What is a gaylord box?

The plain answer

A gaylord is a big corrugated box that stands on a pallet. It is made to carry loose or bulk material, or many parts, in one unit that a forklift can lift. A bulk box is usually double-wall or triple-wall corrugated fiberboard. The common footprint is 48 x 40 in, matched to a standard pallet, and heights usually run 24 to 50 in.

The box is made in a few shapes. The rectangular box is the base case. The octabin is eight-sided and resists bulging under flowable loads. A sleeve and tray comes apart for return. See the catalogue for each.

What it is made of

Corrugated fiberboard is a fluted sheet between flat liners. One layer is single wall. Two layers is double wall, and three is triple wall (TW). Gaylords are 2 to 5 layers. More layers carry more load. ASTM D5168 covers the fabrication and closure of triple-wall corrugated containers.

Most gaylords are die-cut, which means cut and scored in one press pass, and assembled from a tray plus a sleeve. The bottom may have flaps, either overlapping (a full flap bottom) or meeting in the middle (a partial flap bottom).

What it carries

• Auto and machine parts, from small fasteners to castings.
• Plastic resin, pellets and regrind, in a lined box.
• Produce: watermelons, cantaloupes, squash and pumpkins.
• Scrap, film, textiles and recycled materials, in used boxes.
• Returns, kits and internal moves in warehouses.

New, used and past reuse

A new gaylord has not been filled. A used one has, and its condition decides what it is good for. A single-trip box that is clean and dry is close to new. A wet or crushed box is OCC, old corrugated containers, the recycling grade. See the grade sheet and used vs new.

Not the town

If you are looking for Gaylord, Michigan, the town up I-75, this is not it. This is a site about the box. For the box's history, read why it is called a gaylord.

Facts and figures

• A bulk box is also called a bulk bin, skid box, pallet box, bin box, gaylord or octabin, and is usually double-wall or triple-wall corrugated fiberboard. (Wikipedia, Bulk box, retrieved 2026-11-10.)
• Gaylord Container of St. Louis made the first bulk bins and was acquired by Crown Zellerbach of San Francisco in 1955. (Wikipedia, Bulk box, retrieved 2026-11-10.)
• Typical gaylord footprints are 48 x 40, 48 x 48 or 48 x 45 inches, with sidewalls usually 24 to 50 inches high. (nelsoncompany.com, retrieved 2026-11-10.)

Terms

• gaylord: A pallet-size bulk box; originally a trade name of the Gaylord Container company, now the generic word.
• octabin: An eight-sided gaylord that resists bulging; also called an octagon bin or watermelon bin.
• bulk bin: Another name for a gaylord or pallet box.
• pallet footprint: The box's length and width matched to a pallet, most often 48 x 40 in.

How the board is built and rated

A gaylord is made from corrugated fiberboard: a fluted medium glued between flat liners. Single-wall board has one flute layer, double-wall two, and triple-wall three, and the double and triple types are made for high stacking strength and puncture resistance (Wikipedia, Corrugated fiberboard, retrieved 12 November 2026). Two tests rate the board: edge crush, in pounds per inch, which predicts box compression strength, and burst, the pressure needed to rupture a sheet.

The same source says a box maker's certificate is optional but, when printed, usually carries the burst or edge crush figure, a size limit and a gross weight limit. That printed stamp, not the name on the order, tells you what the box was built to carry. Because a used box has been through at least one load, its stamp is the starting point for grading it and not a promise about the present state of the board.

How new ones arrive

Distributors sell new triple-wall bulk boxes flat, in bundles or cases of five, and by the pallet: a pallet pack of 30 of the 48 x 40 x 48 in box weighs 1,135.8 lb (Cary Company 48 x 40 x 48 listing, retrieved 12 November 2026). A used one usually arrives the same way or already built, which is why the count and the form (flat or built) belong in every request.

The pallet a gaylord stands on

The standard wood pallet under most bulk boxes measures 48 x 40 x 6 in and weighs 33 to 48 lb, typically about 37 lb; its deckboards are 3.25 in wide and 5/16 in thick (Wikipedia, Pallet, retrieved 12 November 2026). The box adds its own weight to the load on those boards, so the combined figure, not the box rating alone, decides whether a pallet is suitable for a forklift, a rack or a stack.