Containerisation and aircraft ULDs

Wooden transport pallets

A wooden pallet is a load base for road, warehouse and container movement. It is bought, graded, repaired and eventually scrapped or recycled by the businesses that use it. Its rules are packaging rules: wood packaging treatment and marking for cross-border movement, and packaging waste and reuse rules for the market it is placed on.

Aircraft unit load devices

Unit load devices — the pallets and containers used inside aircraft, together with their nets and fittings — are aviation equipment controlled within the air transport system. They are managed by airlines and handling agents, are subject to airworthiness and loading requirements, and are not general-purpose packaging that a shipper buys as pallet stock.

We supply wooden transport pallets and related packaging. We do not supply, certify, repair or hire aircraft unit load devices, and we would not describe our pallets as ULD equipment.

What that means at build-up

• Cargo often arrives on a wooden pallet and is re-built for the flight by the handling agent.
• Whether cargo stays on its wooden base depends on the aircraft, the agent and the consignment.
• Weight and height limits at build-up can make a lighter base such as presswood attractive.
• For sea containers the wooden pallet usually stays with the load for the whole journey.

Containerised sea freight

In a sealed container the pallet cannot be re-worked in transit, so footprint choice, cube utilisation and load stability all have to be right before the doors close — and wood packaging requirements for the destination must be settled first, because the box will not be opened again until it arrives.