New block pallets

The case for a block pallet is handling. A stringer pallet with notches lets forklifts in from the sides but not pallet jacks; a block pallet takes both from every side, which is called true four-way entry. Four-way pallets are lifted by the stringers and are usually heavier, bigger and more durable than two-way pallets. In a warehouse where loads get turned, picked and racked many times, that matters more than the extra lumber.

More wood and more nails. The blocks, the stringerboards that tie them together under the top deck, and a bottom deck that often runs both ways all add board feet, and board feet set most of a pallet’s price. For one-way freight that is unloaded once and never seen again, a stringer pallet usually does the job for less.

The blocks are solid wood, sized to the height you need for fork entry. Stringerboards run across the tops of the blocks and the top deck is nailed to them. The bottom deck is where block builds vary most: boards one way only, or both ways in a frame, which spreads the weight better on conveyor rollers and rack beams. Lead boards sit on every outside edge and take the first hit from a fork, so they are often specified heavier.

Block pallets are built on the same footprints as stringer pallets, 48 x 40 most of all, and on custom footprints. The size is still written with the length first; on a block pallet that is the side the stringerboards run along. If you are matching a pallet you already use, measure both sides and tell us which way the top deck boards run.

Rental pools and closed-loop systems favour block pallets because they survive many trips through many hands. If your pallets circulate between your own sites, a supplier and a customer, and come back to you, a block build usually pays for its extra lumber over the trips it lasts. If they leave and never return, it rarely does. Tell us which, and roughly how many trips you expect, and the quote reflects it. Repairs matter too: a block pallet with a broken block is fixed by replacing that part.

Automated warehouses that move pallets on chain conveyors and shuttles often require block pallets with a bottom deck in both directions, because the runners must be supported whichever way the pallet travels. If your building has a pallet specification for its automation, send it.

Blocks should sit square under the stringer boards, with nails clinched or driven flush, never protruding into the openings. Measure the openings’ height and width against your pallet jack and forklift tines. On a full-perimeter bottom, check that the boards lie flat, so the pallet sits evenly on conveyors and floors.