Technical Information

Annular Nail – Pallet nail with annular (circular ring) threads rolled onto the shank 

Banding Notch – See Strap Slot 

Bin – Four-sided superstructure to be mounted on a pallet base, with or without a cover; also known as a box or container bin pallet 

Block – Rectangular, square or cylindrical deck spacer, often identified by its location within the pallet as corner block, end block, edge block, inner block, center or middle blocks 

Block Pallet – A type of pallet with blocks between the pallet decks or beneath the top deck 

Butted Deckboard – An inner deckboard placed tightly against an adjacent lead deckboard during pallet assembly

Bottom Deck – Assembly of deckboards comprising the lower, load bearing surface of the pallet 

CAD – Computer-aided-design software that allows the design of the “right” pallet at the best value; see Pallet Design System© (PDS©) 

Captive Pallet – A pallet intended for use within the confines of a single facility, system or ownership; not intended to be exchanged 

Chamfered Deckboards – Deckboards with edges of one or two faces beveled, either along the full or specified length of board or between the stringers of blocks, allowing easier entry of pallet jack wheels 

Closed Distribution System – Shipping system restricted to moving goods between specified plants and facilities 

Collar – Collapsible wooden container or bin which transforms a pallet into a box 

Cost-Pass-Through – A cost-share system where the partial cost of a pallet is passed-through from the purchaser to the receiver of the pallet 

Cost-Per-Trip – Average cost of pallet use for a single one-way trip 

Deck – One or more boards or panels comprising the top or bottom surface of the pallet 

Deck Mat – Assembly of deckboards and stringerboards, forming the deck of a block pallet 

Deckboard – Element or component of a pallet deck, oriented perpendicular to the stringer or stringerboard 

Deckboard Spacing – Distance between adjacent deckboards 

Deckboard Span – Distance between deckboard supports (stringers, stringerboards or blocks) 

Deflection – The amount of deformation or bending in a pallet or pallet component under load 

Dimensions – See Pallet Dimensions 

Double-Face Pallet – A pallet with top and bottom decks 

Double-Wing Pallet – A pallet with top and bottom deckboards extending beyond the edges of the stringers or stringerboards 

Drive Screw Nail – Helically (continuous spiral) threaded pallet nail

Economic Life – Output from PDS© program which identifies the number of trips the pallet will make, provided it is properly repaired, which maximizes a return on investment 

Exchange Pallet – A pallet intended for use among a designated group of shippers and receivers where ownership of the pallet is transferred to the ownership of the unit load; common pool pallet 

Expendable Pallet – A pallet intended for a series of handlings during a single trip from shipper to receiver; it is then disposed of; see Shipping Pallet 

Fastener – A mechanical device for joining pallet components, such as nails, staples, bolts or screws 

Fastener Shear Index – Relative measure of shear resistance of the pallet fastener 

Flush Pallet – A pallet with deckboards flush with the stringers, stringerboards or blocks along the sides of the pallet 

Fork Entry – Opening between decks, beneath the top deck or beneath the stringer notch to admit forks 

Four-Way Block Pallet – A pallet with openings at both pallet ends and along pallet sides sufficient to admit hand-pallet jacks; full four-way entry pallet 

Free Span – The distance between supports in a warehouse rack 

Hand (Wheel) Jack Opening – Space provided on the bottom deck to allow pallet jack wheels to bear on the floor 

Handling – A single pick-up, movement and set-down of a loaded or empty pallet 

Hardened-Steel Nail – Heat-treated and tempered steel pallet nail with an MIBANT angle between 8 and 28 degrees 

Hardwood – Wood from broad-leaved species of trees (not necessarily hard or dense) 

Helical Nail – Helically (continuous spiral) threaded pallet nail, also see Drive Screw Nail 

Inner Deckboard – Any deckboard located between the end deckboards 

Joint – Intersection and connection of components, often identified by location within the pallet as the end joint, center joint and corner joint 

Length – Refers to the stringer or stringerboard (in block pallets) length; also refers to the first dimension given to describe a pallet i.e., 48″ x 40″, where 48″ is the pallet stringer and stringerboard length 

Life to First Repair – Output from PDS© program which is equivalent to the number of trips the pallet will last before needing repair 

Line Load – The weight of a unit load concentrated along a narrow area across the full length or width of the pallet 

Load Bearing Surface – Actual area of material in contact with and supporting a unit load 

MIBANT angle – The bend angle in a fastener shank when subjected to an MIBANT test 

MIBANT Test – (Morgan Impact Bend Angle Nail Tester) – Standard Impact nail tester used in the pallet and lumber industry as an indication of impact bend resistance of nails or staples 

Nail – Fastener made from endless wire by cutting a point and forming a head at the shank end opposite the point   

National Wooden Pallet and Container Association – A national association with the goal of promoting the design, manufacture, distribution, recycling, and sale of pallets, containers, and reels 

Non-Reversible Pallet – A pallet with bottom deckboard configuration different from top deck 

Notch – Cutout in lower portion of the stringer to allow entry for the fork tine, usually 9″ in length, 1 1/2″ in depth 

Notched Stringer – A stringer with two notches spaced for fork-tine entry, (partial four-way entry)

Opening Height – The vertical distance measured between decks, from the floor to the underside of the top deck, or from the floor to the top of the stringer notch 

Overall Height – The vertical distance measured from the floor to the top side of the top deck 

Overhang – The distance the deck extends from the outer edge of the stringer or stringerboard; wing; lip; distance the unit load extends beyond the deck

Pallet – A portable, horizontal, rigid platform used as a base for assembling, storing, stacking, handling and transporting goods as a unit load, often equipped with a superstructure 

Pallet Design System© – (PDS©) – Reliability-based computer-aided design (CAD) program, for determining the safe load carrying capacity, performance, life and economy of wooden pallets 

Pallet Dimensions – When specifying pallet size, the stringer or stringerboard (block pallet) length is always expressed first; for example, a 48″ x 40″ pallet has a 48″ stringer or stringerboard and 40″ deckboards 

Pallet Jack – Hand-propelled wheeled platform, equipped with a lifting device for moving palletized unit loads 

Pallet Life – The period during which the pallet remains useful, expressed in units of time or in the number of one-way trips 

Panel Deck Pallet – Pallet constructed with composite or structural panel top deck 

Partial Four-Way Stringer Pallet – A pallet with notched stringers 

Post Pallet – A pallet fitted with posts or blocks between the decks or beneath the top deck; see block pallet 

Quality – Consistent performance of a uniform product meeting the customer’s needs for economy and function 

Racked Across Deckboards – Output from PDS© program describing the maximum load carrying capacity and deflection of a pallet where the rack frame supports the pallet only at the ends of the deckboards 

Racked Across Stringers – Output from the PDS© program describing the maximum load carrying capacity and deflection of a pallet where the rack frame supports the pallet only at the ends of the stringers or stringerboards 

Repair – To remake in order to use again

Recycling – A pallet, container or reel that has been used, discarded, salvaged, repaired and which passes through a cycle again 

Rental Pallet – A pallet owned by a third party, different from the actual pallet user 

Returnable and Reusable Pallet – A pallet designed to be used for more than one trip 

Reversible Pallet – A pallet with identical top and bottom decks 

Shipping Pallet – Pallet designed to be used for a single one-way trip from shipper to receiver; it is then disposed of; see Expendable Pallet 

Shook – Cut-to-size pallet parts to be assembled into pallets 

Shook Grade – The classification of the quality of pallet parts relative to performance characteristics based on size and distribution of defects, independent of wood species 

Single-Wing Pallet – A pallet with the top deckboards extending beyond the edges of the stringers or stringerboards with the bottom deckboards flush (if present) 

Skid – A pallet having no bottom deck 

Slave Pallet – Pallet, platform or single, thick panel used as a support base for a palletized load in rack-storage facilities or production systems 

Soft Nail – Pallet nail with an MIBANT angle equal to or greater than 47 degrees 

Softwood – Wood from coniferous or needle-bearing trees (not necessarily soft or low density) 

Solid Deck Pallet – A pallet constructed with no spacing between deckboards 

Span – The distance between stringers or block supports 

Stevedore Pallet – A pallet designed for use on seaport shipping docks, normally of heavy-duty, double-wing construction 

Stiff-Stock Steel Nail – Pallet nail made of medium-high carbon steel without heat treatment and tempering with MIBANT angle between 29 and 46 degrees 

Strap Slot – Recess or cutout on the upper edge of the stringer or the bottom of the top deckboard to allow tie-down of a unit load to the pallet deck with strapping/banding, also called the banding notch 

Strapping – Thin flat bands used to secure load to pallet 

Stringer – Continuous, longitudinal, solid or notched beam-component of the pallet used to support deck components, often identified by location as the outside or center stringer 

Stringerboard – In block pallets, continuous, solid board member extending for the full length of the pallet perpendicular to deckboard members and placed between deckboards and blocks 

Take-It-Or-Leave-It Pallet – A pallet fitted with fixed cleats on the top deckboards to permit fork truck tines to pass beneath the unit load and remove it from the pallet 

Top Cap – Panel to be placed on top of a unit load to allow for tight strapping without damaging the unit load 

Top-Deck of the Pallet – The assembly of deckboards comprising the upper load-carrying surface of the pallet 

Trip – Consists of four to six handlings of a pallet 

Two-Way Entry Pallet – A pallet with un-notched solid stringers allowing entry only from the ends 

Unit Load – Assembly of goods on a pallet for handling, moving, storing and stacking as a single entity 

Warehouse Pallet – A double-face multiple trip returnable pallet intended for general warehouse use 

Wing – Overhang of deckboard end from outside edge of stringer or stringerboard