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Pallets for cold rooms and fish houses
Seafood plants and cold stores are the wettest places a wood pallet works. New Bedford lands more fish by value than any other US port, and Quonset is adding cold storage, so the question of what goes under the boxes is a live one.
Where the cold is
New Bedford ranks as a top US fishing port by landed value, with scallops the main species, and its State Pier has state-owned cold storage in Building 2. At Quonset, Cold-Link Logistics has a 65,000 sq ft cold-storage expansion in West Davisville, and Sea Fresh operates a seafood facility.
What a cold room does to wood
- Cold air holds little moisture, but warm product brings it in.
- Condensation forms when a cold pallet meets warm air.
- Wood that starts above 20% moisture stays that way.
- Wet wood and cold produce mould more slowly but surely.
This is general behaviour of wood and water, not a statement about any plant. The mould rule of 20% moisture applies in the cold too; see mould and moisture.
What to ask the receiving room
| Question | If yes |
|---|---|
| Does the buyer allow wood at all? | Check the spec before sending any |
| Is the room wet, or just cold? | Wet rooms need the driest stock |
| Do pallets stay in the room? | They will take up water |
| Is food contact possible? | Use clean, intact food-grade stock |
Other materials
Plastic pallets are common in cold and wet rooms. If a customer rules out wood, that is their rule to follow.
See seafood processing and cold storage.
Practical habits in a wet room
Rotate pallets so none sit in the same wet spot for long, lift stacks off the floor onto rails and let air circulate. Wipe or hose standing water from the deck before restacking, and let boards dry completely. Remove any pallet that has begun to darken or smell. A schedule written on the wall, and followed, beats a policy on paper.
Questions for a plant manager
If you run a cold room, ask which pallets have been in the room longest, whether any boards feel soft, and how often the floor is washed. The answers show whether your pallet rotation is keeping up with the moisture.
Tell us the room and the load.
Sources, last reviewed November 2026: