Pallet size chart
The 48 x 40 is the most common pallet in North America. Other common sizes are tied to particular industries: 42 x 42 and 36 x 36 for beverage, 48 x 48 for drums, 48 x 45 for automotive, 40 x 40 for dairy. The first number is always the stringer length.
| Size | Listed for |
|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | Grocery and most US freight (GMA); about 30% of new wood pallets |
| 48 x 48 | Drums; the chemical sector |
| 42 x 42 | Beverage |
| 48 x 45 | Automotive; 7th in North American production |
| 48 x 42 | Chemical and beverage; 5th in production |
| 44 x 44 | Drums and chemical |
| 40 x 40 | Dairy |
| 36 x 36 | Beverage |
| 48 x 36 | Beverage, shingles, packaged paper |
| 48 x 20 | Retail; a half-width footprint |
| 32 x 30 | A small standard stringer size |
| 60 x 48 | No listed industry: oversized, drawn to the load |
| 96 x 48 | No listed industry: long, drawn to the load |
| 1,200 x 800 mm | The Euro pallet, for European freight |
Reading a pallet size
Every size in the chart is stringer length first, then deck-board length. A 48 x 20 has 48-inch stringers and 20-inch deck boards; a 20 x 48 would be a different pallet, lifted from its long side. Mixing the order up is the most common mistake on a pallet order.
There is no single standard
No universally accepted standard for pallet dimensions exists. Industries settled on the sizes that suited their products and trucks, and the chart reflects those habits. The 48 x 40 dominates because grocery did, and grocery freight is everywhere. One supplier’s standard stringer list runs 48 x 40, 48 x 42, 48 x 44, 48 x 45, 48 x 48, 42 x 48, 36 x 36, 32 x 30 and 30 x 30.
Picking a size
Start from the product. The load shouldn’t overhang the pallet, which crushes edge cartons, nor leave so much room that it shifts. Then check the truck: pallets should pack tightly into trailers and containers to avoid shipping air. If a customer or plant has a requirement, it decides.
Sizes outside North America
Europe uses the Euro pallet, 1,200 x 800 mm, and a larger 1,200 x 1,000 mm size; Asia and Australia have their own common sizes. US exporters who ship to those markets sometimes use a pallet sized for the destination’s racking. Name the destination if that applies.
Square footprints
Several common sizes are square: 48 x 48, 44 x 44, 42 x 42, 40 x 40, 36 x 36. Square pallets suit round containers and loads that are handled from either direction. They can be turned without changing how they fit a rack or a trailer row.
Half and partial pallets
The 48 x 20 is half a 48 x 40; quarter footprints are used for small displays. Partial pallets let retailers put product on the floor in smaller amounts.
When nothing on the chart fits
A custom footprint is drawn to the product. There is no extra mystery to it: the same members, sized and spaced for your load. See custom pallets.
Measuring a pallet
Measure along the stringers first; that is the first number. Then measure along the top deck boards; that is the second. On a block pallet, the first number follows the stringerboards. Round to the nearest inch only if the pallet is built that way; some sizes are fractional.
Footprint and the product
Lay out a layer of the product and measure it, wrap and labels included. The pallet should be the same size or a little smaller, never larger by more than the margin your carrier and customer accept. A pallet much larger than its load wastes space and invites the load to slide.
Footprint and the truck
Standard trailers take two rows of 48 x 40s loaded one way or the other; other footprints may leave gaps. If you ship full trailers of one size, ask how many fit.
Footprints from customers
Retailers, assembly plants and distribution centers may set the footprint for everything they receive. Their requirement overrides the chart.
Industry habits behind each size
Many of the common sizes trace to one trade’s products. Drums set the 48 x 48; beverage cases suit the smaller squares; automotive bins favour 48 x 45; dairy crates fit 40 x 40; shingle bundles fit 48 x 36. Where an industry has settled on a size, its buyers, warehouses and customers expect it, and switching is rarely worth the trouble. A new product line in an established trade usually follows that trade’s footprint.
Metric and imperial
North American sizes are given in inches, stringer length first. European and international sizes are given in millimetres. Convert carefully: 48 inches is 1,219 mm, not 1,200.
When no size fits
If none of these footprints suits your product, size from the product outward: measure the base, decide how much margin you accept (overhang is best avoided), then round to a whole inch that packs well in a trailer. A 53-foot dry van is roughly 100 inches wide inside, so two widths that add up to just under that use the floor best. Ask for a drawing before any lumber is cut.
Treat the chart as a starting list, not a menu. The best footprint is the one that fits your product, your trucks and your customers at once, whether or not it appears above. Odd sizes cost a little more to set up, then the same to repeat. Oddities abound: telecom, paint, cement, seed, bottled water, tobacco, military and export programs each have local favourites. Whenever someone quotes an unfamiliar size, ask them which direction the stringers run, whether it is a block or stringer design, and where the requirement originates.