How to Choose the Right Pallet (opens in a new tab)
The seven inputs that decide whether a pallet fits the job — dimensions, weight, handling, storage, and destination.
PDF View reportMillions of custom wooden pallets built in Clinton, Tennessee — with vendor managed inventory and just-in-time delivery that keep your line moving.
Every order runs through the same shop in Clinton. Tell us your load, your racking, and your dock, and we'll build to it.

From standard 48x40 GMA footprints to purpose-built designs matched to your load rating and handling equipment. Our specialty since 1981 — millions built and counting.
Spec yours
When a shipment needs containment, not just a deck — skidded bases, interior blocking and bracing, and ISPM 15 treatment for export. Built to your contract's packaging spec.
Spec a crate
We stock, monitor, and replenish your pallet supply for you — with just-in-time delivery on your schedule, so you never tie up floor space or run short mid-shift.
Set up a VMI programFour and a half decades building pallets for East Tennessee manufacturers — not a broker, not a middleman. One shop, one standard.
We run our own heat treat chamber under our own IPPC facility code — one of the few manufacturers in the region able to supply export-compliant wood packaging without sending it out. How it works
Call the shop and you reach decision-makers, not a call center. Specs, changes, and rush orders get answered same-day.
We track, stock, and replenish your pallets for you — just-in-time delivery tuned to your production schedule, inventory off your floor.
We monitor lumber markets continuously so pricing stays sharp — and relationships here run in decades, not orders.
All of East Tennessee, plus delivery into Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Tell us where you need pallets and we'll work out the rest.
Free one-page guides written for purchasing, warehouse, and logistics teams — the questions we get asked most, answered plainly. Download and share them with your crew.
The seven inputs that decide whether a pallet fits the job — dimensions, weight, handling, storage, and destination.
PDF View reportConstruction differences, fork and pallet-jack access, and when each style is the right call.
PDF View reportWhy this footprint became the default, how it is built, and when a nonstandard size is the better buy.
PDF View reportThe six variables — footprint, deck spacing, lumber thickness, stringers, blocks, fasteners — and how each is chosen.
PDF View reportWhat the botanical labels do and do not tell you about strength, weight, and pallet performance.
PDF View reportNails, staples, and screws compared on holding power, production speed, and repairability.
PDF View reportWhat kiln drying, fungicide dips, coatings, and remediation each actually do about mold.
PDF View reportHow storage changes a pallet's moisture and weight after drying and treatment — and what does not change.
PDF View reportThree different load conditions, and why a pallet that works on the floor can fail in a rack.
PDF View reportOverhang, underhang, point loads, and off-center placement — and the damage each one produces.
PDF View reportTwo-way, partial four-way, and full four-way entry, and why pallet jacks need clearance forks do not.
PDF View reportPractical criteria your team can apply at the sort line to decide what stays in service.
PDF View reportSix handling and storage habits that account for most of the gap between fleets.
PDF View reportStandards, testing, and design research behind modern pallet and unit-load performance.
PDF View reportWhy export loads need treated wood, how to read the IPPC mark, and what changes when your supplier runs its own chamber.
PDF View reportWhat the IPPC mark means, when export shipments need it, and why kiln drying is not the same thing.
PDF View reportCleanliness, moisture and mold control, repair limits, and why no wood pallet is “food grade” on its own.
PDF View reportTreatment, marking, transit duty, and the fumigation misconception, side by side.
PDF View reportWhen a shipment needs an engineered crate, a skidded base, and interior blocking and bracing.
PDF View reportWhat each mark burned into a pallet certifies — and what it does not.
PDF View reportWhy pallet footprints differ by region, and what to confirm before an international shipment.
PDF View reportThe inputs behind a quote, and which of them move week to week.
PDF View reportA buying decision, not a quality ranking — when each one is the lower total cost.
PDF View reportNew, Grade A, and Grade B side by side — prior service, lumber, stringer condition, appearance, and when each is the right buy.
PDF View reportReuse, repair, remanufacturing, and end-of-life recovery of pallet wood.
PDF View reportThe costs around a pallet — damage, downtime, chargebacks — that outweigh its unit price.
PDF View reportHow a managed stocking program removes reorder work, stockouts, and excess inventory.
PDF View reportGeneral education only. These guides explain common industry practice. Pallet selection and performance depend on your application, load, handling method, storage conditions, and customer requirements — and export, food, and regulated shipments carry their own rules. Contact Pallets Plus for guidance specific to your operation.
Send your specs — or just describe the load — and we'll come back with pricing and lead time. Prefer the phone? (865) 457-4800 reaches the shop directly.