Buy · bulk
Buying cable reels in bulk
Buying cable reels in bulk means a flatbed load matched by size and build: the desk gathers reels as yards are cleared and ships them together once the count is met. Tell it how many, which flange range you can accept and what they are for, and it will say what it can gather and roughly when.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Who buys in bulk
- Event and rental companies that need tables in sets.
- Garden centres and landscapers that sell or use reels as displays and plant stands.
- Farms that use many reels for fencing, hose and poly pipe.
- Makers and furniture builders who use reels as material.
- Contractors and refurbishers who need working reels.
What a load looks like
The makers' published load tables give a sense of scale. Sonoco EcoReel fits up to 200 reels of 36 inches in a truckload, 120 of 42, 100 of 48, 60 of 50 to 54 and 39 of 60. AFL's table counts 22 to 38 reels nested in a 53-foot van at 58 to 72 inches, and 16 to 28 standing apart. Nesting means overlapping each reel's flanges with the next one's drum, which packs more into the same trailer.
Most bulk buyers do not need a full trailer. A flatbed load of a few dozen mid-size reels is more common.
How the desk gathers a bulk order
- You give a range. Flange sizes you can accept, build (nailed, plywood or either), condition (used or damaged), and the count.
- The desk sets reels aside from yard clear-outs and branch pickups as they come in.
- It tells you the count as it builds, and agrees a delivery date once the load is near.
- The load ships together, standing and strapped.
A narrow range (fifty 48-inch nailed reels, all with flat flanges) takes longer than a wide one (fifty reels from 36 to 48 inches, nailed or plywood).
Unloading a bulk delivery
A flatbed of reels needs a forklift or loader at your end, firm ground and a place to set them down standing. Reels under 36 inches can be hand-unloaded with a ramp and several people. Plan the drop area before the truck arrives: a row on timbers, flanges vertical, with a lane to move them later.
Matching sets
If the reels need to match (a restaurant patio, a wedding venue), say so. The desk will hold reels of one maker and size together.
Handling, in short
- Roll only on firm, level ground, pushing from behind the reel, and in the direction of any arrow painted on the flange.
- Chock both flanges every time a reel stands on its rims, front and back.
- Stay uphill. Nobody stands in the path a reel would take if it got away.
- Lift with forks long enough to reach under both flanges, or with a shaft through the arbor hole and a spreader bar so the slings clear the flanges.
- Never drop a reel off a tailgate or a dock edge. A cracked flange turns a reusable reel into scrap.
- Store on rims, on drained gravel or pavement, with walkways between rows. Lay small reels flat only where stacks stay square and low.
- Keep paper with steel. Serial numbers and invoices travel with any returnable reel until its maker has it back.
The details: moving reels, storing reels, readying a pickup.
Reading the numbers
- Flange
- The diameter of the round end, edge to edge. The size a reel is known by.
- Traverse
- The inside width between the flanges, where cable winds. It sets how tall the reel stands on end.
- Drum
- The diameter of the barrel the cable winds onto. Stiff power cable needs a big drum.
- Arbor hole
- The centre hole for a shaft. 3⅛ in on most wooden reels; 5¼ in and up on heavy steel ones.
- Weight
- Empty, or tare, weight in pounds as the maker publishes it. A tag on the reel gives the same figure.
- Series letter
- Southwire codes the build: A and C nailed, N plywood or nailed, E and G plywood, S steel.
Reels you are likely to have
| Reel | Build | Flange | Traverse | Drum | Lb | Usually carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-5 | Nailed wood | 23 | 17 | 12 | 34 | Copper building wire, grounding |
| A-10 | Nailed wood | 30 | 22 | 16 | 66 | Service drop, bare aluminium |
| N-24 | Nailed wood | 36 | 28 | 14 | 83 | Insulated and multiplex cable |
| A-29 | Nailed wood | 42 | 28 | 21 | 154 | Overhead conductor, feeders |
| A-38 | Nailed wood | 48 | 28 | 24 | 212 | Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders |
| A-62 | Nailed wood | 60 | 28 | 28 | 397 | Utility conductor |
| A-76 | Nailed wood | 66 | 28 | 30 | 473 | Heavy conductor |
| S-120 | Steel, returnable | 84 | 36 | 42 | 895 | Transmission and medium voltage |
Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure
Questions the desk gets
How many reels fit on a truck?
It depends on size. Sonoco's table gives up to 200 reels of 36 inches, 100 of 48 and 39 of 60 per truckload, loaded nested.
Can a bulk order mix sizes?
Yes. Give the range you can accept; a mixed load fills faster than one exact size.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- Sonoco, EcoReel Recycling Program: free pickup of truckloads of viable nailed wood and polyfiber reels; reels repaired and returned to wire and cable makers; reels-per-truckload table
- AFL, Wood Reel Recycling Program: nailed wood only, no plywood; flanges at least 1½ in thick and 30 in across; 75% of staves; full truckloads; mainly East Coast and Midwest