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Wooden crates, ISPM-15 and packing machinery for the sea
The wooden crate around your machine is the only part of the shipment that customs can order destroyed. That sounds dramatic until you know why: raw wood moves insects between continents, and every major trading country checks for it. Here is what the ISPM-15 standard asks, how to recognise a compliant crate, and how a machine should actually be packed.
Why the wood in your crate is regulated
ISPM 15 — the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, published under the International Plant Protection Convention (the FAO-hosted treaty that underpins plant-health rules worldwide) — is titled “Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade”. It requires that solid wood packaging — crates, pallets, skids, dunnage — be treated to kill wood pests and stamped to prove it. China applies the standard to exports through customs-registered treatment enterprises, which apply the mark after treatment.
What is regulated, what is exempt
| Wood in the shipment | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solid wood crates and cases | Regulated | The classic export crate: raw sawn timber, nailed or screwed. Must be heat-treated and marked. |
| Pallets and skids made of raw wood | Regulated | Including the runners and blocks — every solid-wood component over 6 mm thick. |
| Dunnage, bracing, blocking | Regulated | The loose timber used to chock and secure cargo inside a container counts too — a forgotten offcut can fail an inspection. |
| Plywood, OSB, fibreboard, particle board | Exempt | Processed wood (glue, heat, pressure) is not a pest pathway. A plywood crate needs no mark. |
| Wood 6 mm thick or less | Exempt | Thin enough that pests cannot complete a life cycle in it. |
| Sawdust, wood wool, shavings | Exempt | Not a pathway for wood pests. |
A practical note: most export machinery crates are built from a mix — plywood panels on a solid-wood frame. The frame is the regulated part; the plywood panels are not. What decides compliance is the solid wood, so that is what carries the mark.
The HT mark: what it says and who may apply it
HT stands for heat treatment: the wood’s core held at a minimum of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, with the bark removed before or during treatment. The official mark combines the IPPC wheat-sheaf symbol, a two-letter country code (CN for China), a unique producer registration number, and the treatment code — and it must appear on at least two opposite sides of the piece. Only producers registered with and audited by the national plant protection authority may apply it; a hand-stamped or self-made mark is not compliance, it is just ink. (The other recognised treatment, methyl bromide fumigation — code MB — is legal but increasingly restricted as an ozone-depleting substance; heat treatment is the default today.)
What happens when packaging fails
When wood packaging arrives without valid treatment, the importing country does not shrug. Customs can order the packaging treated, destroyed, or the shipment re-exported — in the United States, for instance, non-compliant wood packaging must be re-exported from the same port it arrived at. In every version of the story the costs land on the importer and the cargo does not move until it is resolved. This is the reason the crate gets a forwarder’s eyes before pickup: the cheapest moment to fix a crate is while it is still in the supplier’s yard.
How a machine should be packed
- Skid or crate, matched to the machine. A skid is an open base — runners under the machine, forklift slots, sometimes the machine bolted to it — right for heavy, concentrated loads handled with equipment. A crate is the fully enclosed version: six-sided protection plus internal bracing, right when the machine needs weather or impact shielding. Heavy machines often travel skidded inside a crate frame, which is both.
- Moisture and corrosion control. A container crossing the ocean cycles through humidity swings; machines exposed to that arrive spotted. Standard practice: vapour-corrosion-inhibitor film or paper around bare metal, desiccants inside the wrap, and shrink wrap over the crate’s contents.
- Shock and tilt indicators on sensitive equipment — cheap labels that turn red if the crate was dropped or tipped, useful at delivery and for any insurance conversation afterwards.
- Secured for the voyage. Inside the container, the crate is lashed and braced so it cannot shift — the same securing practice described in our oversized cargo guide.
The buyer’s two-minute crate check
Before the truck arrives: ask the supplier directly whether the crate is heat-treated to ISPM-15; look for the stamp on two sides of the crate or skid; and photograph the packing before it leaves — photos settle disputes faster than memory. If the packing looks inadequate for the weight, say so before payment: re-crating at origin is a line item, re-exporting cargo at destination is a crisis.
Not sure the packing will survive?
Send photos of the crate — we will tell you whether it is fit for export before anything moves.