Types: four-way
Four-way pallets: forks from all sides
A four-way pallet takes forks from all four sides, either through notches cut into its stringers or because it stands on blocks. It is usually heavier, bigger and more durable than a two-way pallet.
Two ways to get four entries
- Notch the stringers, the half-moon cuts in the timbers that let forks cross them.
- Build on blocks, which leave gaps on every side by design.
The trade-off
Four-way entry buys flexibility: a forklift can pick the pallet up from whichever side the truck happens to face. The cost is weight, material and a pallet that is slightly more work to repair, since notches take wood out of the stringers.
Where it is the right call
Cross-docks and tight loading bays, pooled pallets that pass through many hands, and any freight where nobody wants to swing a truck around. A cross-dock such as the 977,441 sq ft building in Groveland, with 212 dock-high doors, is the kind of place where entry from any side saves time.
Four-way in the 48 x 40 standard
The standard GMA pallet of the 1960s was a 48 by 40 wooden platform that permitted four-way entry, so the idea is as old as the standard. See the 48 x 40 page.
Heavier by design
Pallet references describe four-way pallets as usually heavier, bigger and more durable than two-way ones, and they say heavy loads are best lifted by the rigid stringers. A notched stringer pallet gets its four entries by cutting half-moons out of the timber, which removes wood exactly where a fork bears. A block pallet gets them by standing on blocks, which keeps the beams whole.
Choosing notches or blocks
- Notched stringers cost less and repair easily, but a crack tends to start at a notch.
- Blocks give clean openings on every side and a stiffer frame, at the price of more parts.
- For racking, blocks give a flat bearing surface on all four edges.
- For a mixed pile, check by feel: run a hand along the underside for notches.
A fork test
Hold a ruler under the stringers of a pallet and look for a gap on each side. A pallet with gaps on all four sides is four-way. If gaps appear only at the ends, the stringers are solid and the pallet is two-way. Four-way status is a property of the pallet's underside, not of its label, so test it before accepting a load that was ordered that way.
Fork openings and truck clearance
A four-way stringer pallet has openings about 3.5 inches high where the stringers are notched, and wider openings between the stringers where the forks cross. A hand pallet jack must be able to slide its wheels under the bottom board, so a pallet that is too low at one opening can trap a jack. A four-way block pallet is higher at all four sides because the blocks are the same height all around.
Four-way and the cross-dock
A cross-dock moves freight from inbound to outbound doors with little storage, and its trucks work in lanes between racks of staged pallets. A four-way pallet can be pulled from any side of a staged row, which saves a turn at each move. Over a shift of hundreds of moves, the saved turns matter more than the price difference between the builds.
Reading a pile for four-way stock
A sorter looks for pallets with gaps visible from the long side, sets them in their own row, and checks each for a cracked notch or a loose block before counting them as sound. Counting them together with two-way stock understates what the pile can supply to a buyer who needs entry from all sides.