Crate or pallet? Knowing which you need
The first question is not what crate — it is whether you need one at all. A pallet is a base your freight sits on and gets strapped or stretch-wrapped to. A crate encloses the freight on every side in a rigid wooden structure. The pallet is cheaper and perfectly adequate for sturdy, stackable goods that can survive a knock. The crate is what you reach for when the freight cannot.
The honest rule of thumb: crate it when the piece is fragile, high in value, oddly shaped, top-heavy, or bound for an ocean or air export where it will be handled by strangers at both ends. Pallet it when the goods are boxed, uniform and tough. Everything in between is a judgement call about how much a damage claim would cost against what the crate costs — and on high-value freight that math almost always favours the crate.
The kinds of crate, and when each earns its keep
- Closed crate — solid plywood or panel sides, fully enclosed. Protects against weather, dust and prying eyes; the default for fragile, high-value and export freight.
- Open or slatted crate — a braced frame with gaps between the boards. Lighter and cheaper, good for rugged machinery that needs bracing and forklift access but not full enclosure.
- Crate on skids — built onto heavy runners rated to the weight, so a forklift or pallet jack can get under a machine that a person could never lift. The workhorse for industrial and heavy-equipment moves.
- Foam-lined and cushioned crate — a closed crate with foam cut to the shape of the piece, absorbing shock and vibration. What art, instruments and calibrated equipment travel in.
- Reusable crate — bolted rather than nailed, so it opens and closes again. Pays off for trade-show gear and anything that ships in a loop.
Whichever it is, the protection lives in the details around the piece as much as the box itself — the blocking that stops it sliding, the bracing at the lift points, and the dunnage that fills the voids so nothing moves. A perfect crate around a loose load still arrives as a claim.
ISPM-15: the stamp that clears customs
If a wooden crate crosses an international border, it falls under ISPM-15 — the global standard for wood packaging. The rule is straightforward and unforgiving: the lumber must be heat-treated to kill any pests living in it, then stamped with the wheat-sheaf mark, the treatment code (HT) and the producer's registration number. Customs at the destination looks for that mark. No mark, and the shipment can be held, fumigated, sent back or destroyed — on your account, on the dock, with the clock running.
Our export crates are built from ISPM-15 heat-treated, stamped lumber as standard, and marked so the inspection is a formality rather than a gamble. It is the difference between export packing that moves and export packing that sits. Domestic-only freight does not need the treatment, so we do not add the cost where it buys nothing.
Crating that connects to the rest of the freight
Most crates we build are not standalone jobs — they are one step in a shipment we are already handling. A container is pulled from the port, devanned at our dock, the freight inspected, and whatever moves onward gets crated in the same building. No second truck to a separate crating shop, no extra handling, no gap where damage happens between vendors.
From the crate, the freight goes out the way it needs to: oversized pieces on step-deck or flatbed, palletised crates on LTL or FTL, and export crates staged for the ocean or air booking. If a crate comes back damaged or a shipment gets rejected, we handle the recrating and repackaging too. Work out what an oversized crate weighs and classes for LTL with our freight class calculator before you book.
Crating questions we get asked
What is the difference between custom crating and standard crates?
A standard crate is a stock size that fits common freight - fast and cheap when your piece fits. Custom crating starts from the measurements of the actual piece: the crate is framed, braced and blocked around it, which is what oversize, uneven or top-heavy cargo needs to survive handling.
What is the difference between a crate and a pallet?
A pallet is a base your freight sits on and gets strapped or wrapped to; a crate encloses the freight on all sides in a rigid wooden structure. A pallet is cheaper and enough for sturdy, stackable goods that can take a knock. A crate is what fragile, high-value, oddly shaped or export-bound freight needs, because it protects from every direction and blocks the piece from shifting inside.
Do your export crates meet ISPM-15?
Yes. Export crating uses heat-treated, ISPM-15 stamped lumber, so the crate clears plant-quarantine inspection at the destination port instead of being stopped, fumigated or rejected.
What is ISPM-15, and why does it matter?
ISPM-15 is the international rule that wood packaging crossing a border must be heat-treated to kill pests, then stamped with the wheat-sheaf mark, the treatment code and the producer's registration. Ship an export crate in untreated wood and it can be refused, fumigated or destroyed at the destination port at your expense. The mark is what customs looks for.
Can you crate oversize and heavy machinery?
Yes - machine crating with skids rated to the weight, blocking against shift, and bracing at the lift points. We crate on our dock or on-site at your facility, and we handle the freight side too: oversize loads move on step-deck or flatbed through our carrier network.
What does custom crating cost depend on?
Three things mostly: the size and weight of the piece, which set how much lumber and bracing it takes; whether it is export, since ISPM-15 heat-treated wood costs more than standard; and how fragile or awkward it is, since foam, blocking and a reinforced base add labour. A small standard crate is quick and cheap; a one-off crate around a top-heavy machine is neither, and it is still cheaper than the freight claim it prevents.
Do you crate freight you also import or store?
That is the usual case. A container is devanned at our dock, the freight is inspected, and anything moving onward as ocean, air or domestic freight is crated in the same building - no extra truck to a separate crating shop.
