A practical guide to shock pallets: how they work, what they protect, when a standard pallet or a foam-lined crate will do instead, and what a manufacturer needs from you to design one.
By Matthew Bowes, APS Packaging Ltd. Last reviewed 30 October 2026
A shock pallet is a pallet with a layer of shock-absorbing isolators built in between the deck that carries the equipment and the base that the forklift lifts. When the pallet is dropped onto a trailer bed, bumped over a dock plate or set down hard, the isolators compress and then recover, spreading the shock over a longer time so the peak force on the equipment is much lower. Shock pallets are used for server racks, electrical enclosures, test instruments and medical and optical equipment: things heavy enough to be handled by forklift and delicate enough to be damaged by it.
Damage in transit usually comes from short, sharp jolts rather than a single big drop: a pallet set down a few centimetres too fast, a tail-lift reaching the ground, a trailer crossing a speed bump. On a standard pallet the equipment feels the jolt at almost full strength, because timber barely gives. Hard drives, solder joints, optics and calibrated sensors can all be damaged by jolts that leave no mark on the outside.
The isolators in a shock pallet act like springs with built-in damping. They let the deck move a short distance relative to the base, so the equipment slows down over that distance rather than stopping dead. Halving the stopping time roughly halves the peak force, which is why a few centimetres of the right foam makes such a difference.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Deck | Carries the equipment and spreads its weight evenly across every isolator |
| Isolators | Foam blocks or moulded cushions that compress under a shock and recover afterwards |
| Base | Timber legs or runners that keep the isolators off the floor and give fork entry |
| Tethers | Bolts through the isolators, with clearance, that stop the deck and base parting if the pallet tips |
The single most important fact about a shock pallet is that an isolator only works at the right load. Every foam grade and cushion has a working band: the weight per isolator at which it compresses enough to absorb a shock but not so much that it bottoms out.
| If each isolator carries | What happens |
|---|---|
| Too little weight | The foam hardly compresses, so it behaves like a block of timber and passes the shock straight through |
| The right weight | The foam sits in the middle of its working band and has travel left to absorb a shock in either direction |
| Too much weight | The foam is crushed before the journey starts, bottoms out on the first bump, and may not recover |
That is why a shock pallet is designed from the weight, not picked from a catalogue. As a worked example, a 500 kg server rack on a pallet with nine cushion isolators puts a little over 60 kg on each, once the deck’s own weight is added. Put the same rack in a crate standing on the deck and each isolator carries closer to 80 kg, so the isolators are chosen for the crated weight. The same pallet with a 150 kg instrument on it would need fewer, softer isolators, or the foam would barely move.
You probably need one if two or more of these are true:
You probably do not need one for robust, low-value items, for anything light enough to be packed in a foam-lined box, or for a short dedicated delivery where the item is lifted off by people who know what it is.
| Option | How it protects | Works best for | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock pallet | Isolators between deck and base absorb jolts from handling and the road | Heavy items from about 50 kg up to several tonnes, racks and cabinets | Needs designing for the load; adds height |
| Crate on a shock pallet | As above, plus a crate that moves with the item and keeps knocks and weather off | Export, groupage, air freight, high-value racks | Taller and heavier than a pallet alone |
| Foam-lined crate | Foam on every inside face cushions the item against the crate walls | Smaller items up to around 100 kg | Foam on its own cannot be tuned for a heavy load |
| Air-ride vehicle | Air suspension smooths the road journey | Long road legs on one vehicle | Does nothing for forklifts, tail-lifts or transfers between vehicles |
Most damage happens during handling, not on the open road, which is why a shock pallet protects through every lift and transfer while air-ride suspension only helps while the lorry is moving. The two work well together.
A manufacturer designs a shock pallet in roughly this order:
A shock pallet made of solid timber is wood packaging, so if it leaves the UK it must meet ISPM 15: the timber heat treated to kill pests and the pallet marked by a registered treater. That includes shipments to the EU. We heat treat on site and mark pallets under our own registration, FC0542. Plywood decks are exempt on their own, but the timber legs and frame are not, so the whole pallet is treated and stamped. See ISPM 15 explained for more.
Isolated pallets designed for your load, one-off or as a repeat programme.
Crates built on a shock pallet base for racks and IT cabinets.
Heat-treated crates stamped FC0542 for sea and air freight.
Foam, cardboard and timber combined for fragile items.
APS Packaging Ltd
Designs our shock pallet and crate specifications, from the isolator count to the bolt pattern, and wrote our guides on shock protection and ISPM 15.
A pallet with shock-absorbing isolators built in between the deck that carries the equipment and the base the forklift lifts. The isolators compress under a jolt and recover, cutting the peak force on the equipment.
A normal pallet is rigid, so the equipment feels almost every jolt at full strength. A shock pallet lets the deck move a short, controlled distance on isolators, which spreads the shock out over time and lowers the force.
Usually closed-cell polyethylene foam blocks for lighter loads, and moulded cushion isolators for heavier ones such as server racks. The grade matters less than matching it to the weight each isolator carries.
Yes. If each isolator carries more than its working load, the foam is crushed before the journey starts and bottoms out on the first bump. If it carries too little, it acts like solid timber. That is why shock pallets are sized to the load.
If they are made with solid timber and are leaving the UK, yes, including to the EU. The timber must be heat treated and the pallet marked by a registered treater.
Send the weight, footprint and route and we will size the pallet for you.
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