Sizes · reference
Standard pallet size chart
Twenty footprints, in inches and millimetres, with the industry that actually uses each one and what it costs you in trailer space. Bookmark this and stop searching.
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In short
The standard pallet size in North America is 48″ × 40″ — the GMA pallet — which accounts for roughly a third of all pallets in circulation. Beyond it, about twenty secondary footprints serve specific industries: 42″ × 42″ for beverage and telecom, 48″ × 48″ for drums, 40″ × 48″ for military and retail, and so on.
The full chart with millimetre equivalents and 53-foot trailer floor counts is below. For the reasoning behind choosing one, read the pallet size guide.
How to read this chart without being misled
Three traps catch people using size charts.
Length is stated first, and length means the stringer
A 48 × 40 pallet has 48-inch stringers and 40-inch deck boards. A 40 × 48 pallet is physically the same object described from the other axis. If a supplier quotes 40 × 48 and you expected something different, ask which dimension runs along the stringer before assuming a mistake.
Nominal is not actual
A '48-inch' pallet is nominally 48 inches. Real reclaimed stock varies by up to half an inch, and deck board overhang varies more. If you are feeding an automated system, ask for a dimensional tolerance rather than a nominal size.
Trailer counts are floor counts
The numbers here are pallets per floor layer. Your actual truck capacity is that number multiplied by how many you can safely stack, which depends on load height, stack stability and trailer interior height — usually 110 inches or less.
The families behind the numbers
Standard sizes are not arbitrary. Each cluster exists because something specific needed to fit.
- The 48 family (48×40, 48×42, 48×45, 48×48) grew around the grocery trade and the dimensions of a US trailer. It remains the deepest resale pool in North America, which is why reclaimed 48×40 is the cheapest good pallet you can buy.
- The 42 family (42×42, 42×48) came from beverage and telecom, where square decks simplify rotation on a line.
- The drum sizes (48×48, 44×44) exist because four 55-gallon drums have a fixed footprint and it is not 48×40.
- The display sizes (36×36, 48×20, 32×30) are retail-driven, sized to aisle ends and store fixtures rather than to trailers.
- The metric family (1200×800, 1200×1000, 1100×1100) came from Europe and Asia and shows up in Ohio mostly on imported freight. See Euro and import sizes.
Which sizes we stock reclaimed
48×40 GMA is always available in Grade A, Grade B and combo. Most of the 42 and 48 families move through the yard regularly. Display and metric sizes are sourced rather than stocked, usually inside a week.
Genuinely odd footprints are almost always cheaper to build new or from reclaimed lumber than to hunt for. If your size is not on this chart, that is the conversation to have.
Converting between inches and millimetres without errors
Import and export paperwork moves between systems constantly, and rounding errors here cause genuine ordering mistakes.
One inch is exactly 25.4 mm. So a 48-inch pallet is 1219.2 mm, conventionally written 1219. A 40-inch pallet is 1016 mm exactly.
Going the other way, a 1200 mm Euro pallet is 47.244 inches, conventionally written 47.24 — not 48. That four-fifths of an inch difference is the reason Euro pallets do not sit correctly in North American racking, and rounding it away in a spreadsheet is how the wrong stock gets ordered.
Practical rule: state the dimension in the system the pallet was designed in, and put the conversion in brackets. `1200 × 800 mm (47.24″ × 31.5″)` is unambiguous. `48 × 32` is a footprint that does not exist.
How footprint choice changes your annual freight
The chart column that costs real money is the floor count, and the effect compounds across a year.
Take an operation shipping 200 trailers a year on a footprint yielding 26 per floor. Move to a footprint yielding 30 and the same volume needs roughly 173 trailers. That is 27 trucks a year that do not run.
The catch is that footprint is usually constrained by the load, not free to choose. But two situations make it worth revisiting: when the current footprint was inherited rather than chosen, and when the product or carton has changed since the pallet was specified. Both are more common than people expect.
Run your candidates through the spec bench before assuming the current size is right.
Reference
Standard pallet sizes
| Size (in) | Size (mm) | Typical industry | Per 53′ floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48" × 40" | 1219 × 1016 | Grocery, CPG, general freight | 30 |
| 42" × 42" | 1067 × 1067 | Beverage, telecom, paint | 30 |
| 48" × 48" | 1219 × 1219 | Drums and chemicals | 26 |
| 40" × 48" | 1016 × 1219 | Military, retail, produce | 30 |
| 48" × 42" | 1219 × 1067 | Chemical, coatings | 30 |
| 40" × 40" | 1016 × 1016 | Dairy, beverage | 30 |
| 48" × 45" | 1219 × 1143 | Automotive | 28 |
| 44" × 44" | 1118 × 1118 | Drums, chemical | 28 |
| 36" × 36" | 914 × 914 | Beverage, retail display | 34 |
| 48" × 36" | 1219 × 914 | Shingles, packaged beverage | 34 |
| 35" × 45.5" | 889 × 1156 | Military half-pallet | 30 |
| 48" × 20" | 1219 × 508 | Retail, display | 60 |
| 32" × 30" | 813 × 762 | Quarter display | 57 |
| 47.24" × 31.5" | 1200 × 800 | European, EPAL / EUR-1 | 40 |
| 47.24" × 39.37" | 1200 × 1000 | European industrial, EUR-2 | 32 |
| 43.3" × 43.3" | 1100 × 1100 | Asia-Pacific standard | 28 |
| 45" × 45" | 1143 × 1143 | Chemical, general | 28 |
| 42" × 48" | 1067 × 1219 | Chemical, coatings | 30 |
| 60" × 48" | 1524 × 1219 | Machinery, sheet stock | 20 |
| 96" × 48" | 2438 × 1219 | Panel and lumber | 12 |
Floor counts assume a 630″ × 98″ usable dry-van interior loaded straight or pinwheeled, whichever fits more. Total trailer capacity is the floor count multiplied by achievable stack height.
Reference
Metric equivalents and rounding
| Nominal | Exact mm | Conventional | Common error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48" | 1219.2 | 1219 | Rounded to 1220 |
| 40" | 1016.0 | 1016 | Rounded to 1000 — a 16 mm error |
| 42" | 1066.8 | 1067 | Rounded to 1050 |
| 36" | 914.4 | 914 | Rounded to 900 |
| 1200 mm | 47.244″ | 47.24" | Rounded to 48" — the classic Euro mistake |
| 1000 mm | 39.370″ | 39.37" | Rounded to 40" |
| 800 mm | 31.496″ | 31.5" | Rounded to 32" |
| 1100 mm | 43.307″ | 43.31" | Rounded to 44" |
One inch is exactly 25.4 mm. Errors of 16–25 mm are enough to stop a pallet fitting a rack bay or a container door.
Avoid these
Mistakes we see
Assuming length is the longer dimension
Length is the stringer dimension, not the larger number. A 40 × 48 pallet has 40-inch stringers; it is not simply a rotated way of writing 48 × 40 in every catalogue. Ask which dimension runs along the stringer.
Treating nominal as actual
A '48-inch' pallet varies by up to half an inch in reclaimed stock, and deck overhang varies more. For automated handling, specify a tolerance rather than a nominal size.
Reading floor counts as trailer capacity
The chart gives pallets per floor layer. Total capacity is that number multiplied by achievable stack height, which depends on load height and trailer interior height.
Rounding 1200 mm to 48 inches
It is 47.24 inches. That difference is exactly why Euro pallets leave a gap in North American racking, and rounding it away in a spreadsheet is how the wrong stock gets ordered.
Choosing an odd footprint to save an inch of deck
A non-standard size leaves the deep reclaimed pool behind and doubles your lead time. Unless the load genuinely requires it, staying standard is worth more than the material saved.
Checklist
Work through this before you order
Choosing a footprint
- Measure a built, wrapped load — not the carton spec
- Eliminate overhang first; it costs more than deck material
- Check the floor count for both orientations
- Confirm the size exists in the reclaimed pool, or accept a build
- Check it fits your racking bay depth
- Check your handling equipment can enter it
Questions
Before you ask us
What is the most common pallet size in the US?
48 inches by 40 inches, known as the GMA pallet after the Grocery Manufacturers Association. It represents roughly a third of all pallets in North American circulation.
How many pallets fit on a 53-foot trailer?
Twenty-six 48x40 pallets straight-loaded per floor layer, or thirty pinwheeled. Multiply by achievable stack height for total capacity, typically giving 480 to 560 pallets for a full load.
Is a 40x48 pallet different from a 48x40?
Physically it is the same pallet. The convention is that length is stated first and length runs along the stringer, so the two numbers describe the same object viewed from different axes.
What size is a Euro pallet in inches?
The EUR-1 Euro pallet is 1200 by 800 millimetres, which is 47.24 by 31.5 inches. It is narrower than a GMA pallet and does not load efficiently in a standard US 53-foot trailer.
How many pallet sizes are there?
Dozens exist, but about twenty account for the overwhelming majority of North American freight, and one — the 48 by 40 GMA — accounts for roughly a third of all pallets in circulation.
Is there an ISO pallet standard?
ISO recognises six pallet sizes rather than mandating one, including the 1200 by 1000 mm and the 1219 by 1016 mm North American footprint. It is a recognition of what is used rather than a single global standard.
Which pallet size holds the most weight?
Capacity is driven by construction rather than footprint. A smaller pallet with deep stringers and full deck coverage will out-carry a larger one built lightly. Compare specifications rather than sizes.
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