Crate spec ticket
| Inside dimensions | L x W x H in inches |
|---|---|
| Gross weight | Pounds, as loaded |
| Destination | Country, and air, rail, river or truck |
| Construction | Cleated plywood, sheathed or slatted |
| Export | HT stamp on solid wood |
| Delivery | Built or knockdown to your dock |
Four ways to leave Memphis
Freight leaves this city by air, rail, river and truck, and often by more than one in a single move. A crate may start in a distribution center, ride a truck to the airport and fly out at night, or go by rail to a Gulf port.
So the first question for any Memphis crate is which mode comes first and which comes last. That decides the skid, the lid and what the crate has to take on the way.
Memphis is also a distribution city. Third-party logistics providers operate warehouses on the south side and across the state line in Mississippi, and they ship parts, returns and capital equipment for other companies. Their crates are often used for many short trips between warehouses and customer sites.
The express hub and overnight air freight
Memphis International Airport is home to a global express hub, and the city's economy runs on night sorts. Replacement parts, medical devices and repair items go through the airport every night.
Air freight uses dimensional weight, and an express sort handles each piece many times. Crates need a tight cube, handling marks that survive sorting belts and a skid that tolerates conveyor transfers.
Night sorts mean that a crate may be picked up from your dock in the evening and be in another time zone at dawn. Late changes to size or weight are expensive, so we ask for final inside dimensions and gross weight before building, and we record them on the spec.
Medical devices and orthopedics
Memphis is known as a hub for orthopedic and surgical device makers, whose implants, instruments and capital equipment ship worldwide. Contents are high-value and often sterile-barrier packaged.
The crate is the outer shell, built clean from plywood and cleated frame with an interior sized to the inner cartons, and marked with handling symbols. Cargo temperature and humidity needs go on the spec.
Surgical power tools, instrument trays and hospital beds are bulky but light, while imaging components are the opposite. We size the skid for the heaviest item, and add a strongback when the load has a few small bearing points. Medical customers frequently ask for crates with a clear opening sequence, which we label inside the lid.
The river and barge terminals
The Mississippi River at Memphis carries barges of grain, steel and chemicals, and the port handles bulk and general cargo. River moves are slow and open to weather.
A crate for river carriage needs a sheathed shell, sealed edges and secure tie-down points in the skid. Tell us the barge operator's requirements.
Barge and river terminals handle bulk cargo and machinery. A heavy crate may be loaded by a crane, so we ask for the rigging plan. The skid can carry lift eyes or sling points when the plan requires.
Rail yards and intermodal ramps
Several Class I railroads meet in Memphis with large intermodal ramps. Containers load here for ports on the Gulf and both coasts.
Because rail adds bumps and long dwell, we recommend strapping notches and a top that takes a load. We check container cube with your forwarder before building.
Memphis rail terminals handle containers both inbound and outbound. A crate going into a container needs to match the door width and stacking plan. We check the cube against the container size and the load plan before we cut lumber.
Agricultural and industrial equipment
The Mid-South ships cotton-gin parts, farm implements, engines and industrial equipment. Many of these are long or awkward.
Implements go on heavy skids with sheathing over sharp edges. For wheeled equipment, we add ramps and chocks inside the crate.
Cotton-handling and food-processing equipment makers also ship from the Mid-South. Rollers and gear sets are oily; we protect them with VCI wrap, then add blocking that holds the part without pinching bearings.
Quote notes for Memphis shippers
Provide inside dimensions, gross weight, destination, quantity, the mode and the date you need the crate.
Crates are built to order and delivered to your dock in the metro. For overseas lanes, solid-wood parts need an IPPC heat-treatment stamp where required, and plywood is exempt.
If a part arrives at your dock in a carton and needs a crate, say so: we can build a shell around the carton with blocking on all six sides and a skid sized to the pallet jack your dock uses.
Questions buyers ask
Can you build crates for express air freight in Memphis?
Yes. We build lean cleated-plywood crates sized to carrier limits.
Do you crate medical devices?
We build the outer crate to the inner packaging you supply.
Do you have a yard in Memphis?
No. We build to order and deliver to your dock.