A Master carton is a term used in the shipping box industry and refers to an outer carton that nests or holds a number of smaller inner boxes. There are many companies that prefer their products be packaged in small boxes and then packaged in a larger box. Plumbing supply houses, electrical supply companies to name a few. Many of their products are displayed loose in open bin boxes and or small boxes that are removed from the large shipping box, cut and put on the shelf as a display box. This allows for an easy method of merchandising their products by utilizing the smaller containers which is easier for replenishment.

Super shippers also called master cartons are easily cubed on a pallet for easy handling and transport. Freight companies appreciate pallets that are nicely cubed because it makes the trailer easier to load for the fork lift operator. Boxes that overhang a pallet by just an inch or two loose up to 35 percent to 45 percent of their stacking strength. Usually master cartons are engineered to fit standard sized pallets so this overhang can be alleviated.

Master Carton, shipping boxes are made from corrugated sheets with the fluting or corrugation direction running vertical and parallel to the depth and height of the shipping container. The corrugation is what gives the corrugated boxes its compression and stacking strength. There are different gauges and piling of flutes from A to E. C flute is the most common and is what is used for most of the standard and stock type shipping boxes. C flute has a higher arc than B flute but that doesn’t necessarily mean that C flute is engineered to be stronger than B flute. The dynamics and science of packaging design takes into consideration many factors that have to do with bursting and stacking strength and the way pulp fibers in a corrugated box are engineered and developed.