Pallet glossary: the terms pallet buyers hear

This glossary defines the pallet terms buyers run into on quotes, specs and delivery paperwork. Terms are grouped by topic: how pallets are built, sizes and standards, grades and condition, treatment and export rules, pooling, handling, and buying and freight. For deeper dives, follow the links to the full guides.

Pallet construction

Stringer

A long support beam that runs the length of a pallet between the top and bottom deck boards. A standard 48x40 stringer pallet has three: two edge stringers and one center stringer.

Stringer pallet

A pallet built on stringers. The GMA-style 48x40 is a stringer pallet. See stringer vs block pallets.

Block pallet

A pallet that uses blocks between the decks, instead of continuous stringers, as its posts. Because forks and pallet jacks can enter between the blocks on every side, most block pallets are true four-way pallets.

Stringer board

On a block pallet, a board that runs the full length of the pallet between the deck boards and the blocks, tying the blocks together.

Deck board

One of the boards that make up the top or bottom surface of a pallet. Deck boards run at right angles to the stringers.

Lead board

An end deck board, the outermost board on each edge of the deck. Forklifts can strike lead boards when entering a pallet, so check them closely at receiving.

Notch (notched stringer)

A cutout in the bottom of a stringer that lets forklift tines enter from the side. A stringer with notches is called a notched stringer, and the notch area is among the most commonly damaged parts of a wood pallet.

2-way pallet

A pallet whose stringers have no notches, so forks can enter only from the two open ends.

4-way pallet

A pallet that forks can enter from all four sides. Most block pallets are fully four-way.

Partial 4-way

Usually a notched stringer pallet (some block pallets with overlapping bottom boards also count). A forklift can enter from any side through the notches, but a pallet jack can enter only from the two ends. The standard GMA-style 48x40 is a partial 4-way, three-stringer pallet.

Double-face and reversible

A double-face pallet has both a top and a bottom deck. A reversible pallet has identical top and bottom decks, so either side can carry the load.

Skid

A pallet with no bottom deck. The top deck sits on runners or blocks.

Companion stringer and plate

Two standard ways to repair a cracked stringer. A companion stringer is a second piece of wood fastened alongside the damaged one (half or full length); a plate is a metal connector fastened over the damage. Virginia Tech and USDA Forest Service research found all three methods (metal plates, half companions and full companions) can restore strength when properly applied to a single notch.

Deflection

How much a pallet or one of its parts bends under load. It matters most for loads stored in racks, where the pallet spans the gap between beams.

Uniformly distributed load

A load spread evenly over the pallet surface. Pallet load capacities are commonly calculated this way, so a concentrated load may not perform to the rating.

PDS (Pallet Design System)

Pallet engineering software owned by the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (now Woodpack Global). It predicts a design's safe load capacity and deflection under load.

Sizes and standards

48x40

The 48-by-40-inch pallet, described in trade press as the most common shipping platform in North America. Length (48 inches) is stated first and runs parallel to the stringers. See 48x40 GMA pallet specs and the pallet sizes chart.

GMA pallet

A 48x40 partial 4-way, three-stringer wood pallet built to the style associated with the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

CBA

Consumer Brands Association, the name the Grocery Manufacturers Association adopted in 2020. You will see "CBA" or "CBA-spec" used for the same 48x40 pallet people still call GMA.

MH1

The U.S. standard for pallets, slip sheets and other bases for unit loads, published through ANSI. It covers terminology, recommended sizes and test methods.

NWPCA (Woodpack Global)

The National Wooden Pallet & Container Association, the U.S. trade group for wood pallet and container makers. It announced in January 2026 that it is renaming itself Woodpack Global.

Grades and condition

Core

A used 48x40 wood pallet, the raw material of the recycled pallet business. Recyclers buy cores, repair them and resell them. See how to sell used pallets.

Cull

A pallet or part pulled out during sorting because it does not meet the grade being sorted. Culls are typically dismantled for usable boards or ground.

Grade A and Grade B

Common names for recycled pallet grades, also called number 1 and number 2. Grade A is the higher grade; Grade B shows more wear or heavier repairs, and research notes that companion stringer repairs are typically graded lower than metal plate repairs. Definitions vary by supplier, so get the spec in writing. See pallet grades explained.

Recycled pallet

A used pallet that has been sorted, repaired if needed, and resold. Also called a used or reconditioned pallet.

Repaired pallet

A pallet with damaged parts replaced. Under ISPM 15, a pallet with up to about one third of its components replaced counts as repaired.

Remanufactured pallet

In trade use, a pallet built or heavily rebuilt from reclaimed components. Under ISPM 15, a pallet with more than about one third of its components replaced counts as remanufactured and must be re-treated and re-marked to stay export compliant.

Combo pallet

A pallet built from a mix of new and used components, for example new stringers with recycled deck boards. Trade press notes it costs more than an all-recycled pallet.

New pallet

A pallet built entirely from new lumber. Because lumber drives the cost, new pallets are usually quoted per order. See new vs recycled pallets.

White wood

A plain, unpainted wood pallet that is not part of a rental pool. You buy it and own it, and it can be resold when you are done with it.

Treatment and export

ISPM 15

The international standard for wood packaging in international trade. Compliant pallets are made of debarked wood, treated by an approved method, and stamped with the IPPC mark. See heat-treated pallets and ISPM 15.

IPPC stamp

The official ISPM 15 mark. Inside a border it shows the IPPC symbol, the two-letter country code, the producer's registration number and the treatment code. It must not be hand drawn.

HT (heat treated)

The ISPM 15 treatment code for heat treatment in a chamber: the wood must reach at least 56°C (about 133°F) for 30 continuous minutes throughout, including the core. HT stamps do not expire unless the pallet is repaired or remanufactured.

DH (dielectric heating)

The treatment code for microwave or radio-frequency heat treatment: at least 60°C for 1 continuous minute throughout the wood, including the surface.

MB (methyl bromide)

The treatment code for methyl bromide fumigation. It is still approved under ISPM 15, but the standard encourages alternatives because methyl bromide depletes the ozone layer.

KD (kiln dried)

Lumber dried in a heated chamber to a maximum moisture content. Under the American Lumber Standard Committee's program, KD means a maximum of 19% moisture at the time of surfacing. KD is a moisture designation; HT is the pest treatment.

ALSC

The American Lumber Standard Committee. Under an agreement with USDA APHIS, it runs the U.S. heat treatment and fumigation programs for wood packaging and accredits the inspection agencies that authorize ISPM 15 stamps.

Pooling

Pooled pallet

A rented pallet owned by a pool company and shared among many users. You pay to use it, ship it, and the pool collects it, inspects it and repairs it. See CHEP, PECO and pooled pallets vs white-wood.

CHEP

A pallet pool, part of Brambles, known for its blue pallets. CHEP describes its global scale as unmatched and says it owns its pallets and never sells them.

PECO

A pallet pool known for its red wood block pallets, serving the U.S., Canada and Mexico. PECO says its pallets are its property and may not be bought, sold or repurposed.

iGPS

A pallet pool that rents 48x40 plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags.

Issue fee and daily hire

Two common pool charges. CHEP's parent Brambles describes an issue fee for issuing a pallet from a service center and a daily hire fee for each day a customer uses or is responsible for a pallet. Other fees can include transfer, transport and lost-equipment charges.

Pallet exchange

An arrangement where trading partners swap pallets one for one and ownership moves with the load. Unlike a pool, no third party owns the pallets.

Handling and storage

Pallet jack

A hand-operated lift, also called a pallet truck. The operator pushes the forks into the pallet and pumps a handle to raise the load off the floor, then moves it by hand.

Forklift

A powered truck with forks that lifts and moves pallets, including up into racks. Forklifts can use stringer notches; pallet jacks generally cannot.

Racking

Storage structures that hold loaded pallets at height. A pallet's racking strength depends on how it is supported, so ask for a rackable spec if loads will sit in beam racks.

Unit load

Goods stacked and secured on a pallet so they move as one piece.

Dunnage

Material used to brace or secure cargo in transit. Wood dunnage in international shipments falls under ISPM 15, and U.S. marks add "DUN" to identify it.

Buying and freight

Truckload

A shipment that fills a trailer, sold and priced as one load. A full 53-foot truckload of empty 48x40s is 616 stringer or 520 block pallets at Chesapeake Pallets (our sister company). See the truckload calculator.

LTL (less than truckload)

A shipment too small to fill a trailer. It rides with other shippers' freight and usually moves through one or more carrier terminals before delivery.

Delivered price

A price that includes freight to your dock. Our price ranges are delivered, per pallet, for full truckloads.

FOB

Free on board. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, "FOB shipping point" means the seller bears the cost and risk until the goods are handed to the carrier, and "FOB destination" means the seller pays for and bears the risk of transport to your location. Always ask which one a quote means.

Drop trailer

A trailer left at a site to be loaded or unloaded on the site's own schedule, then picked up later.

Live unload

Unloading a trailer while the driver waits on site. A live load works the same way for loading.

Detention

A carrier charge for keeping a driver or trailer longer than the free time in the agreement.

Bill of lading

The shipping document a for-hire motor carrier issues for each load. Federal rules require it to show the shipper and receiver, origin and destination, number of packages, a description of the freight and, where it applies, weight.

Dock date

The date a load is scheduled to arrive at your dock. Get it in writing on the quote.

Test load

A first order, often a single truckload, placed to check a supplier's quality before committing to regular volume.

FAQ

What is the difference between a stringer pallet and a block pallet?

A stringer pallet rests on long boards that run its full length, while a block pallet rests on blocks between the decks. Most block pallets give full four-way entry; notched stringer pallets give partial four-way entry.

What does HT mean on a pallet?

HT means the pallet was heat treated so the wood reached at least 56°C for 30 continuous minutes, as required by ISPM 15. It appears with the IPPC symbol, a country code and the producer's number.

What is a pallet core?

A core is a used 48x40 wood pallet that a recycler can buy, repair and resell. Cores are the raw material of the recycled pallet market.