Editing Crate (section)

{{Short description|Large shipping container}}
{{Other uses|Crate (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Plantação de banana 11.jpg|thumb|Shipment of bananas in wooden crates]]
[[File:240 MM gun shipping crate - DPLA - c69e2dc78c4a527343cda41a17bc496a.jpg|thumb|250px|Military shipping crate]]
[[File:US Navy 030830-N-6187M-001 Sailors remove a hoisting sling from an ammo crate carrying 2000-pound Mark 84 general purpose bombs.jpg|thumb|A crate used to transport ordnance]]
A '''crate''' is a large [[shipping container]], often made of [[wood]], typically used to transport or store large, heavy items. [[Steel]] and [[aluminium]] crates are also used. Specialized crates were designed for specific products, and were often made to be reusable, such as the "bottle crates"<ref>See, for example, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wFILAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA23 "Patentability, Bottle-Crate"], U.S. Patent Office, 1914 (216 O.G. 1238).</ref> for milk<ref>See, for example, the Woolsey Crate, [https://patents.google.com/patent/US2160631 patent US2160631].</ref> and soft drinks.

Crates can be made of wood, plastic, metal or other materials. The term ''crate'' often implies a large and strong container. Most plastic crates are smaller and are more commonly called a [[case (goods)|case]] or [[container]]. Metal is rarely used because of its weight. When metal is used, a crate is often constructed as an ''open crate'' and may be termed a [[cage (enclosure)|cage]]. Although a crate may be made of any material, for these reasons, the term 'crate' used alone often implies one constructed of wood.