Odd-size pallets and equipment crates

Tool skids, equipment crates and odd-size pallets are the packaging that Silicon Valley deliveries leave behind, and they sell or clear differently from standard 48x40s. The first question is whether the wood is reusable as it stands or is better broken down.

What these loads look like

Equipment arrives in wood built to fit it. A chip tool or test bench comes on a skid cut to its footprint, inside a crate framed to its height. A fit-out for a lab or data hall leaves rows of these once the machines are set. None of it is 48 by 40, and a lot of it is too good to grind.

Euro pallets, 800 by 1200 millimetres, arrive on imported equipment and can sit for months because no local customer asks for them. They are stringer or block pallets of a standard shape, just not a North American one.

Three ways these loads are handled

Condition	Typical path	What the request should say
Intact skid or crate in a standard custom size	Resold to another equipment maker with the same footprint	Exact dimensions, count, whether a lid and panels are still there
Crate sound but not reusable as built	Broken down for boards and framing	Material, thickness, count
Damaged or contaminated	Cleared and ground	Count and what contaminated it

Dimensions matter more here than grade. Write length, width and height in inches for each type, not 'large' or 'medium'.

Export marking on equipment wood

Wood packaging that has left the country, or will, needs the ISPM 15 mark: heat treated to a core temperature of 56 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes and stamped. A crate that came in from abroad with a legible mark can go out again. One with the mark sanded off or hidden by paint cannot be assumed to qualify.

The exporting equipment guide walks through the rules in detail. If any of your crates carry a stamp, mention it.

Request for odd sizes and crates

The form offers Pallets only. Choose Pallets and list crates and skids in the message, with their dimensions.

The request form needs JavaScript. Without it, email info@sanjosepalletbuyers.com with your pallet size, grade, count and how often.

Questions

How do I get rid of wooden crates?

Describe them by dimensions and count. Intact crates may be resold, others broken down, and damaged wood ground.

Can I sell tool skids?

Sometimes. A skid sells when another maker needs the same footprint. Send exact dimensions.

Keep reading

Pallet buyers for South Bay docksSell surplus 48x40s, cores and odd sizes from South Bay docks. Tell us size, grade, count and how often, and send one request.
Semiconductor equipmentWhat chip-tool makers in Santa Clara and Milpitas ship, receive and leave behind: skids, crates, foreign pallets and ISPM 15 export wood.
Pallet sizes and their footprintsEvery common pallet size drawn to scale with its footprint in square feet: 48x40, 48x48, 42x42, 48x45, 48x42 and the Euro pallet.
Mixed loadsAn unsorted pile of sizes and grades is what most docks collect. How a mixed load is cleared and sorted, and what to tell us about it.

Sources, last reviewed 12 November 2026

ISPM 15, Wikipedia