Buy desk: custom
Custom pallets in odd sizes for Orlando loads
A custom pallet is built to a size or spec no one stocks: the odd dimension a nursery ships plants on, the exact footprint a manufacturer's machine needs, the build an exporter was told to use.
Who needs one
The standard 48 x 40 covers most freight, but not all. Plant growers move product in trays and carts that do not divide into a GMA footprint. Manufacturers design the product, then the box, then the pallet. Exporters meet a customer's own pallet size. When the freight dictates the dimensions, the pallet follows.
Near Apopka, where the nurseries are, odd sizes are a normal part of the pallet mix. Send the dimensions, not just the count.
What the builder needs to know
| Detail | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Length and width | Sets the footprint and whether a standard stack pattern fits |
| Load weight | Sets the lumber thickness and whether blocks or stringers are used |
| Entry | Two-way or four-way: which sides the forks will come from |
| Treatment | Heat treated for a border, or dry and clean for plants and food |
| Count and rhythm | One run, or a repeat order, changes how it is built |
Check the standard first
Before you pay for a special build, check the size pages. A 48 x 45 pallet, for instance, is the size listed for automotive freight and ranks seventh in North American production, so it may already exist in the form you need.
Reading a spec in the right order
Pallet measurements follow a convention: the first number is the length of the stringers and the second is the length of the deck boards. A 48 x 40 therefore has 48-inch stringers under 40-inch deck boards, and a 40 x 48 is a different pallet that fits a rack the other way round. Two odd sizes that look alike on paper can load a trailer differently, so write each build as stringer length by deck-board length.
Load first, lumber second
Published ratings for a standard 48 x 40 pallet run from 2,000 to 2,800 pounds when moving and 2,500 to 4,600 when stationary. A custom build gets its lumber thickness and block count from the heaviest load it must carry, so say what the heaviest unit weighs, how it sits on the deck and whether it will ever be racked.
Starting from the carton
A custom pallet is usually drawn around the load, so the load size comes first. Two cases show when a standard deck is the wrong tool. A carton 25 inches square needs 50 inches for two side by side, and neither 48 nor 40 inches gives that, so only one fits per layer: 625 of the 1,920 square inches, or 33 percent. A deck of 50 by 50 inches would take four. A crate 52 inches long overhangs a 48-inch deck by 4 inches however it is turned, because the 40-inch side is shorter still, and overhang is where edges get hit. A deck at least 52 inches long carries it with none. Where a standard size does fit, as ten 16 by 12 inch cartons do on a 48 by 40 deck, a custom size gains nothing. Before ordering one, check what it does to the trailer count.
Overhang and column stacking
A load that hangs over the edge of its pallet is easily crushed by the forks or by neighbours in a rack, so a custom pallet is usually sized to match or slightly exceed the load. Cartons stacked in columns, each directly on the one below, carry weight best but can lean; cartons interlocked in a brick pattern are more stable but lose a little strength. The pattern is another detail the builder needs.