Every export cycle starts with the same purchase: another crate. A wooden engine crate is priced by area, around CNY 90 per square meter as a project reference, and it is consumed along the way. It protects one engine once, then it is landfill, broken panels, or a pile of scrap waiting for a container. None of it comes back to you.
A reusable engine shipping rack buys once and works the next shipment too. The Mtrack sample pallet carries the engine as a forklift-handleable unit, stacks under a second layer when the construction allows, and returns as a folded or disassembled base instead of an empty box. The argument is not that steel is stronger than wood. The argument is that one of the two is thrown away after every trip.
What a disposable wooden crate really costs per shipment
The CNY 90 per square meter reference is a panel area price, so the invoice arrives with the geometry of your crate: the larger the engine and the more clearance you want around it, the more square meters of board, batten, and blocks you buy. Then the crate is used — once. If the destination dealer damages a panel when opening, the crate is done, even if the engine arrives unscathed.
There are three costs hidden behind that one invoice. The first is repeated purchase: ten shipments means ten crates, ten sets of labor hours, and ten disposal costs at the far end. The second is packaging volume and mass, which eats into what you can load. The third is the handling and documentation burden that solid wood packaging brings in many markets — check the access rule for your destination, because it applies to the crate, not the engine.
Where the reusable rack changes the math
Mtrack is een stalen motorpallet, geen modelnummer uit de catalogus. Wielgroef, hellingbanen, voorwielpositionering of -klemming, U-vormige sjorhaken, vorkinvoer in twee of vier richtingen en stapelbare stijlen worden geconfigureerd op basis van uw motoromhulsel, uw vorkheftruck en uw container- of trailerafmetingen. Die configuratie maakt hergebruik praktisch: het rek positioneert dezelfde motor op dezelfde manier in cyclus één en in cyclus veertig.
De lege terugreis is waar een vast rek de zaak zou verliezen. Met neerklapbare stijlen, insteekbare staanders, of één opklapbare kant en één verwijderbare kant, gaat het beladen rek naar buiten als volledige eenheid en komt het terug als basissen plus gebundelde stijlen. Eén geregistreerd project nestelde 12 lege rekken in een kolom van 2.490 mm. Dat is een projectrecord, geen standaard, maar het laat zien hoe de terugreis planbaar is in plaats van een muur van lege kratten.
- Het rek wordt opnieuw gebruikt: dezelfde eenheid absorbeert de volgende motor, de volgende container, het volgende seizoen.
- Lege retourzending is ontworpen: opklapbare of uittrekbare staanders veranderen hoogte in een compacte basisstapel.
- Handling is herhaalbaar: vorkopeningen, wielpositie en sjorpunten blijven van cyclus tot cyclus identiek.
- Schade is inspecteerbaar: stijlen, pennen, lassen en basiselementen kunnen worden gecontroleerd en gerepareerd, in tegenstelling tot een geplet paneel.
Hoeveel rekken passen er: 40HQ- en 20ft-cijfers die met het project meebewegen
On the loaded side, registered Mtrack schemes land at 72, 88 and 90 racks in a 40 ft high cube, and 28, 32, 35 or 56 in a 20 ft container. Another registered scheme reached 135 racks in a 40HQ with a different rack size and a different loading direction. Read those numbers the way we do: as project results, not as a series specification. Rack footprint, style type, foldability, wheel locks, packaging and the direction in which the motors are loaded all move the count.
This is also why we do not convert a crate to a rack on paper. A crate is a one-way packaging measured in square meters; a rack is an asset measured in cycles. There is no fixed equivalence factor between the two, and a quote for it would only hide the variables that determine your actual costs. The container quantity is confirmed against the final approved packaging, together with the drawing.
The cost lines that really change
| Cost line | Disposable wooden crate | Reusable steel motor rack |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing pattern | Purchased anew for every shipment | One capital asset, reused per cycle |
| Reference price basis | Approximately CNY 90 per square meter of board | Quote per rack based on the approved drawing |
| After delivery | Consumed, not recovered | Recovered as a folded frame or bases plus uprights |
| Empty return trip | Nothing to send back | Designed return volume, confirmed per project |
| Repeated processing | New build, new fit every time | Same fork entry, wheel position and lashing points |
Recorded project load capacities are 250, 350 or 500 kg per pallet, subject to design review, and reference tare weights range from 70 to 108 kg. Those ranges exist because the rack is engineered, not selected from a list. Your load capacity, tier count and finish are fixed on the drawing, and every savings figure only becomes real after that — that is the honest limit of this article. How much a return trip saves depends on distance, carrier rate, container utilization and how many racks you can recover per trip. We do not publish a percentage we cannot substantiate for your line.
When the wooden crate is still the right answer
A reusable rack is a closed-loop decision, and some shipments do not form a loop.
- One-way export with no return path: nobody sends the rack back, so it becomes an expensive crate.
- Very low frequency: a single motorcycle every few years does not justify a steel capital asset.
- Geen vorkheftruck of handlingpartner op bestemming: een krat kan ter plaatse worden afgebroken, een rek heeft apparatuur nodig om te verplaatsen.
- Long-term uncovered storage: rain pooling in hollow sections can cause internal rust, so covered storage or an agreed finish is required.
If two or more apply, buy the crate and put the budget into protection instead. If your motorcycles return, read on.
What you need to send us for a shipment-based cost overview
We quote based on your shipping pattern, not on a price list. Send the number of shipments per month or per season, the container type you load (20ft, 40ft, 40HQ), your engine dimensions and weight, whether the rack returns to you or to the dealer, the destination market, and how the loaded rack must be handled on both sides.
With that data we can dimension the rack, record the folding or demountable construction for the return trip, and confirm the container count on the approved packaging instead of on a guess. Start with the folding construction in flat-folding engine rack for cost-effective empty return shipping, the loading plan in nestable engine shipping rack for 40ft container loading, or the full configuration in all-in-one folding engine rack for loading, stacking and return logistics.
Veelgestelde vragen
Is a reusable engine rack cheaper than a wooden crate from the first shipment?
No, and we will not claim that either. The crate is a smaller one-time invoice; the rack is a capital good that pays for itself over cycles. The break-even point depends on your shipment frequency, how many racks you recover per return trip and the freight rate on that lane, so it is calculated per project.
Can you tell me exactly how many racks fit in my container before I order?
We can commit to a figure once the rack dimensions, upright or folding construction, wheel chocks, packaging method and loading direction are fixed. Recorded schedules of 72 to 90 racks in a 40HQ and 28 to 56 in a 20ft show the spread those variables cause, not a promise for your load.
What happens to the racks on the return trip?
The uprights fold in, are pulled out, or one side folds while the other is released, so the empty racks travel as bases plus bundled uprights. One recorded project nested 12 empty racks in a column of 2,490 mm. The exact construction, stack height and recovery ratio are agreed on the drawing before production.
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