Hardwood vs softwood pallets: strength, weight and cost

In pallet work, "hardwood" and "softwood" are botanical groups, not hardness ratings, but they track density well enough to matter. North American pallets are built from whatever the regional sawmill supply offers: mixed eastern hardwoods and oak in the East and Midwest, southern yellow pine in the Southeast, and spruce-pine-fir (SPF) and other softwoods in the North and West. The Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets and the Pallet Design System group species into classes with different design values.

#Side-by-side comparison

Weights are calibration points from real Pallet Design System sheets (mixed eastern hardwood vs SPF, green) and are examples, not design values. See pallet weight.

#Strength and design

Denser wood is stiffer and stronger for the same cross-section, and holds fasteners better. That is why a hardwood stringer can be 1-1/4 or 1-3/8 in wide where a softwood stringer is often 1-1/2 in (a 2 × 4). A pallet designer picks board sizes and nails to meet the load with the species available, so the final capacity depends on the design, not the species label. See pallet load capacity and pallet lumber grades.

Low-density species can be restricted by customers. For example, some retailer specifications exclude the lowest-density hardwood and softwood species classes, and repair rules in the Uniform Standard limit low-density species to interior deckboards.

#Weight and moisture

Hardwood pallets are commonly built from green lumber, which is heavy and shrinks as it dries. In one Pallet Design System example, a mixed-hardwood pallet estimated at 59 lb at manufacture (green) comes to 37 lb at 12% moisture content. Softwood pallet stock is more often kiln dried, which makes pallets lighter and less prone to mold, but kiln drying adds cost. See pallet lumber moisture and heat treated vs kiln dried.

#Fasteners

Nail choice follows species. Industry guidance recommends helically threaded nails for medium- and high-density hardwoods and annularly threaded (ring shank) nails for low-density hardwoods and most softwoods. See helical vs annular nails.

#Specifying species on an RFQ

You rarely need to name one species. More useful is to state:

• the species classes or groups you accept or exclude (for example, "no low-density species in deckboards");
• the minimum lumber grade for each component;
• the moisture content at shipment (green, air-dried or a kiln-dried target such as 19%);
• the fastener type to match the wood;
• the load, support condition and trips the pallet must survive.

A supplier can then quote the most economical local species that meets the spec. If the design is analyzed in PDS, ask for the species class used in the analysis so the delivered pallets match it. See the pallet RFQ checklist and how to spec a custom pallet.

#Cost

Price depends on local supply more than on the hardwood-softwood split. In the East, hardwood cants from grade-lumber mills are often the cheapest pallet stock; in the South and West, pine and fir may be. Softwood prices typically rise in late winter and spring; hardwood is steadier but can spike. See pallet cost.

#When to choose each

Choose hardwood when: loads are heavy or concentrated; pallets make many trips or face rough handling; you want thinner parts for the same strength; hardwood is the local supply.

Choose softwood when: you want lighter pallets; the spec calls for kiln-dried lumber; uniform dimensions matter for automation; softwood is the local supply; you ship to customers with species preferences.

When requesting quotes, let the supplier propose species unless you have a reason not to, and specify the load, support and moisture requirements. See pallet wood species.