Packing format
Securing a pallet of fresh fruit for the road
Stretch film binds the boxes to each other and does very little to hold the stack down onto the pallet, which is the joint a braking vehicle tests first. A fruit load has to be made one body with its base, and then the whole unit has to be restrained against the vehicle. Those are two jobs with two sets of rules behind them.
The figures
| What the CTU Code calls this unit | An overpack, stacked on a load board and secured by strapping, shrink wrapping, stretch wrapping or other suitable means |
|---|---|
| What holds a load to its pallet | Friction between layers, strapping over the load and around the base, adhesive between boxes, edge protectors and a top frame |
| Design accelerations for road in the quick lashing guide | 1.0 g forward, 0.5 g sideways and 0.5 g rearward |
| What the trailer body itself is rated for | Front wall 40% of the payload, rear wall 25%, side walls 30% (EN 12642) |
| Where the calculation method sits | EN 12195-1, calculation of securing forces on road vehicles |
| What tests a load unit's rigidity | EUMOS 40509 |
| Where a box column carries its load | Through the corners of the board, and nowhere else |
| Our own stowage specification | Not confirmed. Nothing has been agreed with the packhouse |
What it changes on an order
You receive loads that arrive leaning
A unit that has shifted on its base while the film stayed intact points at the pallet joint rather than at the driver. Photograph the base of the stack as well as the top, because that is where the evidence sits.
You specify your own packaging
Anti slip sheets between layers, strap count and corner protection are cheap next to the fruit they hold up. They are also the first things removed when somebody is asked to take cost out of a pack.
You buy on terms where the carrier is yours
Securing the unit belongs to whoever built it and restraining it belongs to whoever drives it. Where those are different companies, agree which one owns the boundary before a load arrives with it broken.
What this note does not settle
- This describes how a fruit unit is held together, not how to secure cargo in a vehicle. That is the carrier's field and it has its own rules and its own liabilities.
- Strap counts, film specifications and slip sheet use are packhouse decisions and we have none of them confirmed. Ask for the stowage build alongside the box format.
- No securing method saves a load that was stacked out of alignment. The strongest strapping in the world still delivers the weight through whatever is underneath it.
Source: IMO, ILO and UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), European best practice guidelines on cargo securing for road transport, EUMOS, European safe logistics association
Film holds the load to itself
Stretch film binds boxes to their neighbours. It does very little to hold a stack down onto the wood it stands on, and that is the connection a braking vehicle tests first. A unit that slides off its own base while staying perfectly wrapped is a familiar sight behind a trailer door, and the film is usually intact in the photograph that follows.
Securing a fruit pallet is therefore two problems stacked on each other. The load has to become one body with its pallet, through friction between layers, through strapping that passes over the load and around the base, or through adhesive between boxes. Then the unit has to be restrained against the vehicle, which is the carrier's job and a separate set of rules.
The fruit is the weakest member
A column of boxes carries its load through the corners of the board and nowhere else. Align the corners and the column is strong. Offset a box by a finger's width and the weight above it lands on a panel instead, the panel bows, and the load finds its way into the fruit underneath.
This is why a load secured aggressively can arrive in worse condition than one secured well. Straps pulled tight over an unprotected top layer crush it. Corner boards exist to spread that pressure, and their absence shows at the top of a pallet long before anybody weighs anything. Ask what goes between the strap and the fruit.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.