A plastic pallet with nine legs, which can be lifted from all four sides
A metal pallet with removable beams. These are often used by tree nurseries (to stack trees)
Automated palletizing of bread with industrial KUKA robots at a bakery in Germany
48" x 40" galvanized steel pallet. Galvanized steel pallets are fire proof and rust resistant
A pallet (IPA: /ˈpæːlɨt/) (sometimes called a skid) is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, or other jacking device. A pallet is the foundation of a unit load design, which can be as simple as placing the goods on a pallet, and securing them with straps or stretch-wrapped plastic film, or as exotic as a ULD minicontainer.
While most pallets are wooden, pallets also are made of plastic, metal, and paper. Each material has advantages and disadvantages relative to the others. (See the sections "Phytosanitary compliance" and "Materials used" below.)