Block – rectangular, square, multi-sided, or cylindrical deck spacer

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

Chamfer – machined or molded inclined surface along part or full length of edges of deck boards between stringers or blocks to facilitate passage of fork-arm wheels of pallet trucks and to guide tines of fork lift truck during entry into pallet; also referred to as bevel

Deckboard – element or component of a pallet deck, perpendicular to the stringers or stringer boards

Hardwood – a wood from broad-leaved tree species (not necessarily hard in texture or dense) like Birch, Maple, Oak and Tamarack

Notch – filleted cutout in lower portion of the stringer to allow entry for the fork tine, usually 9” in length and 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” in height

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 typically stated in terms of length followed by width and height; for example, a 48”x40” pallet is 48” long and 40” wide; has 48” stringers or stringerboards and 40” deckboards

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) like Spruce, Pine or Fir

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

Stringer pallet – a type of pallet with stringers between the deckboards or beneath the panel deck

Trip – typically a series of four to six handlings of the pallet, required to move a palletized unit load from the shipping point to the receiving point

Uniform standard for wood pallets – a comprehensive standard for the manufacture and repair of wood pallets that’s available through NWPCA; also outlines “best practices”

Unit load – the assembly of goods or a single item on a pallet for handling, moving, storing or stacking as a single entity; it includes the supporting pallet