New Wood Pallets

Some applications genuinely need new wood: heavy or sharp-edged machinery, pharmaceutical and food lines with strict cleanliness rules, automated warehouses with tight dimensional tolerances, and international shipments requiring certified heat treatment. For these, a new pallet is not waste — it is the correct tool.

• Precise, repeatable dimensions
• Maximum, predictable load rating
• ISPM-15 stamp for export
• Clean, uniform appearance

If your load can ride on recycled or remanufactured stock, that is usually cheaper. When new is warranted, ask for the lightest spec that carries the load safely.

A new pallet is a set of decisions, and a good request covers each one. Footprint and overall height come first, then deck configuration: a flush deck with boards running edge to edge, or a spaced deck with gaps to save weight and cost. You choose top and bottom deck coverage anywhere from roughly 40 percent for light loads to full coverage for heavy or small-footprint products.

Stringer or block base is the next call. Stringer designs are lighter and cheaper and support notched four-way entry; block designs give true four-way access for automation. Board thickness, stringer height, lead-board reinforcement, chamfered bottom boards for smoother jack entry, and fastener type (nails, staples, or screws) are all specifiable.

Because the tolerances are held tight on a new build, the pallet you approve is the pallet you receive, order after order. That repeatability is the whole reason to pay for new when an application demands it.

• Any footprint and height
• Flush or spaced deck, chosen coverage
• Stringer or block base
• Fastener and reinforcement to spec

The advantage of new lumber is a predictable, engineered load rating with no hidden fatigue from prior use. A standard new 48x40 handles typical distribution loads, and heavier builds with thicker boards and more stringers carry more.

For loads that live in beam racking, the build should be designed to the rack-load figure rather than the static figure, since spanning a bay unsupported in the middle is the toughest test a pallet faces. Include the maximum load, how it sits on the deck, and whether it is racked, block-stacked, or floor-stored in your request so the partner supplier can spec the build with margin.

International shipments of solid-wood packaging to most countries must meet ISPM 15, the global standard that prevents the spread of timber pests. The common method is heat treatment: the wood core is held at a minimum of 56 degrees Celsius for at least 30 minutes, after which the pallet is stamped with the wheat mark, the treatment code, and the treater identifier.

Partner suppliers can quote new pallets heat-treated and stamped to ISPM 15. Check the import rules for your destination. Kiln-dried lumber is a separate process that lowers moisture for weight and mold control; a pallet can be both kiln-dried and heat-treated, but only the HT treatment satisfies the export rule.

• Core held at 56C for 30 minutes
• Stamped with the IPPC wheat mark
• Check destination import rules
• Kiln-drying available separately for moisture control

New pallets carry the highest purchase price of any option because you are paying for freshly milled lumber. They earn that cost back in applications where failure is expensive: automated lines that jam on an out-of-spec unit, pharmaceutical and food operations that cannot risk contamination, and export lanes where a rejected pallet means a rejected shipment.

A well-built new pallet also lasts longer at the start of its life and, when it eventually wears, can go into recycling and remanufacturing. The lowest-impact way to buy new is to spec the lightest build that safely carries the load and to keep the unit in service through repair rather than replacement.