Pallet Delivery Across Georgia
Most freight in Georgia moves on a pallet, and most of the trouble with it happens in the last hundred feet. The truck finds the address. Then there is no dock, no forklift, and nobody on site who can run one — so the pallet goes back on the trailer and the delivery becomes next week’s problem. That is the part we built the business around. Davis Delivery has been running palletized freight out of one dock in Buford since 1985, and every box truck in our fleet is liftgate-equipped, because most of our stops need one.
What It Costs to Ship a Pallet
Liftgate service is a flat $50 per delivery. Residential is $50 on top of the $50 liftgate — a hundred dollars, flat. Flat means flat: the same whether the pallet weighs 200 pounds or 2,000, quoted before the truck leaves the yard rather than added to an invoice two weeks later.
That is unusual, and it is worth understanding why. Almost nobody in LTL charges a flat rate for a liftgate. They bill it per hundredweight against the actual weight of the shipment, with a minimum underneath and a maximum on top. Across the published rules tariffs of the major carriers, the minimum charge runs from $75 to $235 per shipment — and a minimum is the floor, not the price. Residential is a second accessorial with its own minimum and its own maximum.
We publish the carriers’ own tariff item numbers, rates, minimums and maximums on our liftgate delivery page so you can check the comparison instead of taking our word for it. If accessorial billing is new to you, start with what a liftgate is and how liftgate service works.
How Many Pallets Fit on a Truck
A 26-foot box truck takes twelve skids floor loaded; a 53-foot trailer takes twenty-four, up to 44,000 pounds. Those are floor-loaded counts, not stacked, which is the number that actually matters when you are working out whether your freight moves as one shipment or two.
Past about ten skids, a truckload quote usually beats LTL. We will tell you that when it is true rather than letting you book the more expensive option — see truckload services if that is where your shipment lands.
Where the Pallet Actually Ends Up
Residential streets. Job sites with a gravel pad and no dock. Strip-center suites, churches, schools, medical offices, retail storefronts, second-floor walk-ups. These are the addresses that get a pallet refused and sent back by carriers whose drivers are not equipped or trained for them. For us they are routine, not an exception, which is why a liftgate delivery is never a scheduling problem here.
One Dock, Not a Terminal Network
Freight bound for a Georgia address is worked from our 70,000 square foot warehouse in Buford, just off I-985 at Exit 8. It does not route through an Atlanta terminal sort on the way to you. Every extra handling point is a chance for a corner to get crushed and a chance for a day to disappear, and fewer of them is the single biggest lever on both. Our damage claim rate runs under 1 percent.
The same building handles consolidation, repalletizing, seasonal storage and quality checks before the last leg — useful when several inbound pallets need to reach one address on one truck on one day. That work is described on our cross-dock warehouse and warehousing and distribution pages.
Pallet Freight We Move Every Week
- Flooring and tile — ceramic, porcelain, natural stone and luxury vinyl, where pallet orientation and corner strapping decide whether the load arrives whole. See tile and flooring delivery.
- Building materials — to job sites, with no dock and no forklift waiting.
- Retail and store fixtures — restocking pallets to storefronts on streets a 53-foot trailer cannot work.
- Manufacturing components — inbound parts on a schedule that matches the line.
- Appliances and furniture — residential addresses, with placement.
- Medical and lab equipment — offices and campuses with no receiving dock.
Where We Deliver Pallets
We run Monday through Friday out of Buford across North Georgia, Metro Atlanta and Southeast regional lanes. Our coverage list has every Georgia city we serve, and the ZIP code list is the fastest way to check one address.
Getting a Pallet Quote
Tell us the pickup and delivery addresses, how many pallets, roughly what they weigh, and whether either end has a dock. That is enough to quote it — liftgate and residential lines included, before the truck rolls.
Common Questions About Pallet Delivery
How much does pallet delivery cost?
The linehaul depends on distance, weight and freight class. The accessorials are what usually surprise people, and ours are flat: liftgate service is a flat $50 per delivery, and residential is $50 on top of the $50 liftgate — a hundred dollars, flat. Across the published rules tariffs of the major carriers, the minimum charge runs from $75 to $235 per shipment.
How does pallet delivery work if I do not have a loading dock?
The driver lowers the pallet to ground level on the hydraulic liftgate and moves it with a pallet jack to a spot you can reach. You do not need a dock, a forklift, or anyone on site who can operate one. Every box truck in our fleet is liftgate-equipped.
Can I take a pallet delivery at a house?
Yes. Residential pallet delivery is routine for us rather than an exception. It is billed as residential — $50 on top of the $50 liftgate — and quoted before the truck leaves the yard.
How much space do you need for a pallet delivery?
Enough room for the truck to stop safely and get the gate down behind it, and a firm surface to roll the pallet across. Gravel and grass are workable; a steep driveway or a street too narrow for the truck to clear is worth telling us about when you book, not when the driver arrives.
How many pallets fit on a truck?
A 26-foot box truck takes twelve skids floor loaded; a 53-foot trailer takes twenty-four, up to 44,000 pounds.
