Roll Cages for Supermarket and Wholesale Deliveries: Types, Sizes and Prices

Which roll cage do supermarkets and wholesalers actually use?

The roll cage that moves most grocery in the UK is the 2-sided nestable type, also called a roll container or logistics trolley: a steel base on four castors, two mesh sides that fold in, and an open front and back. Empty, the sides fold and one cage nests into the next, so a returning vehicle carries a stack of them in the space one loaded cage takes. The 2-sided nestable wire mesh roll container is rated 500 kg and starts from £28 ex VAT, bulk price.

A 3-sided cage adds a fixed back panel, which stops cartons sliding out on ramps and tail lifts and gives you a wall to stack against. A 4-sided cage adds a front gate as well and is the choice for mixed loads, bakery trays and anything that would otherwise fall out when the vehicle brakes. Tell us 2, 3 or 4 sides on your enquiry and the configuration is confirmed on your written quote.

Shelved cages split the load into layers so you are not stacking bread under tins. Locking cages add a door for stock that has to be counted and secured between the yard and the shop floor. If stock only ever moves across a warehouse floor, a warehouse trolley or platform trolley is the cheaper tool, but for anything that goes on a vehicle, use a roll cage. All of these sit in our roll container range, made to order at our partner factories and inspected before dispatch.

2, 3 and 4-sided roll cages compared: capacity, use and price

The table sets out the four cage types most buyers ask about. Prices are guide prices in GBP ex VAT, and the written quote confirms the final figure for your quantity.

Two further types are worth knowing. Stackable wire storage cages are built to stack on top of each other, which suits bulk lines in a cash and carry or a 3PL warehouse. Security cages with a lockable door, such as the 300 kg locking storage cage from £48 ex VAT, bulk price, keep tobacco, spirits and electricals under lock between goods-in and the shop floor.

Supermarket and delivery roll cages

Supermarket roll cages carry picked orders from a depot to the store and out onto the shop floor, so they need a 500 kg rating, castors that roll over tail lift lips and door thresholds, and sides that fold so the empties nest for the trip back. That is the 2-sided nestable cage in the table above, from £28 ex VAT, bulk price, or the dip galvanised version where cages stand in the rain or go into a chiller.

Delivery roll cages for wholesale and home delivery rounds see more braking and cornering, so a 3 or 4-sided cage keeps cartons in place, and a shelved cage keeps bread and small goods off the heavy cases. Specify a brake castor if cages stand on a tail lift or a sloping yard, and tell us how many cages your rounds need for a written quote.

How much weight does a roll cage need to carry?

Most cages in the range are rated between 300 kg and 500 kg, with lighter 200 kg and 250 kg models for small goods and a 600 kg rolling pallet cage at the top. For a supermarket or wholesale delivery, 500 kg is the sensible default: a cage full of canned goods, drinks or chilled dairy gets heavy fast, and the rating has to cover the worst case on the round, not the average.

Two things matter more than the headline number. First, the castors: the rating is only real if the wheels and their fixing plates carry it, so look for a decent wheel diameter that rolls over yard thresholds and tail lift lips. Several models in the range run on 127 mm (5 in) polyurethane wheels, which are quieter on a shop floor than nylon. Second, the base: a welded steel base with a mesh or solid deck will not sag under a full load the way a light frame does.

If cages are pushed up ramps or across rough yards, specify a brake castor on at least one wheel. The 3-layer roll cage trolley with brake is rated 500 kg across its shelves and starts from £64 ex VAT, bulk price.

Zinc plated or dip galvanised: which finish lasts?

Both are zinc coatings on steel and both look silver when new. Zinc plating is a thin electroplated layer: bright, tidy and fine for cages that stay in a dry ambient store. Hot dip galvanising is a far thicker coating applied by dipping the finished frame in molten zinc, which is why it survives wet loading bays, chillers and daily wash-down without rust taking hold at the welds.

For supermarket and wholesale work, where cages go out in the rain, sit on a tail lift and get hosed down, specify galvanised. The 500 kg dip galvanised steel roll container starts from £28 ex VAT, bulk price. On a cage that will be in service for years, the thicker coating is the better buy.

How many roll cages fit on a delivery vehicle?

Work it out from two measurements rather than a rule of thumb. Take the usable deck length and width of the vehicle in mm, and the footprint of the cage from the product page. Divide deck length by cage depth and deck width by cage width, round both down, and multiply: that is your loaded count with cages nose to tail. Keep a strap, load bar or the vehicle's own restraint rail across each row, because a loaded roll cage on castors is a moving load, not a pallet.

Two-sided nestable cages change the sums on the way back. With the sides folded the cages slide into each other, so the empties from a full delivery come home in a fraction of the deck space. Ask for the nested pitch, the deck length each additional empty cage adds, on your written quote: it decides how many drops one vehicle can make before it has to return empties.

What to check before you buy roll cages

• Quantity. Larger quantities get lower unit prices. Tell us how many you need and the quote is priced for that quantity.
• Rated capacity. Match it to your heaviest cage, not your average one: 500 kg for grocery and drinks, 300 kg for dry goods and returns, 200 kg only for light small goods.
• Finish. Dip galvanised for wet, chilled or outdoor use; zinc plated for dry indoor stores.
• Castors. Wheel diameter, wheel material, fixed or swivel layout, and whether you want a brake on the cage.
• Footprint and height. Check the cage against your vehicle deck, tail lift platform, door widths and chiller door height.
• Maintenance. Roll cages are work equipment, and the HSE's PUWER 1998 guidance expects them to be kept in good repair. Bent sides, seized castors and missing pins are the faults that hurt people, so build a check into the returns process.
• The quote. Prices on the site are guide prices in GBP ex VAT. Your written quote confirms price, freight, duty, VAT and lead time, and is valid for 30 days. Open a trade account to keep repeat orders simple.