PDS report explained: reading a Pallet Design System spec sheet

Many buyers receive a PDS report with a quote, and some retailers require one for purpose-built pallets. This guide explains what each part tells you and how to check it against what you asked for. It describes the information on the report, not its layout; PDS printouts are copyrighted by Woodpack Global and watermarked for the licensee, who may share them with the manufacturer building the pallet and with its direct customer.

What's in a PDS report

The specification sheet, field by field

Identification

Customer, prepared by (the licensee), license number, pallet ID, drawing number, specification date, revision number and date, and units (inches or millimeters). Always check the revision against your quote.

Classification

A single string built from six parts, for example: 48.00 x 40.00, Stringer-Class, Double-Face Non-Reversible, Partial 4-Way, Reusable, New Manufacture.

Treatments

ISPM-15 compliance (heat treatment, HT, or methyl bromide fumigation, MB) and any conditioning after assembly, such as kiln drying to 19% moisture content.

Components

One block per component group, each listing the number of pieces and their actual thickness, width and length (stringers and blocks as width, height, length):

• Top deck and bottom deck: style (deckboard or panel), material type (new lumber, recycled, composite), each board size and count, wing or overhang, spacing rule (for example, end boards flush and interior boards equally spaced), chamfers
• Stringers: count and size, plus the partial 4-way notch (depth, length, location from the end, radius)
• Stringerboards and blocks on block pallets, including block material and grain orientation
• A volume in board feet for each group

"Special manufacturing features" such as notches, chamfers and strap slots are listed under the component that receives them.

Fasteners

One column per fastener spec (block pallets often have three: deck mat, top deck to block, bottom deck to block):

Worked example. For a helical nail with a 0.112 in wire, a 0.124 in thread crest, 1.25 in of thread and 7.5 helixes, the Uniform Standard's equation gives FWC = 1 + 22 x (0.124 - 0.112) x (7.5 / 1.25) = 2.58, and pitch = 1.25 / 7.5 = 0.167 in. That is above the 1.9 minimum for reusable pallets. See pallet nail schedule and MIBANT.

Lumber

A lumber ID and up to five rows of species class, grade and percentage (the lumber mix), plus moisture content at manufacture. For example: 50% high-density, 25% medium-density and 25% low-density Eastern hardwoods, Standard and Better grade, green. Then the total new lumber volume. See mixed hardwood and lumber grades.

How to read the dimensions and volumes

Dimensions are actual (average) sizes at manufacture, subject to the Uniform Standard's tolerances. Volumes use those actual sizes, do not deduct notches, and exclude sawing waste. For a GMA-style 48 x 40 the groups read about 4.9 (top), 3.7 (bottom) and 4.8 (stringers), 13.5 board feet in total. See board feet.

The structural analysis

The header restates the design and the load assumptions: load type, maximum or average load weight, load variability (low, medium, high or custom), stabilizers and the service environment (dry or wet). Then one row per support condition:

For stacked conditions, the lowest pallet's top deck and the second pallet's bottom deck carry the most stress. Forklift support is treated as short-term loading. What to check: every support condition your pallet will actually see is listed, and the safe load exceeds your load in each. See pallet load capacity and pallet deflection.

Lateral collapse resistance

For stringer pallets, an H/V ratio: the horizontal force needed to collapse the pallet sideways divided by the vertical load. PDS rates it low (0.60 or less), medium (0.61 to 0.99), good (1.0 to 2.5) or excellent (2.51 and up), and recommends good or excellent for multiple-use pallets. Newer versions add a transit g-force analysis.

Service life analysis

Simulates handling cycles (about 15 handlings each) for a chosen handling severity and service duty, and predicts cycles to first repair, total service life and which component groups limit it. See reusable vs single-use pallets.

Physical property analysis

Average pallet weight at manufacture and at 25%, 19%, 15% and 12% moisture content, and the shrinkage of each component as it dries. See pallet weight.

Drawings and production order

Side, end, top and bottom views with board positions, gaps, notch dimensions and nail dots, plus 3D views. The production order turns the design into plant instructions: order quantity, cut list (pieces per size times the number of pallets), assembly setup data (board and stringer positions from the pallet end and edge), fasteners per connection per board and total fastener count for the order. See how to read a pallet drawing.

Newer additions

Recent PDS versions add a carbon impact assessment, a strength-utilization figure with pass or fail, pail buckling analysis, and (for block pallets) an ISO 8611 nominal-load prediction.

PDS reports and palletdesign.ai

palletdesign.ai produces its own spec sheet, drawing and parts list in an independent format. It covers much of the same information content (classification, components, fasteners, lumber, board feet, weight) but its capacity figures are indicative checks, not a PDS analysis. It does not read or reproduce PDS output.