Do pallets contain pressure treated wood?

I work for a pallet manufacturing company on the Southside of Atlanta, Ga. Very rarely we have a customer who may want a pallet made from pressure treated wood (but not very often and we do not stock pressure treated wood because it is used so seldom). The majority of our pallets are made from oak. Kiln dried pine is also used.

The one problem with pallets would be if they were treated with a chemical (Methal Bromide) to kill any insects which may be inside the wood. If the pallets are being sent out of (or into) the USA, they have to be treated for wood boring insects. Most pallet companies that I am familiar with heat treat the pallets to kill the insects rather than using a chemical. If the pallets are heat treated, they are stamped with a symbol and the initials HT. If the pallets are treated with Methal Bromide they are stamped with a symbol and the initials MB.

Another possible problem with pallets are chemicals used by the pallet companies to retard mold. We occasionally have a customer who will ask to have the pallets treated for mold because they will be shipping the pallets overseas in containers (or for other reasons) and they may want them treated for mold. We use freshly cut lumber so there is a great deal of moisture still in the wood which will lead to mold in humid conditions. There are no stamps or other indications on the pallets showing they have been treated for mold. We use a brand name chemical called X-mold. I do not know what chemicals other companies use. If the pallet is made from pine, they will not be treated with this chemical because the pine is all kiln dried.

One small change to the information I posted earlier. I was incorrect, not all pine is kiln dried so it is possible that it has been treated with Methal Bromide but it will be stamped with the initials MB.

I do not know which countries now require a pallet/crate be treated before allowing the pallet/crate into the country. So you should first start by finding out whether the Phillipines require it to be treated.

Then if required, if it were me, I would call a local pallet company who may be able to help you out. Our company periodically heat treats a pallet/crate for someone who does not want to buy a pallet but just wants something heat treated. As far as I know, there is no requirement that it be an oak pallet. The pallet/crate must have a stamp on it (designating that it has been treated) to be allowed into many countries. Only companies who have been certified are allowed to treat the pallets. The companies are inspected every month to make sure they are in compliance with all the rules. Therefore, they are going to charge for the treatment. Our company charges between .50 and $3.00 depending on the size and thickness of the wood.

Therefore, if the Phillipines require treatment, and if you want to build your own pallet/crate and can find a company to treat it, you are good to go.

I just went and looked at our heat treatment stamps. There is a HT (meaning heat treated) and TP (stands for the company that inspects us - Timber Products Co.). Both of these sets of initials are on each stamp. I do not know what HP stands for.

If you are shipping overseas, you must have a new stamp on the pallets. The port authorities do not know whether you used an old pallet that has a stamp on it and then replaced one board that was broken that may not have been heat treated. This one board may harbor bad insects. Therefore, it must be newly stamped. I don't know how they tell whether it is an old or new stamp though.

But this designation only affects shipping into other countries. The majority of the pallets in our country are not heat treated or treated with Methal Bromide.