guidance/naming.md

What these boxes are called, and where the names mislead

The three families in this dataset have no agreed names. The same box is a Eurobox, a euro crate, a stacking tote, an industrial tote or a "KLT box" depending on who is selling it, and two of those terms also mean something else. common_names in containers.csv carries the search terms; this file says which ones are safe.

Verified 27 July 2026 against the four catalogues in listings.csv.

The names in common_names

Terms marked captured appear verbatim in a listing in listings.csv. The rest are ordinary trade usage in that market, offered as search terms — treat them as leads, not as evidence.

Euro stacking containers

Term	Where	Status
Eurobox, Euro container, Eurocontainer	Europe, general	captured
Euro crate, stacking crate	UK, NL	captured
Stacking tote, straight-wall tote	US	trade usage
Industrial tote	US, generic	trade usage
KLT box	vendor usage	captured — see the trap below
KLC	occasional	trade usage
Eurobehälter, Eurokiste, Stapelbehälter	Germany	trade usage
Bac gerbable, bac Euronorme	France	trade usage
Caja apilable	Spain	trade usage
Stapelbak	Netherlands	trade usage

Attached-lid containers

Term	Where	Status
Attached lid container, ALC	UK, EU	captured
Attached top container, ATC	US	trade usage
Attached-lid tote, distribution tote	US	trade usage
Hinged-lid crate	general	trade usage
Crocodile-lid box	UK	UK retail copy, for a recycled-material range; not in these captures
Hudson box	US	colloquial, after the vendor Hudson Exchange
Industrial tote	US, generic	trade usage
Klappdeckelbehälter, Deckelbehälter	Germany	trade usage
Bac à couvercle solidaire	France	trade usage

"Hudson box" is a genericised vendor name, like Hoover for a vacuum cleaner. It is in common_names because people search it, not because it denotes a standard — Hudson Exchange sells US-footprint totes (55.6 × 38.6 cm and similar), not 600 × 400 Euro modules, so a "Hudson box" is quite likely not palletisable on a EUR-1 the way an ALC from this dataset's 600 × 400 rows is.

VDA KLTs

Term	Where	Status
KLT, R-KLT, RL-KLT	automotive, worldwide	captured
Kleinladungsträger	Germany — the term KLT abbreviates	trade usage
Small load carrier, SLC	EN 13199 language	standard
VDA container, VDA 4500 carrier	automotive	standard
Automotive tote, returnable tote	US	trade usage
ESD KLT	conductive variant, electronics	trade usage (the one captured ESD listing is a euro crate, not a KLT)

Two traps

"KLT" is used loosely for boxes that are not KLTs. Salesbridges titles ordinary open-top euroboxes "Euro Container KLT Box" — 14 listings in these captures do it, at eight heights (18.5 to 43.5 cm) and on three footprints including 80 × 60, none of which is on the VDA 4500 grid of 147.5 / 213 / 280 mm or within the EN 13199 600 × 400 cap. A real KLT is a thicker-walled returnable carrier on that height grid; build_listings.py therefore classifies on the R-KLT / RL-KLT product line and SKU prefix, never on the word "KLT" alone. If you filter this dataset by name rather than by type, you will pick up euroboxes and call them automotive carriers.

"Tote" means opposite things in different markets. In US usage a tote is any industrial container, tapered or straight, lidded or open. In UK usage it leans towards the attached-lid product. "Industrial tote" therefore sits in common_names for both the Euro and ALC families, which is correct and also useless as a discriminator. Discriminate on type, lidded and nestable_when_empty, never on the name.

The reliable way to tell them apart

	Euro stacking container	Attached-lid container	VDA KLT
Walls	straight	sloping	straight
Lid	separate purchase	integral, hinged	separate
Nests empty	no	~75 %	no
Height grid	manufacturer's choice	manufacturer's choice	147.5 / 213 / 280 mm
type	euro_stacking_container	attached_lid_container	vda_klt_container

Names are for finding rows. type, lidded and nestable_when_empty are for using them.