Pallets sorted, bought and cleared across Metro Detroit
Pallets for Detroit's docks: bought, sold and cleared
Sizes to scale
A Warren stamping shop, a Romulus cross-dock and an Eastern Market wholesaler can sit within the same metro and run three different pallets. The 48 x 40 is the North American standard and makes up 30% of all new wood pallets built in the US. Automotive parts ride on the 48 x 45, the size the industry table lists for car makers and their suppliers.
Hover or tap a size. Its outline turns yellow on the floor plan, and the row beside it says where that size tends to show up.
| Size | Metric | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 1,219 x 1,016 mm | The GMA standard, and 30% of all new wood pallets made in the US. The default for general freight. |
| 48 x 45 | 1,219 x 1,143 mm | The size listed for the automotive industry, common at auto plants and suppliers next to 48 x 40. |
| 42 x 42 | 1,067 x 1,067 mm | Common in the beverage industry. |
| 48 x 48 | 1,219 x 1,219 mm | Often used in the chemical sector. |
| 800 x 1200 mm (Euro) | 1,200 x 800 mm | The Euro pallet, for European parts and equipment. |
The sort line
Pile a trailer's worth of used pallets in one place and you get a Mixed load: 48 x 40 under 48 x 45, a Grade A leaning on three that need work. A yard's sort line is the cure. Each pallet is looked at for size, grade and condition, then sent to one of four stacks.
Scroll and the pile sorts itself. On a phone with motion turned down, the four stacks are already in place.
Grade A
No repairs and none needed. The closest thing to new in the used stack, and the lane for food docks.
Grade B
Repaired with plugs, plates or new deck boards. Carries the same load for most outbound freight.
Combo
Rebuilt from recycled and new lumber. More consistent than a used pallet, cheaper than an all-new one.
Core
Needs more than a repair on the spot. Goes on to be fixed, taken apart for boards, or ground up.
How used pallets are usually sorted. Grading follows the GMA-style grades that recyclers and buyers use; the grade guide has the drawings.
Three lanes
Every request starts in one of three lanes. Pick one, and the request bar above switches to it.
Buy
Graded used stock in Grade A or Grade B, combo pallets rebuilt from recycled and new lumber, heat-treated stock for export, or new pallets built to a sheet. It helps to know the size, the grade you can live with and how many you go through.
Buy laneSell
Sound 48 x 40 and 48 x 45 pallets have a market; a Grade C stack and a pile of cores are worth less but still move. It helps to know the size, the grade, the count and whether the pile comes back every week.
Sell laneClear
Mixed, broken and half-stacked piles are a normal thing to clear off a dock or back lot. It helps to know the rough count, where the pile sits and how it is stacked. Photos make a mixed pile easier to read.
Clear laneWhere pallets pile up
Metro Detroit is Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties at the middle, with Washtenaw, Monroe and St. Clair around the edge. Wayne County had 1,793,561 people at the 2020 census, Oakland 1,274,395 and Macomb 881,217, and the freight follows the plants. This is an index, not a map: every name is a page on that area's docks.
Wayne County
Assembly, stamping, air cargo, steel and chemicals
Oakland County
Supplier headquarters, tech centers and cold storage
Grades, plainly
Grade is how much repair a pallet carries. A repair is a Plug nailed beside a cracked stringer, a plate across a split board, or a Companion stringer fixed along a broken one. Below is the short version; the grade guide goes deeper.
| Grade | What it is | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A | No repairs, none needed. | Food docks and anything that wants the cleanest used pallet. |
| Grade B | Repaired with plugs, plates or replaced deck boards. | Most outbound parts and general freight. |
| Grade C | Several repairs and poor looks. | Inside-the-plant moves and loads where looks do not matter. |
| Combo | Rebuilt from recycled and new lumber. | A steady run that needs consistency without all-new cost. |
| Core | Used pallet handed on for repair or breakdown. | What a dock sells or clears. |
Across the bridges
Parts and freight cross between Detroit and Windsor all day, so a common question from a shipper is whether a US pallet needs heat treatment to enter Ontario. For wood packaging coming from the continental United States, the answer today is no: it is exempt from CFIA policy D-98-08, pending a phased move to full ISPM 15. HT and ISPM 15 still matter for most other export lanes, and a customer can ask for the stamp anyway.
The Ambassador Bridge, open since 1929, carries more than 25% of US-Canada merchandise trade by value and more than 10,000 trucks a day. The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to traffic on July 27, 2026, with its US port of entry in Delray. Read the Ontario guide or see heat-treated pallets.
Sources: CFIA wood packaging questions and answers, Gordie Howe bridge, Ambassador Bridge. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.
Questions
What size pallet does the automotive industry use?
The 48 x 45 inch pallet is the size listed for the automotive industry, and it ranks seventh in North American production. Suppliers still ship plenty on the 48 x 40 beside it, which is why one dock often holds both. Read the comparison.
Is a 48x45 pallet the same as a 48x40?
No. Both are 48 inches long, but the 48x45 is five inches wider. A 48x40 rack opening, a trailer layout or a robot cell set up for one will not always take the other, so say which one you mean.
Can you sell broken pallets?
Broken pallets are cores, and cores still go somewhere: repair, dismantling for boards, or grinding if they are beyond repair. Say how many there are and what is wrong with them. How cores are handled.
Do pallets going to Canada need to be heat treated?
Wood packaging coming into Canada from the continental United States is currently exempt from CFIA policy D-98-08, pending a phased move to full ISPM 15 implementation. Your customer or carrier can still ask for the stamp, so check the lane. The bridges explained.
What is the difference between Grade A and Grade B pallets?
Grade A has had no repairs and needs none. Grade B has been repaired with replaced deck boards, plates or plugs and carries the same load for most freight. Grades with drawings.
Ready to send a request?
Your request goes in at the top. Choose buy, sell or clear there.