Automotive NA 48 x 45 Wood Stringer Pallet Specification Recommendations
The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers and their suppliers to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact. SP’s Sustainable Packaging Work Group was established as a platform for companies from across the automotive value chain to collaborate to minimize automotive packaging waste and address barriers to packaging recyclability and/or reuse.
A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure. While most pallets are wooden, pallets can also be made of plastic, metal, paper, and recycled materials. The 48 x 45 footprint wood pallet is primarily used as back-up packaging or in service (aftermarket) for transporting goods between tiered suppliers and customers within the automotive industry. As it stands, wood pallets within the automotive industry have internal re-use potential and are most often recycled and/or resold as a remanufactured pallet after their initial use. However, while many tiered suppliers have flexible 48 x 45 footprint wood pallet specifications, different OEMs within North America have unique specifications which has restricted synergy for pallet re-use across OEMs and through the supply base.
A team within Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) was created to evaluate opportunities to address the challenge of inconsistencies in automotive industry wood pallet specifications while supporting automotive industry sustainability initiatives. Consideration of common 48 x 45 footprint wood stringer pallet design guidance was proposed through collaboration between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier suppliers, Pallet Manufacturers, Industry recyclers, and other subject matter experts. Similar guidance for 48 x 45 footprint block wood pallets and other pallet designs may be considered in the future.
Automotive NA 48 x 45 Wood Stringer Pallet Specification Recommendations
Version 1.0, Published December 2023
This guidance document includes voluntary industry-developed recommendations intended to help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers within the North American region to source uniform 48 x 45 wood stringer pallets, where appropriate, to enable increased re-use and improve efficiency across the supply chain.
Acknowledgements: This guidance document was produced through a collaborative process by the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) Sustainable Packaging Work Group’s Wood Pallet Sub-Team. The wood pallet project was chaired by Magna International. SP work group members contributing to the development and review of this guidance document included representatives of D.T. Fowler, Ford, General Motors, Magna International, ORBIS, Stellantis, RecycleMax, and The Royal Group.
Disclaimer: This document is intended solely to provide information for automakers, their suppliers and dealers, and the general public on common 48 x 45 wood stringer pallet specifications relevant to the automotive industry in North America. The information included in this document is based on information available at the time it was created and it may be used at a company’s sole discretion.
This document should not be considered to contain legal advice. SP and its member companies make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document, and they will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The authors of this document reserve the right to change it at any time, as they deem appropriate within their sole discretion. SP and its member companies will not be liable for any losses, injuries or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this document. It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of every company designing and sourcing packaging materials to undertake individual, unique analysis as it pertains to their own specific application and production process, as well as to understand and comply with all applicable laws, regulations, standards, and individual customer requirements.
Contact: Please submit any feedback on this guidance or suggestions for future improvements to info@supplierspartnership.org.