Palletized handling greatly improved logistics productivity and utilization of storage facilities and freight vehicles. For example, the average number of tons handled per man at Quartermaster Corps depots doubled from the 3rd quarter of 1943 to the 2nd quarter of 1945, reflecting the improvements brought by palletized methods. Palletized handling vastly improved loading and unloading times and sped up turn-around times on urgently needed rail freight cars and cargo ships.
Another result of using forklifts and palletization was a significant reduction of material handling personnel and heavy manual labor. The reduction of heavy manual labor allowed women to fill roles in material handling, freeing men for military service.
Pallets were used for supplies with greater resistance to crush damage, such as buckets of paint or kegs of nails. A third type of pallet, according to Risch, was a collapsible box-shaped framework that was equipped with upright standards and diagonal cross-pieces; these were used to store bulky or irregularly shaped goods and also to provide greater stability to supplies that were easily damaged.
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