Operator glossary
FBA pallet requirements
The pallet spec for LTL/FTL inbound — 40×48 four-way GMA grade B or better, 72 inches max height, clear-wrapped, labeled on all four sides — the difference between a scheduled dock and a rejected truck.
Palletized inbound obeys its own sheet: 40×48-inch four-way-entry wooden pallets (GMA grade B or better — no broken boards, no plastic pallets for most FCs), stacked to 72 inches maximum including the pallet (double-stacked arrangements where permitted), clear stretch-wrap only, pallet labels on all four sides, and no cartons overhanging the footprint.
Non-compliance at an FC dock is expensive theater: refused deliveries, rework fees, missed appointments cascading into demurrage upstream. The forwarder briefing covers it in one line — 'FBA-compliant pallets, labels 4-sides, 72-inch cap' — but only if you say it; general-freight warehouses default to general-freight habits.
The numbers
- Spec: 40×48 in, 4-way GMA grade B+ wood, ≤72 in tall incl. pallet, clear wrap, labels on 4 sides, no overhang.
- Dock rejections cascade (rework, missed appointments, upstream demurrage) — brief the forwarder explicitly.