Marshall White on the state of pallets
Modern discusses worldwide pallet usage trends with the director of the Center for Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/2006
As the world becomes smaller and more pallets of products cross the globe, where does this critical component of domestic and international shipping currently stand? And what does the future hold for pallets?
To answer these questions, Modern spoke with Marshall S. White, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech (540-231-7134). White is also the head of the United States delegation to the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) TC51 Committee on International Pallet Standards and chairs the American Society of Mechanical Engineers MH1 Committee on Pallet & Container Standards.
MODERN: With the variety of pallet sizes in use around the world, how can shippers and receivers maximize pallet efficiency?
WHITE: First, the ISO TC51 Committee established six international pallet size standards (ISO 6780), based on what's commonly used regionally around the world. Of these six sizes, four are metric and two are imperial. They include the 1100 x 1100 mm size used in Asia; the 48 x 40 inch and 42 x 42 inch sizes used in America; and the 800 x 1200 mm,1200 x 1000 mm and 1140 x 1140 mm sizes used in Europe.
In the U.S., one-third of the market uses 48 x 40 inch pallets. The next most common size is used by less than 6% of the U.S. market. There are hundreds of different pallet sizes, which is fine for domestic use. But once you start moving shipments globally, it forces countries to re-palletize product that goes overseas, which adds costs to the consumer.
MODERN: So how can international trading partners overcome the disparity of pallet sizes?
WHITE:North America's trade is growing dramatically with Northern Asia, China being the big player. That region uses 1100 x 1100 mm pallets, very different from our 48 x 40 inch.
We just completed research, jointly funded by the Transportation Institute of Korea and Virginia Tech, to determine the most prudent pallet choice for movement between North America and Northern Asia. The least expensive for both the exporter and the importer in that exchange would be for the exporter to ship on the standard pallet size of the receiver. In this case, Northern Asia would ship to us on the 48 x 40 inch pallet and we in turn would ship out to them on the 1100 x 1100 mm.
The efficiency comes because the equipment on the receiver's end is set up to handle that size of incoming pallet, as well as the fit characteristics of the freight containers. Both the 48 x 40 inch and the 1100 x 1100 mm fit efficiently in the same shipping container, with the 1100 x 1100 mm slightly more efficient.
MODERN: What industries are leading the way toward more unified use of pallet sizes, and what size(s) are they using?
WHITE: The electronics and chemical industries are significantly impacted, and therefore tend to be the leaders in this standardization process.
The 48 x 40 inch pallet, which translates into 1219 x 1016 mm, is just a bit larger than the 1200 x 1000 mm pallet. So 1200 x 1000 mm pallets will fit most systems set up for 48 x 40 inch pallets. I think we'll see more migration toward what is essentially the metric equivalent. That's what the electronics industry is moving toward.
MODERN: How are phytosanitation regulations (ISPM 15)—calling for all wooden imported and exported packaging materials such as traditional pallets to be treated against infestation prior to export for better international control of plant pests and diseases—currently being implemented globally, impacting pallet usage?
WHITE: I think the impact is small. There has been some replacement of solid wood with manufactured wood, plastic or paper pallets. Some of that is out of frustration on the part of some of the big exporters. The issue is the inspectors and how well they are trained around the world. As a new standard, it's going to take some time for all the inspectors to be qualified to recognize what is in compliance and what isn't. And during that period of time, some pallets of product have been quarantined.
It's my opinion that that's just temporary until everyone becomes comfortable with ISPM 15. Wood is more than 90% of the domestic market of pallets. Where people need the unique characteristics offered by paper and plastic pallets, they're going to use them. But as far as these regulations are concerned, wood will continue to be predominantly used.
MODERN: What is the future of pallet design, in your opinion?
WHITE: I see a fundamental movement from a focus on pallet design to a focus on unit load design. When you count how many pallets you shipped today, that translates into how many unit loads you shipped today.
What we are doing here is moving from just pallet design to designing the whole unit load. This means designing the packaging and pallets together, along with stabilizers to optimize efficiency. We're also moving from component-based design to systems-based design throughout the whole supply chain to revolutionize efficiency.
There are three interacting components: unit load handling equipment (like conveyors and forklifts), pallets and packaged product. Given the way supply chains are designed today, manufacturers design the equipment and reduce cost to get the contract. The pallet and packaging people do the same. Then the end-user tries to fit them together. Unfortunately, that fit is not elegant, and users end up with systems with significant avoidable costs.
We see an opportunity to understand how these three components mechanically interact during storage and movement. By auditing the supply chain and analyzing the load information gathered, we can identify packaging constraints. Then, by modifying the equipment we can significantly reduce packaging costs and improve handling efficiency.
MODERN: How does systems-based design translate to the global level?
WHITE: A good forum to implement this at the global level is through the ISO, because that group manages standardizing packaging, pallets and handling. Right now, they aren't very compatible. For example, ISO packaging standards are metric, but freight containers are in imperial units of measure. So ISO has agreed to have these technical committees work together to harmonize their standards.
There are some limitations. It's very difficult to modify the exterior dimension of a freight container because of the locking mechanisms required to interface with it. But you can modify the interior dimensions. So as we look at converting freight containers to metric measurements, that's what's going to happen.
We need an international conference of key experts across the global supply chain to talk about this issue of systems-based design, and how we can harmonize our processes globally to improve the transport of consumer and industrial products. The savings of energy and the savings of natural resources have tremendous potential.
MODERN: Is your vision of pallet utopia the entire world standardized on one size pallet?
WHITE: The World Trade Organization has suggested one pallet size. The 1200 x 1000 mm is a pretty good fit for most regions of the world. It works very well in South America, Africa and Europe. Also, that size is a reasonable exchange with the 48 x 40 inch. And Northern Asia does manufacture and use some 1200 x 1000 mm. It's unrealistic in the near term to expect the world to standardize on one pallet size, but one size could come to be more dominant, certainly.
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