Used pallets in San Jose are sold by grade: Grade A with no repairs, Grade B with replaced deck boards, plates or plugs, and Grade C with several repairs. Pick the grade that suits the load, then describe the size and count.
| Grade | What it is | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A | Also called grade 1: no repairs, and none needed | Food, clean lines, retail-facing loads |
| Grade B | Also called grade 2: repaired with replaced deck boards, plates or plugs | Industrial parts, general freight |
| Grade C | Also called grade 3: poor appearance, usually several repairs, deck boards may not be fully intact | Loads where appearance does not matter and weight is modest |
| Combo | Remanufactured from recycled and new lumber | Loads that need a more consistent pallet |
A used pallet is stamped with no promise of grade by the shipper who used it, so grading is done by the person who sorts it. Your request should say which grade you expect to receive.
A standard 48x40 should weigh roughly 33 to 48 pounds and stand 5.5 to 6 inches high. A pallet much heavier than that is usually wet or reinforced.
Clean pallets bought in bulk need floor space too. Stacks of ten 48x40s are about 5 feet high and take 13.3 square feet each, so ordering for four weeks at once is a floor decision. The floor calculator works it out, and the storage cost guide explains what holding stock costs.
Grade A pallets have had no repairs and need none, which is why clean outbound loads ask for them. Also called grade 1, a Grade A pallet carries its original boards and stringers and has no plugs or replaced parts.
The test is repairs, not age. A five-year-old pallet with all its original wood intact can be Grade A; a two-year-old pallet with one replaced board is Grade B. Inspectors look for plugs beside stringers, new nailed-on boards that differ in color and nails from the rest, and plates across joints.
Food packers and distributors in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, medical-device and electronics makers with clean packing lines, and retail-facing shippers want a pallet that looks the same top to bottom. Appearance affects the receiving dock at the other end as much as the strength does.
Grade A is still a used pallet. It has been to a dock before. If your customer's specification says new lumber, you need a new pallet instead.
Combo pallets are remanufactured from a mix of recycled and new lumber, which makes them stronger and more consistent than a plain used pallet and cheaper than a pallet built entirely from new wood. They sit between Grade B and new.
A remanufacturer starts with cores. Sound stringers and deck boards from those cores are kept, and damaged parts are replaced with new lumber cut to the pallet's spec. The result is a pallet whose structural timbers are chosen to match, instead of the patchwork a repaired Grade B pallet can be.
| Type | Lumber | Consistency | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used Grade B | Original wood with replaced boards | Variable | Lower |
| Combo | Recycled and new, remanufactured | More consistent | Middle |
| New | All-new lumber | Highest | Higher |
Racked loads, automated lines and loads where the same pallet needs to behave the same way 500 times are the usual reasons. A conveyor system reads a pallet in the same way each time; a combo pallet matches that more closely than a mix of repaired used stock.
For a one-way trip, Grade B is usually enough. For a pallet that circulates, combo can be worth the step up.
Grade, size, count and how often.
Grade A has no repairs. Grade B has been repaired with replaced boards, plates or plugs and is sound.
Grade A, kept clean and dry, is the usual choice. See clean pallets for food.
A pallet that has not had repairs and needs none, also called grade 1.
No. New pallets are built from all-new lumber and have never shipped. Grade A pallets are used.
A pallet remanufactured from a mix of recycled and new lumber.
Not by default. If it will export, ask for heat treatment and the ISPM 15 mark.
Sources, last reviewed 12 November 2026