Block
rectangular, square, multi-sided or cylindrical deck or deck-mat spacer, often identified by its location within the pallet as corner block, end block, edge block, inner block, center for middle block

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

Butted deckboard
an inner deckboard placed tightly against an adjacent lead deckboards during the pallet assembly to reduce damage to the unit load caused by the fork truck

Bottom deck
assembly of deckboards comprising the lower, load-bearing surface of the pallet

Captive pallet
a pallet intended for use within the confines of a single facility, a pallet retrieval/recovery system or company; not intended to be "exchanged"

Chamfered deckboard
a deckboard with the edges of one or two faces beveled, either along the full or specified length or board or between the stringers or blocks, facilitating entry of pallet-jack wheels and tines of forklift trucks

Deck
top or bottom surface of the pallet, consisting of one or more boards or panels, with or without space between the elements

Deckboard
a single element for component of a pallet deck, oriented perpendicular to the stringer or stringerboard

Double-deck pallet
a pallet with both top and bottom decks

Double-wing pallet
a pallet with top and bottom deckboards or decks extending beyond the edges of the stringers or stringerboards

Drive-screw nail
continuously helically threaded or fluted pallet nail

Economic life
the number of trips the pallet will make over its lifetime, provided it is properly repaired, which maximizes the return on the investment

Exchange pallet
a multiple-use pallet intended for use among a designated group of shippers and receivers where possession of the pallet is transferred with the ownership of the unit load; pool pallet

Expendable pallet
a multiple-use pallet intended for use among a designated group of shippers and receivers where possession of the pallet is transferred with the ownership of the unit load; pool pallet

Fastener
a device for connecting pallet components such as nails, staples, screws, bolts, lag bolts, adhesives and welds

Flush pallet
a pallet with deckboards flush with the stringers, stringerboards or blocks along the ends and sides of the pallet

Fork entry
the opening between decks, beneath the top deck and ground or beneath the stringerboards to admit the forks of a lifting device (i.e. fork trucks, pallet jack)

Four-way block pallet
a pallet with the openings at both opposite pallets ends and sides sufficient to admit hand-pallet jacks; full four-way entry pallet

Grocery pallet
a generic reference to the pallets used in grocery manufacturing, distribution and retailing; historically, it meant a "GMA pallet" which was a pallet originally specified by the Grocery Manufacturers Association

Hand jack opening
the aperture provided in the pallet bottom deck to allow pallet jack wheels to ear on the ground; window

Hardwood
a wood from broad-leaved tree species (not necessarily hard in texture or dense)

Inner deckboard
any deckboard located between the end deckboards, interior deckboard

Length
refers to the stringer or stringerboard length; also refers to the first dimension given to describe a pallet, i.e., 48" x 40", where 48" is the pallet stringer or stringer board length

Multiple-use pallet
a pallet designed for repeated uses for more than one unit load with an average minimum life-to-first repair of ten trips or more, with an average of five handlings per trip in an average handling environment

Non-reversible pallet
a pallet with a dissimilar top and bottom deck configuration or without a bottom deck

Notch
filleted cutout in lower portion of the stringer to allow entry for the fork tine, usually 9" in length and 1¼" to 1½" in height

Notched stringer
a stringer with tow or more notches spaced for fork-tine entry (partial four-way entry)

Opening height
the vertical dimension 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 dimension measured form the pallet bottom to the pallet top

Overhang
the distance the deck or deckboard extends form the outer face to the outer pallet stringer, stringerboard, or block; wing; lip; cantilever; distance the unit load extends beyond the deck

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

Pallet size
overall dimension of a pallet stated in terms of length followed by width and height; for example, a 48" x 40' pallet is 48" long and 40" wide; has 48" stringers for stringer boards and 40" deckboards

Pallet jack
hand-propelled, wheeled platform contrivance equipped with a lifting device for moving palletized unit loads

Pallet life
the period during which the pallet maintenance conditions, expressed in units of time or in the number of one-way movements of the pallet

Panel-deck pallet
pallet constructed with composite or structural panel deck or decks

Partial four-way stringer pallet
a stringer pallet with notched stringers and block pallet with overlapping bottom stringerboard and deckboards

Quality
consistent performance of a uniform product meeting the customer's needs for economy and function, normally represented in terms of conformance to predetermined, agreed standards

Repaired pallet
pallet with damaged components replaced with new or recycled components in order to reuse it

Recycled pallet
a pallet that has been used, discarded, salvaged, repaired, or rebuilt in order to pass through another cycle or cycles of use … environmentally responsible

Rental pallet
a pallet owned by other than the user and rented by the user

Returnable/reusable pallet
a pallet designed to be used for more than one trip; multi-use pallet

Reversible pallet
a pallet with identical or similar top and bottom decks, to allow either one to support the unit load

Shipping pallet
a pallet designed to be used for a one-direction movement of the unit load form shipper to receiver; it is then recycled or disposed

Shook
cut-to-size lumber pallet components, such as deckboards, stringers, stringerboards, or blocks, to be assembled into pallets

Single-wing pallet
a pallet with the top deckboards or deck extending beyond the outer edge of the stringers or stringerboards and with the bottom deckboards or deck if any, flush with the outer edges of the stringer or stringerboards

Skid
a pallet without bottom deckboards or deck

Softwood
wood from coniferous or needle-bearing species of trees (not necessarily soft in texture or of low density)

Solid deck pallet
a pallet constructed of a single or multiple components without space between the deck boards or components

Strap slot
recess or cutout in the upper edge of the stringer or the top or bottom pallet deck, designed to allow tie-down of a unit load to the pallet deck with strapping or banding; strap notch, banding notch

Strapping
thin flat bands used to secure the unit load to the pallet

Stringer
continuous, longitudinal, solid or notched beam-component of the pallet used to support and space the deck components, often identified by location as the outside, interior, or center stringer; bearer; runner

Top-deck of pallet
the assembly of components comprising the upper load-carrying pallet face

Two-way entry pallet
a pallet with unnotched solid stringers allowing entry only from the tow opposite pallet ends; a pallet without notches in stringers

Warehouse pallet
a double-deck, flat, multiple-use, returnable pallet intended for general warehouse use

Wing
Overhang of deckboard or deck end from the outside edge of the stringer or stringerboard, to increase unit-load area, to add pallet load-bearing capacity, to reduce deckboard-end splitting by fasteners, and to facilitate the lifting of a pallet with bar slings hanging from a crane

48 x 40 #2 Pallet
A recycled pallet with companion stringers. Lowest grade pallet

48 x 40 #1 Pallet
A refurbished pallets without companion stringers. Medium grade pallet. Acceptable for Costco.

48 x 40 #1 Select
A repaired GMA pallet without companion stringers. Highest grade pallet. Acceptable for Costco & Sam's Club