Grade

Grade C gaylord boxes

Heavier wear and repairs. Planned at half strength, for one-way and short-term use.

Strength we plan: 50% of rated
Looks like: Heavier creasing, some taped repairs, a worn but intact bottom; usable once or twice more.
Who usually buys it: Scrap collection, clean-outs, maintenance work, one-off moves.
Request note: Say "Grade C" in the notes

Grade C boxes have creasing, taped repairs or a worn bottom. They are the right grade for what they are cheapest at: collecting scrap, one-way moves, short trips and holding material that is going to be baled.

What it looks like

Heavier creasing, some taped repairs, a worn but intact bottom; usable once or twice more.

How high it stands

Grade C: how high 3-wall boxes stand, by place
Place	Share kept	3-wall at 300 lb	Why
Heated warehouse	50%	Two high	dry, steady air
Unheated dock	33%	Do not stack	damp, cold air and swings in temperature
Trailer	30%	Do not stack	condensation inside a closed box and a rough ride
Cooler	28%	Do not stack	humid air, near the 90% level that halves board strength
Covered outdoors	25%	Do not stack	humidity that can pass 85% to 90%

Stack Check, 30 days under load. Share kept is grade times place.

Grade C works when the box is a container, not a column. Fill it low, leave it on the floor, and do not stack it unless Stack Check says so for your numbers.

A worked example

3‑wall Grade C boxes at 300 lb a box, in a heated warehouse for 30 days, come out as "two high". Move the same boxes to a covered outdoor stack and the answer becomes "do not stack". The box did not change; the place did.

Grades are planning figuresThe shares are ours, set to be cautious. They sit on top of published derating: about half the strength lost at 90% relative humidity, and nearly 45% lost after 90 days under load in humid conditions.

See the grades hub, new or used, the buy desk, the sell desk and recycling.

What Grade C is for

Grade C is a short-term box. It suits a load that moves soon: a transfer between buildings, a project staged for a week, scrap on its way out. It is a poor fit for a stack that stands a month or more, because its margin is spent. If you are unsure, ask for B.

Taped repairs and one-way loads

Grade C is where a box starts to carry repairs: taped seams, patched corners, flaps re-glued. Those fixes keep a box on its feet but do nothing for the board around them, and a patched corner is often the next place to fail. The grade is therefore a one-way, short-trip grade, planned at half the original strength, and best for loads that are light for the box or that will not stand long.

Questions, answered

What does Grade C mean for a gaylord?

Heavier wear and repairs. Planned at half strength, for one-way and short-term use.

How do I say which grade I want?

Put the grade in the notes of the request, with the wall count and where the boxes will stand.

Request a quote

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Sources and last reviewed

Facts on this page were last reviewed 2026-11-11.

PaperIndex Academy: humidity and corrugated strength: How corrugated board loses compression strength as relative humidity climbs from 50% to 90%.
AICC: strengthening corrugated against cold weather: Industry guidance on cold weather, condensation between temperature zones, and strength lost over 90 days under load.
EPA: paper and paperboard material-specific data: United States recycling rates for corrugated boxes and other paper.
Container Exchanger: new or used gaylord boxes: The same reseller on when new boxes make sense and what used grades mean.