New pallets, built from new lumber to your spec
A new pallet is built from all-new lumber and never shipped on, usually to a spec sheet: size, deck boards, fasteners and entry.
- Size
- Any, from a spec
- Build
- Stringer or block
- Grade
- New
- Trades
- Auto, medical, furniture
- Towns
- Kent and Ottawa counties
When new beats used
A used pallet is picked from a sorted stack. A new pallet is built to a spec. That difference decides which one a load needs.
- The pallet rides through an automated line that cannot take a bowed board
- A customer drawing names the size, board count and fasteners
- Product weight or stacking height rules out a repaired pallet
- A receiving dock rejects used wood
- A medical or food load wants a pallet that has never carried anything else
What a spec sheet for a new pallet names
| Item | What to state | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Length by width, in inches | 48 x 40 |
| Build | Stringer or block; two-way or four-way entry | Stringer, two-way |
| Deck boards | Count on top and bottom, and the coverage | Standard deck |
| Fasteners | Nail type and count if it matters | Ring-shank nails |
| Treatment | Heat treatment and the ISPM 15 mark, if the load crosses a border | HT-stamped |
| Count | How many, and how often | 200, every two weeks |
If you want to see what a spec turns into, the cutting list tool lays a build out as a typed list of parts with nominal lumber sizes and draws it exploded.
Where new fits against combo
A combo pallet is remanufactured from recycled and new lumber. It is stronger and more consistent than a used pallet, and cheaper than all-new. If your line can take it, combo is the middle choice; the combo page shows what to look for. If the answer is no, because of a customer rule or a line setting, new is the route.
Before you ask, check the receiving dock's packaging sheet. It usually names the size and sometimes the grade, and it settles most of the questions above.
What new costs you besides money
A new pallet is built to order, so it has a lead time that a stack of used ones does not. A plant that runs short has to plan ahead. That trade-off is why new stock is common for recurring orders and rare for emergency ones.
A new pallet is not always dry
Fresh lumber holds moisture. Green wood above about 20 percent moisture content can grow mould, and a new pallet that was cut recently and wrapped can grow it in a warm trailer. Ask whether the lumber is kiln dried when the load is food or medical.
- Kiln dried: dried in a kiln to a lower moisture content
- Heat treated: held at 56 degrees Celsius at the core for 30 minutes, as ISPM 15 requires
- Green: freshly cut, not dried
Heat treatment is a different thing from kiln drying, though some kilns do both. See the HT stamp guide.
Ordering new in lots
Builders usually make new pallets in lots, so ordering by the hundred rather than by the dozen gets a better price. Ask what the minimum lot is and how long the lead time runs.
Spec sheet example
A short spec: 48 by 40 inches, three stringers, seven top boards, three bottom boards, kiln-dried softwood, ring-shank nails, no heat treatment. Four lines, and a builder can quote.
Ready to ask? Send us the request.