How Retail Distribution Centers Use Dunnage Airbags
Published on 05/29/25
One of the most challenging and crucial tasks that retail distribution centers face daily is transporting goods safely across various modes of transportation, including trucks, rail, sea containers, and intermodal systems. Ensuring cargo arrives safely at retail locations, free from damage and on time, can make the difference between a good and a bad experience for consumers.
Dunnage airbags have revolutionized the cargo control industry by stabilizing loads, reducing costs, and enhancing sustainability for retail supply chains. This blog post will discuss how retail distribution centers use dunnage airbags to ensure cargo arrives in excellent condition, reduce costs, and maximize efficiency. Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Understanding How Dunnage Airbags Work
Dunnage airbags are inflatable bags designed to secure and protect cargo during transportation. Our dunnage bags are constructed from either polywoven fabric or kraft paper and use an internal polyethylene bladder that can be inflated with compressed air using a dunnage airbag inflator.
Once inflated, these bags fill voids, brace loads, and absorb vibration to prevent cargo from shifting or sustaining damage due to impacts or movement while transporting from one location to the next.
Dunnage airbags are a lightweight and reusable alternative to wood beams or cargo bars. They support cargo side to side by pressing against interior trailer walls and are effective for truck, air, rail, and sea transport. Alternative methods, such as cargo bars or wood beam sockets using wooden 2×4s, are much better at holding cargo from shifting front to rear.
Both dunnage bags and cargo bars complement each other and provide a full 360-degree securement method to ensure your cargo remains in place during transport. 360-degree securement is especially important for cargo applications such as stacked pallets, boxes, or top-heavy cargo at risk of tipping over in transit.
The Different Types of Dunnage Bag Materials
When transporting cargo, keeping it secure during transit is critical. Dunnage bags play a key role in preventing load shifts and protecting products from damage. Two of the most commonly used types of dunnage bags are polywoven dunnage bags and kraft paper dunnage bags. Below, we break down the key differences between the two types of dunnage bags to help you determine which dunnage bag works best for your application needs.
Poly Woven Dunnage Bags
Polywoven dunnage bags are made from a woven polypropylene fabric. Polywoven bags are durable and suitable for heavy loads or long-distance shipments including overseas containers and rail transport. This style of dunnage bag is most commonly used by professionals in dry van trailers and moving vans.
Poly-woven dunnage bags also have a “walkway deflation” making the deflating process more convenient for dock workers or drivers when unloading. One of the major advantages of using poly woven over kraft paper is that the bags can weigh upwards of 60 percent less compared to similar sizes in kraft paper.
Generally, poly woven bags are considered more environmentally friendly due to their longer life span, reusability, and recyclability. These types of dunnage bags are made with a high burst strength and are also chemical resistant and fully waterproof. These bags are suitable for applications such as over-the-road trucks, overseas containers, rail boxcars, and intermodal use.
Kraft Paper Dunnage Bags
Kraft paper dunnage bags are cost-effective and are more suitable for lighter loads or shorter trips. These bags are also used in over-the-road trucking applications due to their shock-absorbing properties, which help reduce movement and prevent cargo from tipping over.
Kraft paper also provides a high coefficient of friction, which helps to lock the load in place once fully inflated. One of the downsides of bear paper dunnage bags is that they may be affected by humidity. Our high-strength kraft paper airbags are flexible and conform to the size of your load. The wide-mouth two-way valve allows for fast inflation and deflation using our twist-and-lock two-way valve.
Both our poly woven and kraft paper dunnage bags are AAR certified and are recyclable (including the inflator tip). The dunnage airbags are also reusable and are great for stabilizing your cargo and filling voids for a fraction of the price of alternative securement and stabilization products.
For further information or if you have any questions, call our experts today at 800-444-0956 or use our Contact Us page at the top of the website if you prefer email. We look forward to helping you make your next securement or stabilization application safer.
The Different Strength Levels of Dunnage Bags
Dunnage bags are categorized by strength and durability for various sizes and cargo weights. The amount of strength and durability each dunnage bag can offer greatly depends on the level of dunnage bag used.
Level 1 Tuffy Dunnage Bags have a working pressure of 2-3 PSI and a minimum burst pressure of 6-8 PSI. Level 1 is rated for loads up to 44,000 lbs. Tuffy Airbags are AAR (Association of American Railroads) verified and designed to secure lightweight cargo in various transportation methods, including over-the-road trucks, intermodal rail, and sea containers.
Level 2 Tuffy Dunnage Bags are also verified by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) for use in rail or ocean shipments and have a load capacity of 75,000 lbs. This level of dunnage bag may be recommended for certain types of cargo applications, but is primarily used for specific cargo securement applications. These bags have a maximum working pressure of 2-3 PSI and a minimum. Burst pressure of 6-8 PSI.
Level 5 Tuffy Dunnage Bags are AAR-verified and pass strict testing, including 19-day leak and burst tests. They handle heavy-duty loads up to 216,000 lbs (97,976 kg) and are mainly used as lengthwise void fillers in rail car shipments, such as roll paper and other high-weight cargo. These bags have a maximum void size of up to 18 inches for rail shipments and a maximum working pressure of up to 10 PSI.
Applications In Retail Distribution Centers
Retail distribution centers utilize dunnage bags to keep cargo secure during transport by truck, rail, sea, or air. When pallets are loaded inside enclosed trailers or containers, having empty spaces between the pallets allows cargo to shift or fail, leading to the product becoming damaged.
Dunnage bags fill these void gaps using inflatable bags of air to stabilize and keep the cargo safely in place. Once inflated using a 2-way nozzle inflator, the dunnage bags press the cargo tightly against the walls or other pallets. This helps prevent movement, especially with cargo that is double or even triple stacked, where traditional restraints are harder to apply or take longer to secure.
The inflatable design acts like a cushion to reduce the impact from bumps, vibrations, and sudden stops on your cargo. The added protection is important for fragile or at-risk-of-damage items such as electronics or glassware, which are more likely to break due to movement during transit.
Distribution centers often opt for fast-fill inflators to speed up loading times. Options include our high-speed pneumatic inflators and portable battery-powered units using either an 18-volt or 21-volt rechargeable battery pack. Portable inflators are designed to improve safety and efficiency in fast-paced environments. Portable inflators reduce tripping hazards from installed air hoses.
Dunnage bags are reusable and fully recyclable, including the valve tip. Using dunnage bags and fast fill inflators can cut inflation time by up to 50%, reduce product damage by up to 80%, and lower driver delays by 66% during the unloading process. This combination results in faster delivery, fewer returns, and a better retail experience for the customer.
