Comparing Hardwood and Softwood Wooden Boxes for Your Industrial Shipping Needs
Over the years, plastic and metal boxes have garnered a degree of popularity in the industrial space, but wooden boxes remain the go-to solution for many businesses due to the array of benefits that they offer. Not only are wooden boxes more economical than their plastic and steel counterparts are but they are also readily available, stackable and convenient. These qualities make them an excellent solution when searching for packaging supplies to ship your manufactured products. However, when deliberating on wooden boxes, a crucial decision you need to make is whether you should opt for hardwood species or the softwood variety. To help you decide which option will be best suited for your industrial shipping needs, keep reading for a comparison between hardwood and softwood wooden boxes.
Robustness
Unquestionably, strength will be the top consideration that most industrialist will have when shopping for wooden boxes for their shipping needs. At the outset, hardwood boxes are more expensive than their softwood counterparts are, and this can be attributed to the fact that this species of timber is robust and sturdy. Thus, if you manufacture bulky, heavy, fragile or costly products that need additional protection to ensure they arrive at their intended destination in one piece, hardwood boxes would be the best option for your business. Nonetheless, this does not mean that the softwood variety is not useful. If your products are not fragile, you can pack them in softwood boxes. Moreover, since the boxes will spend a considerable amount of time on pallets, softwood is ideal for people with a limited budget.
Workability
The second consideration to have when shopping for wooden boxes is how easy they are to work with. A common mistake some industrialists make is underrating this factor, yet it has a substantial impact on how fast they can get your goods ready for shipping. Softwood boxes are inherently soft. As a result, your employees will find it much easier to staple, hammer nails or screw the top of the wooden boxes in place to secure your products. Hence, you get to save a considerable amount of time packing your goods. Hardwood boxes, conversely, are tougher and this can slow down the packaging process.
Weight
The third consideration to have when comparing softwood and hardwood species in an attempt to determine which option will be best for your industrial shipping needs is the weight of the wooden boxes. As a rule of thumb, the wooden boxes should not be heavier than the products inside them. If they weigh more, your shipping costs will be doubled and this will reduce the potential profits you stand to make. With that in mind, hardwood boxes are the heavier of the two because, as stated earlier, they are more robust than their softwood counterparts are.
Reach out to a professional to discuss your wooden box needs.