North America
Exporting pallets to United States
The United States requires treated and marked wood packaging on imports and enforces it at the border. It is also a route where EU packaging law has nothing to say, which simplifies the conversation considerably.
What applies
Solid wood packaging entering the United States is expected to be treated and marked in line with ISPM15, with the mark on the wood as the evidence. Compliance is checked on arrival by the border agency working with the plant health authority, and enforcement action can affect the whole consignment rather than just the offending pallet.
The consequences of getting it wrong are meaningful: consignments can be refused, held for re-export or subject to remedial action at the importer's cost, and the disruption typically outweighs any saving made on the pallets.
What does not apply
EU packaging law is irrelevant to a US movement. If a customer or an internal compliance team starts asking PPWR-style questions about a consignment bound for the United States, that is a category error worth pointing out politely — it is a question about a different market's law.
Practical points on the route
US-bound freight is usually containerised, which means the loose timber question comes up more than it does on a trailer movement.
- All bracing, chocks and cradling inside the container is wood packaging and needs to comply
- Marks need to be visible without unstacking the container load
- Plan for the transit: condensation over a long sea crossing punishes damp pallets
- Confirm with your importer whether their site has handling or footprint constraints
- If you are shipping pallets as goods rather than as packaging, that is a different question entirely
Where to confirm the current position
US requirements are published by the plant health authority and are updated from time to time. We are a pallet supplier rather than the authority, so for anything that turns on the precise current requirement, work from the official source linked below and from your forwarder or customs broker.
Packaging law, separately
Other destinations
Republic of Ireland
An EU movement, however short the crossing and whichever route the freight takes.
Canada
ISPM15 applies to wood packaging. PPWR does not.
Australia
Biosecurity requirements sit alongside ISPM15 — among the strictest regimes in the world.
New Zealand
Strict biosecurity controls alongside ISPM15, with particular attention to contamination.
European Union
ISPM15 and the packaging questions EU customers now ask.
Shipping to United States?
Tell us the destination, the load, the quantity and the date. We will come back on the pallet side and be clear about anything you need to confirm with your forwarder.