Charlotte region, NC and SC I-85 I-77 I-40
A gaylord is a pallet-size corrugated box built to carry bulk loads: parts, resin, yarn, scrap or produce. The word came from a company name and became the trade's name for any bulk box. Here is what one is, how it is built and how to ask for the right one.
A gaylord is a bulk box: a large corrugated container sized to a pallet, with side walls of two to five layers of board, used to ship and store loose or heavy goods in volume. A bulk box is also called a bulk bin, skid box, pallet box or bin box, and the eight-sided version is called an octabin (source).
The walls are corrugated fiberboard, board with a fluted layer between flat liners. One layer of that board is a single wall; stack more and you get double wall, triple wall and up to five walls. Triple wall is the standard heavy gaylord, and ASTM D5168 covers how triple-wall boxes are fabricated and closed. More walls carry more weight. The wall count page puts numbers on it with their sources.
The corrugated gaylord was introduced in the 1930s, and by the 1950s it carried everything from plastic resin to watermelons (source). In the Charlotte region it carries truck and auto parts out of Gaston County, resin and regrind through Rowan, Lincoln and Chester counties, and yarn and thread from the textile mills. It also comes in as the container for parts that plants receive, which is why so many end up as empties at a dock. See the industries pages.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Footprint | The box's length and width, matched to a pallet, most often 48 x 40 in |
| Wall count | Layers of corrugated board in the side walls, 2 to 5 |
| Bottom | Full flap closes the base; partial flap rides on a slip sheet |
| Grade | New, Grade A, Grade B, Grade C or recycle only |
| Octabin | An eight-sided gaylord that resists bulging |
Most buyers know two numbers: the footprint and the weight of the load. From those, you choose a wall count and a bottom. The size board lists ten standard sizes with their volumes, and the boxes hub goes by type.
The first bulk bins were made by Gaylord Container of St. Louis, which Crown Zellerbach of San Francisco acquired in 1955 (source). The name guide has the short history.
If you are buying, go to the boxes hub. If you have empties, go to the sell hub. Either way the first questions are the same: how many, what footprint and what wall count.
Most gaylords are die-cut, meaning cut and scored in one press pass, and assembled from a tray plus a sleeve. The sleeve is the four side walls made as one tube, and the tray is the shallow base it sits in. A separate lid, or cap, is often sold on its own. That is why a count of boxes should say whether the lids are included.
A trade name can become a generic word when a product has no common name of its own. Bulk boxes were an engineering item with a catalogue number until buyers began to ask for a gaylord by the name on the side. Today, a gaylord means any corrugated bulk box on a pallet, usually between 30 and 50 inches tall,.
A gaylord is not a drum, an IBC tote or a plastic crate. It does not stand up to standing water and it is not a reusable container for a closed loop, although the better ones are used several times. It is one-way or few-way packaging, designed to be recycled, and that is why a used one is a sensible product to buy.
Tray, sleeve and lid are the three parts. Wall count is the number of corrugated layers. Full flap and partial flap describe the bottom. Octabin is the eight-sided version. Grade A, B and C describe condition. Die-cut means the parts were cut and scored from flat sheets. Knowing these seven words lets you read any seller's listing and write a request that nobody has to ask a follow-up question about.
A pallet-size corrugated bulk box, usually double or triple wall, used to ship and store parts, resin, scrap and produce.
It is the container the load travels in. Shippers use the word for a bulk box on a pallet footprint.
People use the phrase for a pallet carrying a gaylord box. The box and the pallet are separate things, and the box is the gaylord.
Count, footprint and wall count are enough to start.
No prices, minimums or times are stated here.