Skid vs pallet

Technically, a skid has only a top deck on stringers or blocks — no bottom deck boards — while a pallet has both top and bottom decks. The bottom deck spreads weight and lets pallet jacks work from more angles, which is why pallets dominate modern shipping. Skids drag more easily and stack lower, historically used as permanent machine bases and in operations that slide loads rather than lift them.

In everyday freight conversation the words are interchangeable — a carrier asking 'how many skids?' means pallets. Documentation is where precision matters: count handling units consistently on the BOL whatever you call them.