Is a 2.3% case arrival damage rate high?

Answer: Seven of 300 is ordinary. One lot near 2% sits inside normal variation, but three lots above 2% in a row point at the packing plan.

Are three dents enough to support a claim?

Answer: Yes, when they are 3 mm or deeper and line up with case damage, backed by six photos. Without alignment a dent only proves the carton was knocked about.

Who sets the five-layer stack?

Answer: The shipper's packing list. At 21 kg a unit, five layers load the bottom case with 84 kg and 3.43 kPa, so a pallet built for four and shipped as five leaves the dent.

What if the crate carries no ISPM 15 stamp?

Answer: Photograph it and ask the shipper for proof. Treatment means a 56 ℃ core held 30 min with a country code and HT mark; without it a border hold is the shipper's loss.

Can case arrival damage be claimed three days after signing?

Answer: Barely. The 24 h window is the divider, and past 48 h only commercial negotiation is left, with case photos but no record of the carton.

Case Arrival Damage: Whose Packing

Quick answer: Case arrival damage is settled by three measurable lines: dent-to-damage alignment, stack height above five layers, and a 24 h photo window.

Dents first, then the case
Five layers and the 0.8 m drop
Three decision lines
Twelve-millimetre boards and ISPM 15
Three parties, four actions
FAQ

1. Dents first, then the case

A 300-case shipment landed with three carton dents and seven broken cases, a damage rate of 2.3%. The dents sat on the lid face and the two side flutes, 3–5 mm deep, and every crack on those seven cases fell within 20 mm of the same side of the lid. That alignment is the whole argument: the load came down from above.

Dent shape says more than dent count. A dished lid centre means weight from the layer above, a bright vertical stripe on a flute means clamping, and a crushed corner with paper dust means the carton was thrown somewhere along the route.

Dent	Depth	Case damage	Load direction	Check first
Lid centre dished	3–5 mm	Lid sags	Top down	Stack height, pallet
Side flute stripe	2–4 mm	Wall bulges, latch offset	Side squeeze	Clamping, crowding
Corner crushed	Over 5 mm	Corner broken	Angled impact	Drop and throw record
Carton clean	0	Lid or base cracked	No external load	Wall, foam fit

A clean carton over a broken case moves the accounting. Wall thickness, foam contact and latch preload surface instead, and the evidence request goes to the case rather than the freight lane.

Two tools settle the step: a caliper for depth, a phone for the photo.

2. Five layers and the 0.8 m drop

Stacking is the first suspect. A 21 kg case stacked five high loads the bottom unit with 84 kg, which across a 600 mm × 400 mm footprint is 3.43 kPa, mild until polypropylene creeps at 40 ℃ for 30 days.

Case arrival damage inspection with three open cases on a wood-grain shelf, tool-shaped foam cutouts and numbered cavities

The mismatch is usually pallet against manifest: four layers built, five declared, and the extra layer leaves the dent.

A drop takes another path. From 0.8 m the carton lands at 3.96 m/s, and the impact is over in 3–5 ms on one corner.

Traces differ. Stack damage dishes the lid 2–3 mm while the latches still close; a dropped case whitens at the corner, shifts a latch 1–2 mm and needs a push before the lid seats.

Layers	Bottom load	Surface load	Usual result	Action
3	42 kg	1.71 kPa	No visible set	Keep
4	63 kg	2.57 kPa	Slight lid sag	Add boards
5	84 kg	3.43 kPa	Lid sags, dents	Change pallet
6	105 kg	4.29 kPa	Latches fail	Do not ship

Three numbers must agree: stack height on the list, layers on the pallet, usable rack height.

Splitting liability is why the load path is worth recording. Dent and crack both on the lid mean the stack exceeded its limit and the packer owns the pattern. A dent on a corner with a shifted latch means a drop and the carrier owns handling. No dent at all with a cracked shell means the case or its foam does not match the load. Write down dent position, dent depth and crack origin before anyone concludes.

3. Three decision lines

The measurements collapse into three lines that fit on a receiving form.

Line one, the dent: 3 mm or more and aligned points at packing and stacking; under 3 mm with a broken case points at the case itself.

Line two, the stack: five layers or more without boards fails the packing plan even when dents are shallow, because creep only shows up 30 days into the rack.

Line three, the clock: no photos within 24 h of signing and the burden moves to the receiver.

Order matters: dent, then stack, then clock.

A baseline keeps the lines honest. 2.3% is what this 300-case lot measured, and three lots above 2% in a row is a packing problem rather than bad luck.

4. Twelve-millimetre boards and ISPM 15

On a timber crate, read the IPPC stamp first. Compliant wood carries one stamp per side with a 2-digit country code, a 3-digit producer code and an HT mark; a missing stamp can stop the crate at the border and hands first liability to the shipper.

Case arrival damage evidence under a wood-grain shelf, a black case with a micrometer beside a grey case, lid half open

12 mm is the common export board. Measure three points and take the lowest: at 150 mm nail spacing a 12 mm board deflects about 4 mm under five layers, while a 9 mm board reaches 8 mm.

Read stamp and thickness together. A stamp over thin wood means a retreated second-hand crate; thick wood without a stamp means no heat treatment, and the border risk lands on the receiver.

Treatment holds the core at 56 ℃ for 30 min, which is invisible at the dock, so check stamp legibility, moisture under 20% and torn grain at the nails.

A crate opened before fails first: pulled nails lose about 40% of their holding power when driven back.

5. Three parties, four actions

Each party owns a segment, and writing it down removes half the argument.

The shipper owns packing: stack height, pallet specification, board thickness and stamps, plus photos of foam against shell. The carrier owns handling: carton count, transfer records and a picture of the load in the trailer. The receiver owns the clock: unpacking photos, a count sheet and a remark on the delivery note.

Party	Evidence to keep	Deadline	Cost of a gap
Shipper	Stack height, pallet, board, stamp	Before dispatch	Carries the packing fault
Carrier	Handover sheet, transfer, load photo	At handover	Handling damage unprovable
Receiver	Photos, count sheet, remark	24 h after signing	Burden returns to buyer

Four actions before signing. Stop: leave a deformed carton as found. Shoot: one close-up and one with the carton number per dent, six photos plus a 30 s clip. Count: segregate damaged units and count to 100%. Sign: write three dents, seven damaged cases, inspection pending.

Five documents make the file: the signed note, the dent photo pairs, the count sheet, the stamp photo with measured thickness, and the stack height with pallet specification.

Timelines run 24 h for photos, 48 h for the count sheet and claim schedule, 7 days for a decision on replacement, allowance or repair.

Conclusion

Case arrival damage ends on two sheets of paper: a dent-to-damage table and a three-party evidence split. Read four rows. A dished lid centre against a sagging lid points at stacking; a flute stripe against a bulging wall points at handling; a crushed corner against a broken corner points at a drop; a clean carton against a cracked shell turns the enquiry back to the case. Read three cells. The shipper supplies stack height, pallet specification and the stamp; the carrier supplies the handover sheet and the load photo; the receiver supplies photos inside 24 h and a 100% count. The three decision lines are the scale: a dent of 3 mm that aligns, a stack of five layers with no boards, a file older than 24 h. Leave any cell empty and the claim settles at an allowance instead of full liability. Copy the table onto the receiving form, and case arrival damage becomes paperwork rather than argument.

This article discusses container-side specifications and design implications only, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.