Voyager Annelid's Milk Crate Page

Welcome to my page about Milk Crates!

I collect milk crates to use for storage, makeshift shelving, etc. - theyre a great ubiquitous, readily available storage solution. I also just think they're neat. They're very beautiful objects, in a mundane, industrial/utilitarian sort of way.

Any object im allowed to spend much time with, I eventually become fascinated by the variations in its design, different shapes, colors, etc. Milk crates are no exception - since I've been collecting them, the sheer variety in colors and patterns has caught my eye, and I've become interested in learning about the different companies that make them, the different dairy companies that use them, and the different designs in use over time.

All "standard" 16qt. milk crates are made to the same dimensions (13"x13"x11" external dimensions), and all makes are designed to be fully stackable and fully cross-compatible, and have been for decades. Still, so much variation in design exists due to many different manufacturers producing their own take on the design.

Also, they're Everywhere. Literally ubiquitous. I see them at work, in friends' homes, in random stores, garden sheds, the back of peoples trucks, tossed into the woods, etc etc. Dairy companies like to make it very clear that milk crates are for their use only, to transport dairy, but so many have ended up in the hands of ordinary people. I happen upon new ones to add to my bunch constantly.

I don't think its wrong at all to 'misuse' milk crates for everyday storage - I would feel very guilty though about snatching some off of a supermarket loading dock somewhere. I get them mostly from random junk shops & recycling centers, and from convincing friends to give me theirs.

Milk Crate History!

From the 1800s to the 1940s, dairy companies used wooden crates, reinforced with metal, to transport their products. In the 1950s, lighter-weight crates made of fiberglas, sheet metal, or metal wire became popular, largely replacing wooden crates. Not long after this, injection-molded plastic crates began appearing, and quickly became the standard owing to their light weight, low cost, and high durability.

Beginning the mid-1960s, manufacturers including Rehrig Pacific, United Steel & Wire Co., and Tedruth Plastics began manufacturing and marketing plastic milk crates. The first designs were solid-walled, resembling the wood crates that preceded them, but it was quickly realized that a "latticed" wall would make crates lighter and cheaper without sacrificing durability.

By the 1970s, many companies were producing plastic crates, each creating their own variation on the basic design. The widespread use of plastic milk crates continues to this day, with the basic design remaining relatively unchanged. Many dairy companies use milk crates of a specific color - either to match branding or to just make it easy for crates to be grouped and returned to the right place.

Different Makes & Models

Collecting information on the manufacturers that produce these crates has been challenging - the best way to get information very much seems to be to just handle a lot of milk crates, and take note of the manufacturer name and date of production molded into the crate.
Some crate designs were made by several companies in succession, due to one company buying out another and/or acquiring their molds - which can make it hard to ID the manufacturer of a crate at a glance, a close look is very often required.