have any questions about the services we provide, then call our team (866) 353-7178 or contact us for more information.
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