Crate spec ticket
| Base | Heavy skid with runners and cross-bracing for dense steel |
|---|---|
| Walls | Slatted for dry domestic parts, sheathed for ocean |
| Long loads | Doubled skid and stiffened sides for length |
| Corrosion | Rust-preventive coating, VCI wrap on bare steel |
| Hold-down | Lag bolts, strapping, blocking and bracing |
| Lumber | HT-stamped for export; plywood exempt |
| Quote needs | Inside dimensions, gross weight, destination, season |
What agricultural equipment makers crate
A farm machinery maker or dealer ships a different kind of freight from a factory-automation supplier. Implements such as tillage tools, planter and seeder units, sprayer booms and mower decks are long and angular. Tractor components such as transmissions, axles and engines are dense. Irrigation pumps, grain augers and dryer fans are bulky and open in shape.
Many of these loads are not machines in one piece but kits of parts: a hitch, a set of discs, a frame section, a pallet of wear parts. Each part wants support at the right place so it does not bend under its own weight.
Engines, pumps and heavy-duty crates have their own pages, and this page covers how those combine in an agricultural program.
Long, awkward and heavy
A sprayer boom section or a drill bar can be many feet long with very little depth. A crate for such a load needs a doubled skid, stiffened sides and an even support along the length, or the part sags and bows in transit. See the long crate page for how the frame is built.
Irregular implements do not fit a rectangular box neatly. We build the crate around the envelope the part occupies, then use blocking and bracing to fill the dead space. Disassembling the implement into its main parts often yields smaller crates and a lower freight cost.
Tell us if the implement has sharp tines, blades or points. We cover them so they cannot damage the crate or the people opening it.
Rust, rain and the field
Steel parts for farm machinery are often bare or lightly painted. Wear parts such as discs, shares and blades are bare by design. They rust quickly when damp, and they often wait in a dealer's yard before sale.
A rust-preventive coating is applied to bare working surfaces. VCI film or paper wraps the part, and in an ocean crate a barrier bag and desiccant seal it. Sheathed walls shed rain and spray, while a slatted crate suits dry domestic runs where ventilation is helpful.
Our rust prevention guide and desiccant sizing guide give the method. If parts will sit outside, say so at quote.
Standards and dealer requirements
Manufacturers and dealer networks have their own parts-shipping rules, covering labelling, part numbers and bin layout. Our crates follow the document you send. For general crating practice we refer to ASTM D6039 for open and covered wood crates when a purchase order names it.
We hold no certification to cite here, and we do not claim dealer-network approval. We build to the spec, show you the member list, and record it.
Marks matter at a parts depot. Part numbers should be on two adjacent sides, large enough to read from a forklift seat.
Lanes, modes and export
Domestic agricultural freight moves by truck and rail to dealers across farming regions. Export goes by container or breakbulk from Gulf, East Coast and West Coast ports to farm markets overseas. Machinery manufacturing appears among the major export industries in the Bureau of Labor Statistics profiles for Texas and California.
Solid wood in export crates must be heat-treated and carry the ISPM 15 mark where the destination requires it. Plywood is exempt. APHIS and the destination country's plant-protection authority set the details.
Agricultural destinations may take extra interest in the cleanliness of used machinery. If the equipment is used, tell us whether it has been washed. Soil on a machine is a separate matter from wood packaging rules, and the shipper owns it.
Fitting crating to the farming season
Parts demand is seasonal. Dealers stock up before planting and before harvest, and the parts run is heavy in the weeks before. We ask for a seasonal forecast by crate type so we can hold stock and schedule builds before the rush.
Repeat parts are the backbone of the program. The spec for each part sits on file, and a reorder is a quantity and a date. For one-off implements, we build from a drawing or a measured sketch.
Send the part list with dimensions and weights, the destinations, and the date the parts must be at the dealer.
Questions buyers ask
How do you crate a long implement without it bending?
With a doubled skid, stiffened sides and support points along the length, so the part is carried evenly and does not sag.
Should farm parts be slatted or sheathed?
Slatted suits dry domestic runs where ventilation helps. Sheathed suits ocean and wet storage, usually with VCI and desiccant.
Can I send used machinery in a crate?
Yes. Tell us its condition and whether it has been cleaned. Cleaning for soil rules is the shipper's responsibility.
Do farm equipment crates need the ISPM 15 stamp?
Solid wood generally does when the destination requires it, while plywood is exempt. Ask APHIS and the destination authority about your lane.