<p>A racking beam (10) for an open faced racking system, comprising a bearing portion (12) that incorporates a bearing surface (13), a guiding portion (16) that is disposed along a first longitudinal edge (14) of the bearing portion, and a stiffening portion (18) disposed along a second longitudinal edge (15) of the bearing portion (12). The guiding portion (16) extends upwardly from the bearing surface (13) whereas the stiffening portion (18) extends downwardly and inwardly from the bearing portion by an amount sufficient to cause a principal axis X of bending of the beam (10) to be oriented within (20) relative to a nominal plane of the bearing surface and the shear centre S of the beam to be positioned so as to be laterally displaced from the second longitudinal edge (15) within the range of +30% to -10% of the width b of the bearing surface extending between the first and second longitudinal edges.</p>
