Block Pallet – A type of pallet with blocks between the pallet decks or beneath the top deck

Butted Deck board – An inner deck board placed tightly against an adjacent lead deck board during pallet assembly

Bottom Deck – Assembly of deck boards comprising the lower, load bearing surface of the pallet

CAD – Computer-aided-design software that allows the design of the “right” pallet at the best value; see Pallet Design System (PDS)

Captive Pallet – A pallet intended for use within the confines of a single facility, system or ownership; not intended to be exchanged

Chamfered Deck Boards – Deck boards with edges of one or two faces beveled, either along the full or specified length of board or between the stringers of blocks, allowing easier entry of pallet jack wheels

Closed distribution system – Shipping system restricted to moving goods between specified plants and facilities

Collar – Collapsible wooden container or bin that transforms a pallet into a box

Cost-Pass-Through – A cost-share system where the partial cost of a pallet is passed-through from the purchaser to the receiver of the pallet.

Cost-Per-Trip – Average cost of pallet use for a single one-way trip

Deck – One or more boards or panels comprising the top or bottom surface of the pallet

Deck Mat – Assembly of deck boards and stringer boards, forming the deck of a block pallet

Deck Board – Element or component of a pallet deck, oriented perpendicular to the stringer or stringer board

Deck board Spacing – Distance between adjacent deck boards

Deck board Span – Distance between deck board supports (stringers, stringer boards or blocks)

Deflection – The amount of deformation or bending in a pallet or pallet component under load

Dimensions – See Pallet Dimensions

Double-Face Pallet – A pallet with top and bottom decks

Double-Wing Pallet – A pallet with top and bottom deck boards extending beyond the edges of the stringers or stringer boards

Drive Screw Nail – Helically (continuous spiral) threaded pallet nail

Economic Life – Output from the PDS program that identifies the number of trips the pallet will make, provided it is properly repaired, which maximizes a return on investment

EURO Pallet – a block style pallet measuring 1200 mm x 800 mm built to European Pallet Association (EPA) specifications. Only pallets built with an EPA branded logo are considered authentic EURO pallets.

Exchange Pallet – A pallet intended for use among a designated group of shippers and receivers where ownership of the pallet is transferred with the ownership of the unit load; also known as a common pool pallet

Expendable Pallet – A pallet intended for a series of handlings during a single trip from shipper to receiver; it is then disposed; see Shipping Pallet

Fastener – A mechanical device for joining pallet components such as nails, staples, bolts or screws

Fastener Shear Index – Relative measure of shear resistance of the pallet fastener

Flush Pallet – A pallet with deck boards flush with the stringers, stringer-boards or blocks along the sides of the pallet

Fork Entry – Opening between decks, beneath the top deck or beneath the stringer notch to admit forks

Four-way Block Pallet – A pallet with openings at both pallet ends and along pallet sides sufficient to admit hand-pallet jacks; full four-way entry pallet.

Free Span – The distance between supports in a warehouse rack

GMA – Grocery Manufacturers of America

Hand (Wheel) Jack Opening – Space provided in the bottom deck to allow pallet jack wheels to bear on the floor

Handling – A single pick-up, movement and set-down of a loaded or empty pallet

Hardened-Steel Nail – Heat-treated and tempered steel pallet nail with a MIBANT angle between 8 and 28 degrees

Hardwood – Wood from broad-leaved species of trees (not necessarily hard or dense)

Helical Nail – Helically (continuous spiral) threaded pallet nail, see also Drive Screw Nail

Inner Deck board – Any deck board located between the end deck boards

Joint – Intersection and connection of components, often identified by location within the pallet as the end joint, center joint and corner joint

Length – Refers to the stringer or stringer board (in block pallets) length; also refers to the first dimension given to describe a pallet i.e., 48″ x 40″, where 48″ is the pallet’s stringer length

Life To First Repair – Output from the PDS program that is equivalent to the number of trips the pallet will make before needing repair

Line Load – The weight of a unit load concentrated along a narrow area across the full length or width of the pallet

Load Bearing Surface – Actual area of material in contact with and supporting a unit load

MIBANT angle – The bend angle in a fastener shank when subjected to a MIBANT test

MIBANT Test – (Morgan Impact Bend Angle Nail Tester) – Standard impact nail tester used in the pallet and lumber industry as an indication of impact bend resistance of nails or staples

Multiple Use Pallet – a pallet designed to make multiple trips under different unit load conditions

Nail – Fastener made from endless wire by cutting a point and forming a head at the shank end opposite the point

National Wooden Pallet and Container Association – A national association with the goal of promoting the design, manufacture, distribution, recycling, and sale of pallets, containers, and reels

Non-Reversible Pallet – A pallet with bottom deck board configuration different from top deck

Notch – Cutout in the lower portion of the stringer to allow entry for the fork tine, usually 9″ in length, 1 1/2″ in depth

Notched Stringer – A stringer with two notches spaced for fork-tine entry, (partial four-way entry)

Opening Height – The vertical distance measured between decks, from the floor to the underside of the top deck, or from the floor to the top of the stringer notch

Overall Height – The vertical distance measured from the floor to the top side of the top deck

Overhang – The distance the deck extends from the outer edge of the stringer or stringer board; wing; lip; distance the unit load extends beyond the deck

Pallet – A portable, horizontal, rigid platform used as a base for assembling, storing, stacking, handling and transporting goods as a unit load, often equipped with a superstructure

Pallet Design System – (PDS) – Reliability-based computer-aided design (CAD) program for determining the safe load carrying capacity, performance, life and economy of wooden pallets

Pallet Dimensions – When specifying pallet size, the stringer or stringer board (block pallet) length is always expressed first; for example, a 48″ x 40″ pallet has a 48″ stringer and 40″ deck boards

Pallet Jack – Hand-propelled wheeled platform, equipped with a lifting device for moving palletized unit loads

Pallet Life – The period during which the pallet remains useful, expressed in units of time or in the number of one-way trips

Panel Deck Pallet – Pallet constructed with composite or structural panel top deck

Partial Four-Way Stringer Pallet – A pallet with notched stringers

Post Pallet – A pallet fitted with posts or blocks between the decks or beneath the top deck; see block pallet

Quality – Consistent performance of a uniform product meeting the customer’s needs for economy and function

Racked Across Deck boards – Output from PDS program describing the maximum load carrying capacity and deflection of a pallet where the rack frame supports the pallet only at the ends of the deck boards

Racked Across Stringers – Output from the PDS program describing the maximum load carrying capacity and deflection of a pallet where the rack frame supports the pallet only at the ends of the stringers or stringer boards

Recycled Pallet – pallet that has been repaired for reuse; also known as a refurbished pallet or reconditioned pallet

Repair – To remake in order to use again

Recycling – A pallet, container or reel that has been used, discarded, salvaged, repaired and which is then ready to make another trip

Remanufactured Pallet – pallet built from either all reclaimed (used) lumber or built from a combination of new and reclaimed lumber

Rental Pallet – A pallet owned by a third party, different from the actual pallet user

Returnable/Reusable Pallet – A pallet designed to be used for more than one trip

Reversible Pallet – A pallet with identical top and bottom decks

Shipping Pallet – Pallet designed to be used for a single one-way trip from shipper to receiver; it is then disposed; see Expendable Pallet

Shook – Cut-to-size pallet parts to be assembled into pallets

Shook Grade – The classification of the quality of pallet parts relative to performance characteristics based on size and distribution of defects, independent of wood species

Single-Wing Pallet – A pallet with the top deck boards extending beyond the edges of the stringers or stringer-boards with the bottom deck boards flush (if present)

Skid – A pallet having no bottom deck

Slave Pallet – Pallet, platform or single, thick panel used as a support base for a palletized load in rack-storage facilities or production systems

Soft Nail – Pallet nail with a MIBANT angle equal to or greater than 47 degrees

Softwood – Wood from coniferous or needle-bearing trees (not necessarily soft or low density)

Solid Deck Pallet – A pallet constructed with no spacing between deck boards

Span – The distance between stringer or block supports

Stevedore Pallet – A pallet designed for use on seaport shipping docks, normally of heavy-duty, double-wing construction

Stiff-Stock Steel Nail – Pallet nail made of medium-high carbon steel without heat treatment and tempering with MIBANT angle between 29 and 46 degrees

Strap Slot – Recess or cutout on the upper edge of the stringer or the bottom of the top deck board to allow tie-down of a unit load to the pallet deck with strapping/banding, also called the banding notch

Strapping – Thin flat bands used to secure load to pallet

Stringer – Continuous, longitudinal, solid or notched beam-component of the pallet used to support deck components, often identified by location as the outside or center stringer

Stringer board – In block pallets, continuous, solid board member extending for the full length of the pallet perpendicular to deck board members and placed between deck boards and blocks

Take-It-Or-Leave-It Pallet – A pallet fitted with fixed cleats on the top deck boards to permit fork truck tines to pass beneath the unit load and remove it from the pallet

Top Cap – Panel to be placed on top of a unit load to allow for tight strapping without damaging the unit load

Top-Deck of the Pallet – The assembly of deck boards comprising the upper load-carrying surface of the pallet

Trip – Consists of four to six handlings of a pallet

Two-Way Entry Pallet – A pallet with un-notched solid stringers allowing entry only from the ends

Unit Load – Assembly of goods on a pallet for handling, moving, storing and stacking as a single entity

Warehouse Pallet – A double-face multiple trip returnable pallet intended for general warehouse use

Wing – Overhang of deck board end from outside edge of stringer or stringer-board