Can I mix different plywood specifications in one container?

Can I mix different plywood specifications in one container at Minh Thanh?

Yes. A 40HC from a Vietnamese mill can carry more than one plywood specification: different thicknesses, faces, face/back grade pairs, glue classes and, by agreement, different cores. Each specification is pressed, graded and packed on its own, then the packs are loaded into the same container.

At Minh Thanh the normal pattern is:

• One or two specifications per container as standard.
• Three to six specifications by agreement.
• Whole packs for every specification, each pack about 1,000 mm high.
• A weight check of the full plan against the payload before production starts.

The minimum order stays one 40HC, mixed or not. Mixing lets a first-time buyer test two or three products in one shipment, and lets a distributor restock several lines at once without waiting for a full container of each.

What can you mix in one plywood container?

Almost any specification the mill makes can share a container. What changes is how easily it plans:

The face and core options at Minh Thanh: 10+ face veneers, mostly EV, poplar, birch, okoume and pine, on white Styrax or Eucalyptus cores, with Acacia and Pine cores on order. Thickness runs 3–40 mm in 1220 × 2440 and 1250 × 2500 mm, plus custom sizes.

How does the mill plan a mixed container?

A mixed container is planned in packs, then checked by weight. The steps at Minh Thanh:

1. List every specification with face, core, glue, thickness, size, grade pair and quantity.
2. Convert quantity into packs. Sheets per pack = 1,000 mm ÷ thickness, rounded down: 55 sheets of 18 mm, 66 of 15 mm, 83 of 12 mm.
3. Count the floor positions. A 40HC takes 16 packs lying (4 × 4) plus 2 upright at the end: 18 packs with light Styrax panels.
4. Weigh the plan. Sheet weight = sheet volume × core density; compare the panel weight with the payload, then add the packing for the booking.
5. Trim by weight. If the total passes the payload, reduce packs of the heaviest specification first.
6. Confirm with the buyer before production: packs and sheets per specification, total m³ and weight.
7. Pack and label each specification apart, so your warehouse books it in by line.

The packing calculator runs steps 2 to 5 for one specification; for a mix, send the list and we return the plan.

Why does weight decide a mixed load, not volume?

A 40HC fills by weight before it fills by volume once the core is dense. The pack count by core, for 18 mm sheets of 1220 × 2440 mm:

We use a planning payload of 28,000 kg unless your booking is lower. Panels, pallets, covers, straps and other packing must fit within that payload; a 26,000 kg booking reduces the available panel weight. Mixing cores moves the result between these rows: every Eucalyptus pack that replaces a Styrax pack adds weight and may cost a floor position.

Treat container counts by volume as a ceiling, never as the load. The delivered load is the one that passes the weight check with packing included.

Can you mix different thicknesses of plywood in one container?

A furniture buyer wants carcass, shelf, door-back and drawer-bottom panels from the same poplar-faced Styrax board. All 18 packs are the same core, so only the sheet count per pack changes:

Sizes 1220 × 2440 mm, density about 500 kg/m³. The panel weight leaves about 1,414 kg within the 28,000 kg planning payload for pallets, covers, straps and other packing. The load fills the planned positions; confirm the packed cargo weight before approving the booking.

Can I mix core types in one 40HC container?

Yes. Different core types can share a 40HC container, because each pack is one specification and the packs are loaded by weight. Light Styrax and denser Eucalyptus packs can share the container when the combined panel and packing weight stays inside the booking payload and every pack is labelled.

A cabinet buyer wants light Styrax-core carcasses and denser Eucalyptus-core panels for wall units and heavy doors, all 18 mm:

The weight figure uses 650 kg/m³ for Eucalyptus; real Eucalyptus runs 650–750 kg/m³, so we weigh sheets of the order before the final plan. Adding a seventeenth Styrax pack brings panel weight to about 26,900 kg, leaving the difference for packing within the 28,000 kg planning payload; an eighteenth pack exceeds it before packing.

Compare that with a container of Eucalyptus only: 15 packs, 795 sheets, about 43 m³. Each Styrax pack in the mix buys back volume.

How many specifications can one container hold?

One or two specifications is the standard at Minh Thanh, and three to six works by agreement. The limit is practical, not technical:

• Floor positions. A 40HC has 18 positions with Styrax packs, fewer with denser cores. Six specifications at three packs each already fill it.
• Pack sizes. Whole packs simplify the plan; agree any smaller pack and its securing arrangement with the mill.
• Production runs. Every face, grade pair and glue class is its own press and grading run. Many small lines take more planning in the 15–45 days.
• Your warehouse. Each line is a separate stock item to receive, store and sell.

A mix of two or three specifications in several packs each gives the cleanest container. Beyond six, split the range over two consecutive containers.

What is the minimum quantity per specification?

Plan every specification in whole packs. A pack is the unit that is built, wrapped, strapped, labelled and photographed; any smaller pack needs an agreed protection and securing arrangement.

These full-height pack examples are roughly 3 m³ each. Confirm the minimum quantity and packing arrangement for each specification with the mill.

How is a mixed container of plywood from Vietnam packed and loaded?

Each specification is packed and marked on its own, so the container can be unloaded line by line:

• Pack by specification. One specification per pack, never two thicknesses in one stack.
• Mark each pack. Pack number, specification, sheet count; your own labels or edge marks by agreement.
• Spread the weight. Dense and thick packs are spread along the floor, not grouped at one end.
• Load in unloading order. The specification you need first goes near the door, if your warehouse asks for it.
• Film and photograph. Every container is photographed and filmed before loading, and you receive the photos and video.

A container forced past its plan, with packs crammed in to add volume, breaks pack bases and has to be unloaded by hand. The plan is built to avoid that.

What documents does a mixed container need?

One set of documents covers the whole container, with a line for each specification:

The certificate files follow each product: CARB P2 / TSCA Title VI for the panels in its scope, and the EUDR dossier with origin records and geolocation files for EU orders. Minh Thanh holds CARB P2 / TSCA Title VI certification (ICTT mill no. 23024). The limit for veneer-core hardwood plywood is 0.05 ppm under EPA’s emission-limit guidance. The EUDR dates for large operators come from Regulation (EU) 2025/2650: 30 December 2026. Phytosanitary and fumigation certificates and insurance under CIF are part of the set as usual.

Which plywood combinations work well together?

The mixes that plan most cleanly share a core, so weight and packs stay predictable:

1. Carcass and backs. 18 mm and 9 mm of one panel for cabinet bodies and backs.
2. Thickness ladder. 9, 12, 15 and 18 mm for a furniture range, as in worked plan 1.
3. Two grade pairs. A/B for visible fronts and B/B for laminated or hidden parts.
4. Two faces. Poplar for painted parts and birch or okoume for visible natural faces, both on Styrax.
5. Full sheets and cut-to-size. Stock sheets with parts cut into 4, 6 or 8 pieces for your line.
6. Light and dense cores. Styrax carcasses with Eucalyptus parts, as in worked plan 2, checked by weight.

Mixes that need most care: a dense core with thin panels in large numbers, and thick Eucalyptus panels with a low booking payload.

How do you request a mixed-container quotation?

Send the mix as a list, one line per specification. For each line:

1. Application: furniture, cabinets, packing, interior fit-out.
2. Core: Styrax or Eucalyptus; Acacia or Pine on order.
3. Glue and emission: UF at E0, MR or WBP; CARB P2 if needed.
4. Face and back: species and grade pair.
5. Thickness and size: 1220 × 2440, 1250 × 2500 mm or custom.
6. Quantity: in sheets, m³ or packs.

Add the destination port, your booking payload if you know it, and the term: FOB Hai Phong, CFR or CIF. We return the pack plan with sheets, m³ and weight per line before you pay the deposit.

What does this mean for your first order?

A mixed first container is the low-risk way to start with a new mill. Our advice:

• Test free samples of each specification first.
• Keep the mix to two or three lines, in whole packs.
• Keep one core if weight is tight; add a second core only with the weight check.
• Agree the plan in writing: packs, sheets, m³ and weight per line.

Terms are the same as for a single-specification order: MOQ one 40HC, production 15–45 days after the 30% deposit, the 70% balance against the scanned B/L or an irrevocable L/C at sight, delivered FOB Hai Phong, CFR or CIF. Full terms are on the trade terms page.