Dunnage is a term for off-cut or spare pieces of scrap wood. "Dunnage" is a common word throughout many trades in New Zealand, Australia, The Americas, and Britain such as welding, carpentry, building construction, etc. Dunnage is used to support loads and prop tools and materials up off the ground such as jacks, pipes, and supports for air conditioning and other equipment above the roof of a building.

In waterfront ship-loading usage "dunnage" means packing (wood, or nowadays sometimes strong inflatable bags) to prevent damage to ships and cargo.

When unloading a ship, sometimes there is a problem as to what do with the dunnage. Sometimes the dunnage cannot be landed because of customs duties on imported timber, or quarantine rules to avoid foreign insect pests getting onshore, and as a result often the unwanted dunnage is later furtively jettisoned overside and adds to the area's driftwood problem.

Truck Dunnage

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Often called Dunnage Air Bags. Originally Rubber bags were used to brace pallets inside trucks. They later evolved into Kraft Paper bags with a plastic bag interior. As the use of metal strapping became less popular, many companies now use polyethylene or vinyl- based bags because of their low cost. Dunnage Air Bags are a type of inflatable packaging.

External links

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• Dunnage
• Dunnage History