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DEF-061 · Loading · Stacking

Container loading damage

Poor dunnage and stacking crush the bottom tier before the ship leaves Mundra.

SeverityCRITICAL
MaterialAny cartoned furniture, worst on flat-pack and light cartons
Process stageContainer stuffing, at the factory ramp or the inland container depot
SurfacesAt devanning, on the tier nobody could see once the doors were shut.
Book the inspection that catches it All defects
Inside an open 40ft container: a crushed bottom-tier carton under a badly stacked load, lit by an inspector’s torch.
DEF-061LOADING · STACKING

Why it happens

Loading is paid by the container, not by the care taken, so heavy cartons go on top of light ones and void columns are left unbraced.

A stack that stands still in a yard does not stand still at sea. Weeks of vibration and roll compress the bottom tier, and unbraced voids let the load shift into itself.

The damage is sealed inside the box. It is created after the goods passed inspection, which is exactly why a passed pre-shipment inspection does not cover it.

Write it into the order

How to specify against it

A defect you can name in the purchase order is a defect an inspector can fail the shipment on. One you only describe in an email is not.

  1. Specify the stacking rule — heavy below light, maximum tier count for the carton spec — and put it in the loading instructions.
  2. Specify dunnage: airbags, corner boards and lashing where the load needs them, and require them photographed in place.
  3. Require a door-to-back photo sequence of the load as executed, and the seal number photographed close up.
  4. Book loading supervision as well as inspection. They are days apart and protect against completely different failures.
Where we catch it

The inspection point

Each of these is a numbered check on a published scope, so you can see exactly which visit finds this and when.

Further reading: Pre-shipment inspection or container loading supervision? · Container loading supervision, L-01 to L-12

Other defects in the library

Unseasoned timber cracking

DEF-011 · Wood · Moisture
Sheesham shipped above 12% moisture splits when it meets central heating in the US or EU. The single largest claim category.

Finish bloom in transit

DEF-024 · Finish · Humidity
Lacquer cured during monsoon humidity clouds and blushes inside a hot container.

Joint and frame failure

DEF-032 · Structure · Joint
Subcontracted assembly with undersized tenons or missing corner blocks — invisible until a customer sits down.

Catch this one before it ships.

Confirmed within 2 hours. Report within 24 hours of inspection. Paid by buyers only — never by factories.

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