Guides
Short answers to the questions buyers ask before they order: which container, how many to a truck, what the numbers on a spec sheet mean. Each one starts with the answer and cites the sheet its figures come from.
- Plastic vs corrugated gaylordsCapacity, washing, the return trip, and when the box still wins.
- What is a plastic gaylord?What buyers mean by it, and what makers call it.
- Collapsible or fixed wall?Do the empties travel? That decides it.
- How many bulk containers fit on a truckMakers' trailer counts, assembled and folded.
- Return ratio, explainedHow many folded containers take the space of one assembled.
- Drop doors on bulk containersA hinged panel low in the wall, for picking from the bottom.
- Food contact and container resinWhat to ask before a container touches food.
- Static and dynamic load ratingsHow much a container bears standing, and moving.
- Macro bin sizes and dimensions48 x 40 and 48 x 48 in, with the figures from the sheets.
- What a plastic gaylord costsWhat moves the price, without guessing a number.
- Sleeve pack or one-piece container?Three parts or one, and when each suits a loop.
- Running a returnable container loopSizing the fleet, tracking it, and getting empties home.
Where to start
Moving off cardboard? Read plastic vs corrugated first, then what a plastic gaylord is, then what one costs.
Choosing a container? Collapsible or fixed wall settles the main question; drop doors and sleeve packs settle the next ones.
Planning freight? Return ratio and containers per truckload tell you what the empties will cost to bring home; running a returnable loop covers counting and losses.
Food, farms and safety? Food contact and resin, macro bin sizes, and static and dynamic load ratings.
Where the figures come from
Dimensions, weights, folded heights and load ratings in these pages are taken from makers' published specification sheets, linked where we quote them. Trailer interior sizes are typical values for a 53 ft dry van; yours may differ by an inch or two. Regulations on food contact come from the FDA's rules for resins and the USDA's guidance for meat and poultry plants. Where a figure depends on your part, product or dock, we say so rather than guess, and a quote is how you get the real number.
Something missing? Ask. Questions buyers send us often turn into new guides.