The return ratio, explained

Two ways to get the number

By height. Divide standing height by folded height. ORBIS's HDR4845-34 stands 34 inches and folds to 13.0, so 34 / 13 = 2.6, and ORBIS prints 2.6:1. This is a geometry figure: how many folded boxes stack in the height of one.

By trailer count. Divide the folded count per trailer by the standing count. Buckhorn's BN48453420 is listed at 78 standing and 234 collapsed per 53-foot truck, and 234 / 78 = 3.0, which is the 3:1 Buckhorn prints. This is a freight figure: it already includes how the boxes pack against the trailer roof.

Neither is wrong, but they answer different questions. For return freight, the trailer-count version is the one that pays the bill.

Checking printed ratios against the sheets

We ran both calculations on every model where the maker gives the inputs. The last two columns are our arithmetic, rounded to two places.

Why the trailer math jumps around

Trailers take whole tiers. A 25-inch box goes four high under a roof of about 108 inches; folded to 13 inches it goes eight high. Four tiers to eight is exactly 2.0, even though the heights only divide to 1.92. Rounding to whole layers can push the real ratio above or below the height figure, and a few tenths of an inch of folded height can win or lose a full tier.

Buckhorn's 78 standing per truck fits 26 floor positions three high. If its 234 folded use the same 26 positions, that is nine tiers, and nine folded units at 12.8 inches come to about 115 inches, more than the 108-inch interior our tool assumes. That suggests Buckhorn counts on a taller trailer or a different pattern. The PHS figures run the other way: its 2:1 print sits well above its own trailer counts. When a ratio drives a budget, ask the maker for the loading pattern behind it.

Ratios, percentages and what they mean

Some makers quote space saved instead of a ratio. The two convert with one line: saving = 1 - 1/ratio. ORBIS's FliPak claim of cutting the empty return footprint by up to 75 percent is the same as 4:1; IPL Schoeller's Bicolour figure of up to 80 percent equals 5:1. ORBIS also says its BulkPaks cut empty storage by up to 80 percent, a best case across its range rather than any one box in the table.

Worked example: trucks for the empties

Say a plant must send 520 empty 48x45x34 containers back to a supplier. Standing, at 78 per trailer, that is 520 / 78 = 6.67, so seven trailers. Folded ORBIS HDR4845-34s at 208 per trailer: 520 / 208 = 2.5, so three. Folded Buckhorn BN48453420s at 234: 520 / 234 = 2.22, also three. At this quantity the better ratio saves nothing, because both round up to the same truck count.

Change the quantity to 468 and the picture moves: ORBIS needs 468 / 208 = 2.25, three trailers, while Buckhorn needs 468 / 234 = 2.0, two trailers. A return ratio only earns money at the trailer boundary, so check it against your real shipment sizes. Our trailer fill tool runs this for any footprint and height, and the counts by model sit on the trailer loads guide.

What drags the real ratio down

A printed ratio assumes every empty folds perfectly and nothing else rides along. Real return loads rarely look like that, and the gap is worth planning for before you count trucks.

• Loose lids. If lids travel separately instead of capping each folded unit, they take their own floor space.
• Dunnage that stays in. Fixed partitions, foam or bagged inserts can stop a box folding flat, or at all.
• Damaged units. A cracked hinge or jammed latch turns a folding box into a rigid one for that trip.
• Mixed models. Two makers' folded units at 12.8 and 13.5 inches may not register on each other, so stacks get shorter and less stable.
• Part loads. Fifty empties on a trailer built for 208 pay for the whole truck anyway; consolidating returns matters as much as the ratio.

When the ratio is worth paying for

A 2015 Logistics Management column put the break point at roughly 500 miles: beyond that, return freight on empties becomes a major cost, which is why collapsible packaging caught on in automotive lanes. Short loops between neighboring plants may never fold a box, and rigid 1:1 bins can be the cheaper and tougher buy. For a long loop, a higher ratio pays back every week, though hinged walls bring their own wear, covered on our how collapsibles fold guide.