Plastic crates and bins for automotive

How parts travel from a supplier dock to the line

A tier supplier fills a container at its own dock, the truck runs to the assembly plant, and a lift truck sets the bin at the point of use. When the last part is pulled, the empty rides back on the same lane. A collapsible bulk container folds so that return load carries less air; a fixed-wall bin skips the fold for heavier, denser parts that press hard on the sidewalls.

The habit is old. The Reusable Packaging Association dates automotive returnables to about 1930, when Ford's Rouge plant ran a returnable container department; by 1985 many companies reused plastic containers and pallets as routine. Distance drives the folding: a 2015 Logistics Management column put the point where return freight turns into a major cost at roughly 500 miles.

Who pays for the fleet varies. In a February 2019 Automotive Logistics Q&A, ORBIS described three models: the OEM owns the packaging, the tier supplier owns it and recovers the cost in the piece price, or the containers sit in a pool. Tell us which applies; it changes who signs off on used units.

Containers and footprints on an automotive dock

AIAG, VDA and what a spec sheet actually says

You will see "AIAG" on many 48x45 listings. Read it as the maker's statement. ORBIS says its BulkPak HDRS4845-24 "meets the specifications of the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)" and lists it at 48 x 45 x 24.9 in. outside, 19.5 cu. ft. and 116.7 lb tare. ORBIS also says its straight-wall totes "align with automotive industry standard 45" x 48" pallet footprints". The spec that binds you is the one in your program's packaging requirements, so attach it to the request.

KLT bins follow VDA 4500, a standard the German automotive association VDA first set for its own industry. The 600 x 400 and 400 x 300 mm modules combine to fill a 1,200 x 800 mm Euro pallet, and standard overall heights are 147.5 mm and 280 mm. A plant shipping into a European program gets the metric euro container from us, not an inch-size lookalike.

Batteries change the picture. ORBIS notes that lithium-ion batteries are classed as dangerous goods with their own handling and transport rules, and those rules reach the packaging. For electronics, Buckhorn lists ESD protection, shock and vibration work, and Class A surface protection among its custom options. We point such questions at the maker's documents.

On cleaning: pull dunnage before a pressure wash and let drain holes empty, because a returnable that comes back wet and gritty marks Class A paint.

New, used or refurbished for a vehicle program

New makes sense when a launch needs a set height, colour, door layout or molded-in ID, or when the program spec names a maker and model. Used suits service parts, overflow, plant-to-plant moves and parts that fit a common box. The 48x45 with drop doors on the long side turns up often in resale lots.

Grade A, B or C: we say which, and what the grade means for that box. On a bulk container that covers hinge pins, latch action, wall and corner cracks, deck condition and whether old dunnage is still inside. ORBIS itself grades its containers by condition rather than retiring them by age.

Dunnage is part-specific. A used bin carrying a previous program's dividers rarely fits your part, so we quote the shell and new dunnage as separate lines. In the RPA's 2020 industry report, 50% of respondents saw higher demand for automotive reusables over the prior year.

When a program ends: selling the returnables

End of production leaves a supplier with a fleet sized for a part nobody orders. Before it goes to the grinder, ask us for a buy price: count, footprint and height, fixed or folding, door count, maker and model, condition, whether dunnage is fitted, and pickup address. Our selling collapsibles page walks through it.

Settle ownership first: if the OEM or a pool owns the packaging, the release comes from them. Many of these loops run between supplier clusters in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.