How to ship a crate

When a crate is worth the cost

A crate costs more than a pallet and adds weight and volume you pay to ship, so it is worth it when the alternative is a claim. Anything that cannot take a stack, cannot be strapped down safely, has projecting parts, or is worth more than the freight is a crate rather than a wrapped pallet.

Machinery is the usual case. It is dense, it has an uneven centre of gravity, and it damages easily at the point where it is lifted — all of which a rigid box with internal bracing solves and stretch wrap does not.

ISPM 15: the rule that stops crates at borders

Solid wood packaging crossing an international border must be heat treated to the ISPM 15 standard and stamped with the treatment mark. This applies to the crate, the pallet under it and any timber bracing inside it.

It is the most common reason a shipment is held at a destination border, and it is entirely avoidable — but only before the goods leave. A crate that arrives unmarked is fumigated, re-exported or destroyed at the importer's cost, and none of those can be arranged in advance once it has sailed.

• Ask your crate maker for the ISPM 15 mark and check it is visible on at least two sides.
• Plywood and engineered board are exempt, but the solid timber frame around them is not.
• Keep the treatment certificate with the shipping documents.

Building a crate that survives the journey

The crate's job is to take the handling so the contents do not.

• Bolt or brace the contents to the crate base so nothing moves inside it. A loose item in a rigid box is worse off than a wrapped one.
• Mark the centre of gravity and the lifting points on the outside, and add sling or fork indicators for anything heavy.
• Declare the gross weight accurately — crates are lifted by equipment chosen from the number on the paperwork.
• Add desiccant and a moisture barrier for machinery. A sealed crate traps condensation as readily as it keeps rain out.