What's the difference between a skid and a pallet?
Quick answer
In day-to-day freight, nothing — Ontario shippers, drivers and dispatchers use skid and pallet interchangeably for the same platform. The technical distinction is the bottom deck: a true skid has only a top deck sitting on stringers or blocks, while a pallet has both a top and a bottom deck. When you book a shipment, the word you use changes nothing; the loaded dimensions and weight are what matter.
Ask three people on a loading dock what the difference between a skid and a pallet is, and you’ll likely get three answers — because in everyday freight there isn’t one. Both words describe the wooden platform that commercial freight is stacked on, and across the GTA they are used interchangeably by shippers, receivers, drivers and dispatchers alike. There is a genuine technical distinction, though, and it occasionally matters on the warehouse floor even when it never matters at booking.
The everyday answer: same thing, two words
For practical shipping purposes, skid and pallet are synonyms. A dispatcher who books “two skids to Kitchener” and one who books “two pallets to Kitchener” have booked identical shipments, and the truck that arrives will be the same. In Ontario freight, “skid” is arguably the more common word on the phone and the dock, while “pallet” dominates in formal documents and industry writing — but nobody is confused by either.
That is worth stating plainly because new shippers sometimes worry the terms describe different services or different rates. They don’t. If you can describe the loaded platform’s dimensions and weight, you have communicated everything the word itself could carry. Our overview of what a skid is in shipping covers the object itself in more depth.
The technical distinction: the bottom deck
Strictly speaking, the difference is construction:
| Skid (technical sense) | Pallet | |
|---|---|---|
| Top deck | Yes | Yes |
| Bottom deck | No — sits on stringers or blocks | Yes — bottom boards close the base |
| Ground contact | Rails or blocks only | Distributed across bottom boards |
| Typical strengths | Lighter, easier to drag, nests for storage | More rigid, stacks and racks more stably |
A true skid is a single-deck platform: boards fastened across runners, open underneath. A pallet adds a second layer of boards across the bottom, closing the base. That bottom deck spreads the load’s weight across more floor area and makes the platform stiffer — which is why the double-deck design took over as forklifts, high stacking and warehouse racking became standard.
Where the design difference actually shows up
The bottom deck matters in a few physical situations, none of which change how you book freight. A closed bottom deck distributes weight better, so pallets are the safer choice when loads will be double-stacked or placed on racking. The open base of a true skid makes it easier to drag and cheaper to build, which kept single-deck designs alive for machinery bases and one-way custom platforms — a heavy fabricated piece is often bolted to a purpose-built skid exactly because the open base is simple and strong.
The other place it shows up is under a pallet jack. A jack’s front wheels have to lower through to the floor, so open-bottom designs and standard stringer pallets both work fine, while fully closed bottom decks can obstruct the wheels. If your freight rides a non-standard platform — solid base, bolted machinery skid, odd runner spacing — mention it when booking so the crew arrives with equipment that can actually move it.
A related distinction that matters more: two-way versus four-way entry
While the skid-versus-pallet debate is mostly vocabulary, a neighbouring design difference has daily consequences: how many sides the forks can enter from. A two-way pallet has solid stringers, so forks enter only from the front and back. A four-way pallet has notched stringers or block construction, letting forklifts and jacks approach from any side.
Four-way entry makes loading faster and more flexible — the driver can pick the skid up however the truck, the dock and the available space dictate, instead of manoeuvring around the pallet to find an open face. If you’re buying pallets for regular shipping, four-way designs earn their small premium in handling time alone, and they matter most in tight pickups where the truck can only approach from one direction.
What matters instead when you ship
When you book palletized freight, four facts do all the work the terminology doesn’t:
- Loaded dimensions — length, width and height of the platform with freight on it, measured at the widest points including any overhang. Our guide on measuring skid dimensions correctly shows exactly how.
- Loaded weight — platform included, as accurately as you can get it.
- Loading at both ends — dock, forklift, or neither. No dock and no forklift simply means booking a tailgate (lift-gate) truck.
- Timing — same-day direct or next-business-day, which drives both service and rate.
Give a carrier those four and it makes no difference whether you said skid, pallet, or “that big wooden thing in receiving.” For the full process from pallet prep to proof of delivery, see our guide to shipping a skid across the GTA.
The bottom line
Use whichever word comes naturally — in Ontario freight they point at the same platform, and every carrier will understand you. Reserve the technical distinction for the rare cases it describes something physical: racking stability, pallet jack access, or a custom machinery base.
Whatever you call them, they are the heart of Sonic Transport’s work — skids and pallets are roughly 60% of what we deliver across the GTA, Golden Horseshoe and Southern Ontario through our skid and pallet service. When you have one to move, tell us the dimensions, weight and addresses, and we’ll handle the rest — no vocabulary quiz required.
Related questions
Will a carrier care whether I say skid or pallet?
No. Any Ontario carrier understands both words as the same thing, and dispatchers switch between them freely. What a carrier does care about is the loaded length, width, height and weight, plus whether each address has a dock or forklift — those details decide the vehicle and the rate.
Which came first, the skid or the pallet?
The skid is the older design — single-deck platforms were in industrial use before modern forklifts were widespread. The bottom deck was added as forklifts and racking took over, producing what is technically the pallet. The vocabulary never fully split, which is why both words survive for the same object.
Does a pallet jack work on both designs?
A pallet jack works wherever its forks can enter and its small front wheels can lower to the floor. Open-bottom skids and standard stringer pallets both take a jack fine; designs with a solid, closed bottom deck can block the wheels and may need a forklift instead.