Quote for Wilmington
Footprint, grade, monthly volume and your postal code. One business day to a reply.
What Wilmington actually buys from us.
Port activity and chemical manufacturing on the Cape Fear. Export crating and ISPM-15 work justify 265 miles when the volume is there and emphatically do not when it is a part load, and we will say which applies in the first reply. Film and television production here also buys set timber and staging, which is a pleasant and entirely unpredictable line of business.
Long haul. Full trailers only, or a matched backhaul. Freight dominates the material cost.
- ISPM-15 treated platforms and export crating
- Treated dunnage, blocking and bracing
- Heavy platforms for chemical and break-bulk cargo
- Full trailers only, scheduled against pairings
Every one of those wants a different specification. The sector sheets carry a starting spec, and we would still rather see a photograph of your load than apply a default.
Sector spec sheetsHow Wilmington gets served, and how fast.
Full trailers scheduled against existing routes; partials consolidated when a pairing exists.
| Tier | Stock release | Repaired stock | New build | Heat treated | Surplus pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | 24–48 hours | 3–5 business days | 7–12 business days | Same day on held stock | 48 hours, full trailer |
| Regular | 3–5 business days | 5–8 business days | 10–15 business days | 48 hours | Next scheduled run |
| On demand | Next paired run | 8–12 business days | 12–18 business days | 72 hours | Full trailers, scheduled |
Working days from a confirmed order against an agreed specification. Standing-release customers run shorter than these because we hold buffer stock sorted to their spec.
| Service | Available here | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Recycled pallets | Yes | Grade A, B, Combo and core loads in every standard footprint, sorted to a written spec |
| New pallets | Yes | Built to your drawing from regional lumber. Runs from 25 units, no 5,000-unit minimum |
| Paid surplus pickup | Yes | Full trailers, scheduled. Per-unit pricing by grade, certified weigh ticket and count sheet |
| Closed-loop programme | Where a pairing exists | Supply and recovery on the same trailer, with quarterly diversion reporting |
| ISPM-15 heat treatment | Yes | Treated and marked in Richmond, batch record tied to your shipment reference |
| Repair & refurbishing | Yes | Board swaps, stringer plugs and plating, re-nailed to the original pattern, re-graded |
| Collars, crates & accessories | Yes | Hinged collars, lids, skids, corner boards, runners and treated dunnage |
| Mulch, bedding & fiber | By arrangement | By the cubic yard. Ten-yard minimum delivered; no minimum loaded at the yard |
| Upcycled goods & millwork | Yes | Risers, planters, cladding packs, bar fronts and event staging |
| On-site sort & repair crew | By arrangement | Our people, our payroll, inside your four walls |
| Dismantling & site clean-out | Yes | On-site dismantling, board salvage, magnetic nail sweep, weight tickets |
Availability reflects what the lane supports economically, not what we are willing to do. If something is marked by arrangement, ask — it usually means we need a full trailer or a pairing rather than that the answer is no.
When this lane is tight, and when it is cheap.
Port volume peaks in autumn; hospitality peaks in summer.
Relative demand pressure on the Mid-Atlantic recycled pool across a year, indexed to the October peak. Harvest, retail peak build and the construction push before winter overlap in roughly eight weeks. Hover or tap a month for what is happening in it.
Everything we can load onto a Wilmington delivery.
The same tables we work from. Dimensions, construction, capacities, trailer fit and the grading matrix — so you can specify before you ask us to quote.
| Footprint | Inches | Millimetres | Construction | Top / btm boards | Weight lb | Dynamic load | Racked load | Board feet | Positions per 53′ van |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 GMA | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 heavy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, thicker | 7 / 7 | 46–58 | 3,000–4,000 lb | 2,200–3,000 lb | 44 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 economy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer | 5 / 3 | 28–34 | 1,200–1,800 lb | Not recommended | 27 | 30 |
| 48 × 48 | 48 × 48 | 1219 × 1219 | 4-stringer or block | 7 / 5 + perimeter | 52–68 | 3,000–4,500 lb | 2,000–3,000 lb | 46 | 26 |
| 42 × 42 | 42 × 42 | 1067 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 32–44 | 2,000–2,600 lb | 1,400–2,200 lb | 34 | 30 |
| 40 × 48 | 40 × 48 | 1016 × 1219 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,400–2,300 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 42 | 48 × 42 | 1219 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 35–50 | 2,200–2,900 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 39 | 30 |
| 40 × 40 | 40 × 40 | 1016 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 6 / 4 | 28–40 | 1,800–2,400 lb | 1,200–2,000 lb | 31 | 30 |
| 48 × 36 | 48 × 36 | 1219 × 914 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 30–42 | 1,900–2,500 lb | 1,300–2,100 lb | 33 | 34 |
| Euro / EPAL 1 | 47.2 × 31.5 | 1200 × 800 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 50–57 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 33 | 40 |
| Euro 2 / industrial | 47.2 × 39.4 | 1200 × 1000 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 60–70 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 41 | 30 |
| Euro 3 / half | 31.5 × 23.6 | 800 × 600 | Block | Varies | 20–26 | 1,100 lb | Not rated | 17 | 80 |
| Quarter / display | 23.6 × 15.7 | 600 × 400 | Block or moulded | Varies | 9–14 | 550 lb | Not rated | 9 | 160 |
| Asia standard | 43.3 × 43.3 | 1100 × 1100 | 9-block | Varies | 48–60 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 36 | 28 |
| Australia standard | 45.9 × 45.9 | 1165 × 1165 | Block | Varies | 55–66 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 40 | 26 |
Capacities are indicative ranges for recycled stock, not certifications — see load capacity for how the three ratings differ. Trailer positions assume the better of the two orientations on a 630″ × 98″ floor. Usable floor of a 53-foot dry van. Reefers and curtainsides run shorter and narrower.
| Criterion | Grade A / #1 | Grade B / #2 | Combo | Core / as-is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plugs permitted | No | Yes | In the B portion | N/A — unsorted |
| Companion boards | No | Yes | In the B portion | N/A |
| Stringer repair | No | Yes, plug or plate | In the B portion | N/A |
| Missing boards | None | None | None | Possible |
| Weathering | Light | Visible | Mixed | As received |
| Dimensional tolerance | ±⅜ in | ±½ in | ±½ in | Unchecked |
| Protruding fasteners | None | None | None | Possible |
| Rated load | Full | Full | Full | Unknown |
| Indicative price index | 100 | 62–70 | 75–85 | 30–45 |
| Re-stamped with passport | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Price index is relative, with A-grade set at 100, and moves with the market. Note that rated load is full on A, B and Combo alike — grade is a cosmetic and repair-history statement, not a strength one. Grades explained in full.
Six things people ask about this lane.
How quickly can you deliver pallets to Wilmington?
Wilmington sits 265 road miles from our Richmond yard, around 5 h 30 min loaded, on our on demand tier. Stock we are already holding to your specification releases in the next run we can pair, typically inside two weeks. Repaired stock adds a few days, a new build to your drawing runs one to two weeks, and heat treatment on held stock is same-day to 72 hours depending on the tier. Standing-release customers run shorter than any of these, because we hold buffer sorted to their spec.
Do you buy surplus pallets in Wilmington?
Yes, and there is no minimum when you are selling — though the economics start working around a quarter trailer, roughly 130 units. Scheduled against an existing route. Full trailers move reliably; part loads wait for a pairing. We weigh and grade at the yard on a certified scale, send you the count sheet rather than a summary, and pay against it per unit by grade. Non-salvageable cores are hauled for a fraction of a dumpster pull rather than refused.
What postal codes around Wilmington do you cover?
We deliver into the 284xx prefixes around Wilmington and across North Carolina's 27000–28999 ranges generally. New Hanover County and the surrounding corridors are all inside the lane. If your postal code is outside that and you need recurring volume, we will tell you honestly whether we are the right yard — and if a closer one would serve you better, we will say so.
Can you leave a trailer at our Wilmington site?
On request for full trailers. At 265 miles the swap itself has a freight cost, so we normally want enough volume to fill it inside a month. Below that, scheduled collection on an existing run is cheaper for both of us and we will say so.
Do you heat treat for export shipments out of Wilmington?
Yes. Treatment happens in our registered chamber in Richmond — 56 °C at the core held for thirty continuous minutes, probed in the thickest member — and we apply the IPPC wheat mark with our facility number and the HT code on two opposite faces. The batch record is tied to your shipment reference and goes out with the packing list. Note that treatment happens after repair, never before: a compliant platform repaired afterwards with untreated wood voids a perfectly genuine mark, which is the most common reason a load gets held.
When is demand tightest on the Wilmington lane?
Port volume peaks in autumn; hospitality peaks in summer. Across the region generally, September and October are the tightest and dearest eight weeks of the year, because harvest, the retail peak build and the construction push before winter all pull on the same recovered pool at once. January and February are the softest. If your volume is predictable, buying forward in winter and letting us hold the buffer is reliably cheaper than buying in the squeeze.
What arrives with a Wilmington delivery.
Ask for any of it before an audit rather than during one.
| Document | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Certified weigh ticket | Every inbound and outbound movement | The evidentiary basis of any diversion claim |
| Count sheet by grade | Every purchase of your surplus | You get the sheet, not a summary |
| ISPM-15 batch record | Any heat-treated consignment | Turns a port query into an email |
| Pallet Passport record | Any remanufactured platform | Origin, repair history, treatment batch, running ledger |
| Quarterly diversion report | Programme customers | Measured tonnage for ESG reporting, not an industry average |
| Feedstock segregation attestation | Mulch and bedding buyers | Written statement of what the wood was |
| Certificate of insurance | On request | Named-insured endorsements for on-site crews |
| Grading criteria statement | On request | The written standard our graders work to |
Ask for any of these before an audit rather than during one. Assembling the pack takes us an afternoon and converts verbal questions into documents.
Other cities on this lane.
| City | County | ZIP | Miles | Drive | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mount | Nash and Edgecombe Counties | 278xx | 110 | 2 h 15 min | Regular |
| Durham | Durham County | 277xx | 150 | 3 h 15 min | Regular |
| Raleigh | Wake County | 276xx | 155 | 3 h 15 min | Regular |
| Chapel Hill | Orange County | 275xx | 165 | 3 h 30 min | Regular |
| Greensboro | Guilford County | 274xx | 165 | 3 h 30 min | Regular |
| Greenville | Pitt County | 278xx | 165 | 3 h 30 min | Regular |
| High Point | Guilford County | 272xx | 180 | 3 h 45 min | Regular |
| Winston-Salem | Forsyth County | 271xx | 195 | 4 hours | Regular |
| Fayetteville | Cumberland County | 283xx | 205 | 4 h 15 min | Regular |
| Hickory | Catawba County | 286xx | 290 | 6 hours | On demand |
| Charlotte | Mecklenburg County | 282xx | 290 | 6 hours | Regular |