Skid vs pallet: the difference, drawn
A skid has no bottom deck. Its runners sit straight on the floor with deck boards nailed across the top. A pallet has a bottom deck as well, which lets it sit on rollers and rack beams and spread its load on the floor.
One difference, several consequences
Everything else follows from that missing bottom deck. A skid uses less lumber, so it weighs and costs less than a pallet of the same footprint. It sits flat and solid on an uneven floor, because its runners bear directly on the ground rather than through a set of bottom boards that can rock. And because nothing runs under the runners, a forklift’s forks can only go in from the ends, between them, unless the runners are notched.
A pallet’s bottom deck spreads the load onto the floor, onto conveyor rollers and onto rack beams. It also lets the pallet be stacked on another loaded pallet without the runners pushing into the load below. Pallet jacks work on both, but differently: under a pallet the jack’s wheels drop through openings in the bottom deck to the floor, while under a skid the forks slide between the runners and the wheels roll straight on the floor.
When a skid is the right call
Skids suit loads that are set down once and stay put. Machine tools, cabinets, coils, crated equipment and anything bolted down for shipping usually go on a skid. The load goes on, it is lifted onto a truck, lifted off at the other end and set on the floor, and that is the end of its handling. A skid does that job with less wood.
The runner count and spacing follow the load. A machine with four feet wants a runner under each pair; a coil wants runners under its line of contact; a crate wants runners at its edges and middle. The deck boards across the top are spaced to carry whatever sits between the runners.
When it should be a pallet
If the load is racked, conveyed, moved by hand jack or stacked loaded, it should be a pallet. That covers most distribution freight: cartons and cases that cross a dock, go up into racking and come down again to a store. If you aren’t sure, tell us how the load is handled and we will say which it should be.
Words people use
“Skid” is sometimes used loosely for any pallet, especially in older plants. When you order, describe it by what it has: runners and a top deck, or a top and bottom deck. That avoids a skid turning up when you meant a pallet.
Cost and weight compared
Leaving off the bottom deck saves its boards and nails, so a skid is lighter and cheaper than a pallet of the same footprint, top deck and runners. On a large, heavy machine skid that saving is small next to the runners, which are often thicker hardwood. On a light equipment skid it can be a good share of the lumber. Either way, the right comparison is skid against pallet for the same load, not for the same size.
Floors, rollers and racks
Runners bear on the floor along their whole length, so a skid spreads its load in a few long strips. That is fine on concrete. On conveyor rollers a skid’s runners may fall between rollers if they run the wrong way; on rack beams they must cross both beams with room to spare. Pallets avoid both problems with bottom boards running across the stringers.
Stacking
A loaded skid can’t usually be stacked on another load: its runners press into whatever is below. Empty skids nest less neatly than empty pallets too. If your loads are double-stacked in trucks or warehouses, that alone usually decides it in favour of a pallet.
Converting one to the other
A skid design becomes a pallet by adding a bottom deck under the runners, which then become stringers. The reverse is just as simple on paper. If you aren’t sure, send the load and handling and we will draw whichever suits.
Examples from the trades
A machine shop shipping a lathe bolts it to a hardwood skid with three runners and never sees the skid again. A beverage distributor would never use a skid: its cases are racked, conveyed and pushed across store floors on jacks. A coil processor ships on skids with cradles; a coatings plant ships drums on pallets that go into racking. A cabinet maker shipping a single cabinet might use either, depending on whether the customer’s dock has a forklift or only a hand jack.
Choosing for your load
If a load will be stacked, run on a conveyor or rolled over a floor that isn’t smooth, the bottom deck earns its cost: it spreads the weight onto whatever sits below and keeps runners from digging into rollers or soft ground. If the load is set down once and stays, a skid is lighter and cheaper. A skid can also become a pallet later by nailing on bottom boards, which some shippers do for a machine’s second move.
Export changes nothing here: skids and pallets both need ISPM 15 treatment and the mark when they cross a border. What differs is handling at the far end. A receiver with only pallet jacks can’t move a skid without lifting it first, so ask who unloads it and with what equipment, and whether the floor there is concrete or gravel. Skids also sit lower, which helps when a tall machine must pass under a door or into a container. Crated equipment usually rides on a skid base, with the crate walls fastened to it.
In short: a skid is the plainer, cheaper base for heavy things that sit still; a pallet is the handier one for goods that travel through warehouses.