48x40 pallets

ISO accepts the 48x40 specification as the North American standard pallet size. The pallet came out of the 1960s standard that allowed four-way entry. The grocery manufacturers’ group that defined it no longer governs pallet specifications, but the size stuck, and a whole supply chain is built around it: racks, trailers, conveyors.

For a seller, that means 48x40 has the widest set of buyers. For a buyer it means the widest set of sources. If your pile is mostly 48x40 and mostly sound, it is the best case for a sale.

A dock set up for it has racks cut to that width, conveyor rollers at that spacing and forklift tines set for its openings. Any other size means slower handling, extra staging or rejection at the door, which is why a sorted stack of 48x40 is the easiest pallet to place and a stack of mixed sizes has to be divided first.

A 48x40 can be any of the grades. See Grade A for the sound ones and Grade B for repaired ones. A mixed pile of 48x40 with cores has to be sorted before anyone can say what it is.

• Grocery and food distribution, including the large distribution centers in Frederick and Prince William counties. See grocery distribution.
• E-commerce and parcel docks in Stafford and Fairfax County. See e-commerce fulfillment.
• Stores and restaurants inside DC, whose deliveries arrive on 48x40 and leave a pile behind. See restaurants and retail.

To sell: send the count, the grade and how it leaves the site through the sell request. To buy: say the grade and the rhythm in the buy request. For a standing supply by the trailer, see truckload pallets.

The table above gives published ranges for a standard pallet. It cannot tell a buyer what is in a particular pile.

Weigh and measure a few of your own pallets before you describe them, and note any that are visibly lighter, heavier or out of square.

The footprint divides evenly into the common carton sizes, which is why cased food, drinks and household goods are built on it. It also pairs with standard racking and trailer widths, so a load built on it ships without wasted air, which is the point of a standard.

• Measure the length across the stringers, not the boards.
• Measure the width across the deckboards, end to end.
• Take the height from the floor to the top of the top deck.
• Check three pallets, because worn ones can be a half inch off.

A pallet marked 48 by 40 may be a fraction under after repair or wear. That rarely matters for floor stacking but can matter on a conveyor or in a rack with tight clearances. Say how tight yours are when you describe the pallets you want.

For a pile of empties the useful question is space, not weight: a trailer fills with pallets long before it reaches a weight limit. Say how many stacks you have and roughly how tall each one is, and the count can be read from that.

A 48 by 40 pallet will not sit well beside a 42 by 42 or a euro pallet in the same rack bay. Store sizes in separate lanes, label each lane, and keep the odd sizes together so a forklift driver never has to guess. A short sign on each stack end saves minutes every shift, and a marked lane also shows at a glance when a stray 42 by 42 or euro pallet has crept into the wrong stack.

Some pallets carry a manufacturer’s brand burned into a block or stringer, a treatment mark or a stencil. None of these changes the size, but each tells a buyer something about origin or treatment, so mention any you see.

Count the pallets in one stack by the layers along its side, then multiply by the number of stacks, noting which are shorter or leaning. A tape held beside a stack gives its height, and dividing by one pallet’s thickness gives a check. Photographs taken from two corners settle any disagreement about the total.

What are the dimensions of a GMA pallet?

48 inches by 40 inches, which is 1,219 by 1,016 millimetres.

How many 48x40 pallets are in a truckload?

It depends on orientation and stack height. See pallets by the truckload; we do not quote a figure without a source.