Cartons: markings, pallets & fitting

Have your supplier mark every carton with the details below so your cargo stays identifiable through consolidation, and decide whether to palletize based on your shipping mode: palletizing protects fragile goods and speeds unloading, but it adds weight and eats into how much you can ship. If you know a shipment will be palletized, enter the pallet count and dimensions when you request a rate.

Ask your manufacturer to mark each carton with:

• Brand name — your brand

• Product SKU — the product identifier

• Country of origin — for example, China

• Gross weight — carton weight including packaging

• Net weight — weight of the goods without packaging

• Carton dimensions — length × width × height

• Carton series count — e.g. "3 of 12"

Clear markings matter because, unless your cargo fills a whole container, it's consolidated with other shippers' goods. Proper serial numbers and names keep your cartons from being mixed up with the rest.

Shipping to Amazon FBA? Have your supplier apply the FBA label to each carton. If they can't, the cartons must at least carry the Amazon product barcode (FNSKU). See Amazon labeling & FNSKU requirements and Amazon palletization rules.

Palletizing means shrink-wrapping loose cartons onto pallets for easier handling, faster loading, and better protection in transit. Fragile cargo should be palletized to shield it from damage. But pallets take up space and add weight, so the right choice depends on your mode.

You have a whole container to fill. Palletizing means fewer cartons fit, because the pallets themselves take up space — but the destination warehouse can unload with a forklift, which is faster. If you floor-load an FCL container instead, the destination has to unload by hand; that can take longer than the trucker is willing to wait, forcing a "drop" rather than a live unload. Some warehouses won't accept floor-loaded containers at all, so check with your destination warehouse before deciding.

For high-value LCL cargo, palletizing is recommended to reduce damage risk. It does add freight cost because of the extra pallet weight, so if you're chasing the lowest rate, floor-loading is cheaper. If your LCL isn't palletized at origin, it's usually palletized at destination: once deconsolidated at the container freight station (CFS), the CFS palletizes the cartons because truckers won't collect floor-loaded cartons. That can bring a pallet-exchange fee — unless you use Prime Freight's own LCL service.

You often can't palletize air cargo, because pallets consume too much of the aircraft's limited space. Unpalletized cargo is loaded by the airline according to its weight and volume, and may be split across flights for a safe load (delayed flights are more likely to be split). If air cargo is palletized, the airline may let a trucker collect the pallets or may break them down at the airport. Your Prime Freight team will keep you posted on the airline's requirements.

For rough planning, divide your shipment's CBM (cubic meters) by 1.5 to estimate how many pallets your cartons will make up. It's only a ballpark, but it helps you gauge storage charges and how the cargo will be stored.

When you palletize, stack cartons tightly on sturdy pallets without overhanging the edges, distribute the weight evenly, and keep the top surface flat so nothing is crushed. Number every carton before it goes on the pallet.

Palletization affects both your chargeable weight and how much fits in your container, so it changes your price. If you already know a shipment will be palletized, enter the pallet count and dimensions in your rate request so the quote is accurate from the start. When in doubt, ask your Prime Freight team which option fits your mode and destination.

• Packaging & damage prevention

• How much fits in a container & how to load it

• Chargeable weight explained

• Amazon palletization rules

• Freight & shipping glossary