Crate spec ticket
| Inside dimensions | L x W x H in inches, as loaded on the skid |
|---|---|
| Gross weight | Pounds, often heavy for castings and rolls |
| Destination | Country, and truck, rail, barge or ocean |
| Base | Heavy skid with lag-bolted hold-downs |
| Closing | Solid lumber, sheathed or open slatted |
| Delivery | Built crate or knockdown kit to your dock |
Where Pittsburgh freight comes from
Pittsburgh built its freight on metal, and the loads that still leave the metro look like it: forged and cast steel parts, roll-shop components, welded assemblies and the machines that make them. Many weigh far more than their size suggests, and a crate for them is a structural problem before it is a packaging one.
The newer half of the picture is robotics, software-driven equipment and university-linked machine builders, whose loads are lighter but far less forgiving of shock. One metro, two crate philosophies, and we keep both on the order book.
Hills, bridges and tight docks
Delivery here is shaped by terrain. Plants sit on river flats and hillside shelves, docks face narrow streets, and bridge and tunnel clearances decide what trucks can reach them. A crate that arrives as a knockdown kit often beats a fully assembled one that cannot clear the approach.
When your dock has a low door or no lift, tell us. We can send panels, skid and hardware in a bundle sized for a pallet jack and assemble around the machine inside, with lag bolts through the skid into the equipment feet.
Heavy castings and mill equipment
A casting or a roll chock concentrates weight on a few bearing points. The crate floor needs runners that spread the load, a skid built from solid lumber, and blocking cut to the casting's contours so nothing shifts under braking. Gross weight, not volume, sets the lumber size.
Bare steel faces on these parts need protection from the damp of a river valley winter and an ocean voyage after it. We spec a rust-preventive coating or VCI film, desiccant for the enclosed volume, and a lid that sheds water rather than collecting it.
- Runners sized to gross weight, not just footprint
- Blocking and bracing shaped to the casting's bearing faces
- Tarp-ready lids for open-deck truck legs
The three rivers and barge moves
The Ohio, the Allegheny and the Monongahela still carry bulk freight, and the Ohio River system connects the metro by barge to the Mississippi and the Gulf. Oversize equipment sometimes takes the water route to avoid a long run of permits on the road.
Barge and deck cargo are wetter and rougher than a closed trailer. A crate meant for the river gets sheathing on the outside, treated or sealed edges, and tie-down points fitted into the skid so chains do not bear on the walls.
Robots, controls and precision gear
Robotics and automation firms in the metro ship arms, vision cells and control cabinets, where the danger is vibration and the final dock rather than weight. These loads go into a sheathed or cleated-plywood crate with the unit bolted to a strongback, then foam or blocking at the arm joints.
A tip indicator on the outside and a clear centre-of-gravity mark tell the receiving team how to fork it. For long air-freight legs we trim the crate to a low tare and a tight cube.
Reading the quote ticket for a Pittsburgh load
Most Pittsburgh quotes turn on three numbers: the load's inside dimensions, its gross weight and the destination country. Add the quantity and the date you need the crate on your dock. If the load is a one-off casting with a drawing, send the drawing; if it is a repeat part, tell us and we keep the written spec on file so the next order ships the same way.
Two questions save the most rework. Does the machine have a lifting lug or forklift pockets, and which face must stay up? Those answers set where the strongback sits and where the centre-of-gravity mark goes. A fabricator who answers them up front gets a crate that fits on the first try.
Rail, trucks and the export route
Interstates 76, 79, 376 and 70 connect the metro to Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and Gulf lanes, and rail yards run intermodal service to the coast. Export crates headed overseas usually move on to a port such as Baltimore, New York or Norfolk, so they cross two or three handlers before loading.
Solid wood in an export crate needs an IPPC stamp showing heat treatment where the destination requires it; plywood panels are exempt. We deliver the finished crate to your Pittsburgh dock, or the kit if the approach is tight.
Questions buyers ask
Can you crate a very heavy casting in the Pittsburgh area?
Yes. Send the gross weight and the bearing dimensions of the casting. We size runners and skid lumber to the load and deliver the built crate to your dock.
What if my dock is on a narrow hillside street?
Ask for a knockdown kit. The panels and skid ship flat and go together at the machine, so a smaller truck can reach you.
Do barge shipments need a different crate?
Usually a sheathed crate with sealed edges and tie-down points in the skid. Tell us the route and we spec the weather protection.