Standard Pallet Sizes: 48 × 40 GMA, Euro 1,200 × 800 & More

There is no single standard pallet size. What counts as “standard” depends on the region: ISO 6780, the international pallet standard, lists six footprints side by side, each used in different regions. Picking pallet sizes that don’t match the destination costs you in two ways. The receiving warehouse’s pallet racks (the steel beam shelving that holds loaded pallets) and handling equipment may not take them, and in an ocean container the wrong footprint leaves floor space you pay for but can’t fill.

Two sizes do most of the work in international trade: the US 48 × 40 in pallet and the 1,200 × 800 mm Euro pallet. This guide covers those two in detail, then the other regional sizes, how to choose by destination, and how to read a pallet’s load rating.

The two reference sizes: 48 × 40 in and 1,200 × 800 mm#

US standard pallet (GMA, 48 × 40 in)

When a US carrier or warehouse says “standard pallet,” it means 48 × 40 in, or 1,219 × 1,016 mm. It is also called the GMA pallet or the CBA pallet, after the Consumer Brands Association. It is the most common size in the US, at roughly 30% of new wood pallets. That makes it the default, but not something every US customer uses. A typical wood 48 × 40 in pallet weighs about 37 lb (17 kg).

We haven’t found a published standard height for the 48 × 40 in size. Wood pallets in general run about 14–16 cm, and CargoSum’s pallet calculator uses 14.5 cm for its 48 × 40 in preset.

Euro pallet (EPAL 1, 1,200 × 800 mm)

The Euro pallet, EPAL 1, is 1,200 × 800 × 144 mm, or about 47.2 × 31.5 in. It weighs about 25 kg, and its safe working load is 1,500 kg. When loaded pallets are stacked, the bottom one can carry up to 5,500 kg.

“Euro pallet” and “Euro-size pallet” are not the same thing. Both are 1,200 × 800 mm, but only a pallet carrying the EPAL brand is built under quality control, repaired to EPAL’s rules and accepted in pallet exchange, the European system where empty pallets are swapped back instead of being paid for on every shipment. An unbranded pallet of the same size has no exchange value.

The 800 mm width suits European road freight. Three pallets across with the 800 mm side facing the trailer width (3 × 800 mm), or two turned the other way (2 × 1,200 mm), both come to 2,400 mm. On a trailer about 2.4 m wide inside, that leaves almost no gap across the deck.

How much floor each one takes

A 48 × 40 in pallet covers about 1.24 m² (1.2192 × 1.016 m). A Euro pallet covers 0.96 m². That makes the US pallet about 1.29 times the size of the Euro pallet, or about 29% larger. The 1,100 × 1,100 mm Asian square pallet sits close to the US size at 1.21 m².

Other standard pallet sizes by region#

ISO 6780 lists six regional pallet sizes: 1,219 × 1,016 mm, 1,200 × 1,000 mm, 1,165 × 1,165 mm, 1,067 × 1,067 mm, 1,100 × 1,100 mm and 1,200 × 800 mm. The size 1,140 × 1,140 mm, which some lists include, is not one of them. The table below covers five of the six ISO sizes plus the half pallet, which sits outside ISO 6780.

UK pallet (1,200 × 1,000 mm). This is an ISO 6780 size. The EPAL version, EPAL 2, is 1,200 × 1,000 × 162 mm, weighs about 35 kg and has a safe working load of 1,250 kg.

1,100 × 1,100 mm pallet (T11, common in Japan and Korea). This is the Asian size in ISO 6780 and one of the standard flat pallet sizes in Japan’s JIS standards.

Australian standard pallet (1,165 × 1,165 mm). This is also an ISO 6780 size, but it fits poorly in ISO 20ft and 40ft containers.

Half pallet (EPAL 6, 800 × 600 mm). Half a Euro pallet: 800 × 600 × 144 mm, about 9.5 kg, with a safe working load of 750 kg and up to 1,500 kg on the bottom pallet in a stack. Don’t confuse it with the “half pallet” service class on UK pallet networks, which is a weight band that each network sets differently.

Which pallet size to use by destination#

United States. Use 48 × 40 in. US pallet racks, pallet jacks and slip sheets (thin fiberboard or plastic sheets used in place of a pallet) are generally built around that footprint.

European Union. If the freight will enter the pallet exchange network, use EPAL Euro pallets. For ocean freight into Europe, 1,200 × 1,000 mm is also worth a look. A 40ft container floor is 12.032 × 2.352 m, about 28.3 m². Twenty-five Euro pallets cover 24.0 m² of it (25 × 0.96 m²), while 22 UK pallets in a mixed layout cover 26.4 m² (22 × 1.2 m²). If you load the UK pallets all one way, you get 20 of them and the same 24.0 m² as the Euro pallets.

Within Asia. Use 1,100 × 1,100 mm when the receiving end’s handling requires it. Otherwise, pick whichever size your boxes divide into best. The pallet calculator will show you per-layer and per-pallet box counts for each candidate.

Ocean containers. None of the reference sizes was designed around container width. A 40ft standard container is 2,352 mm wide inside:

• Euro pallets: one lengthwise plus one sideways (1,200 + 800 mm) is 2,000 mm, leaving 352 mm.
• 48 × 40 in pallets: one each way (1,219 + 1,016 mm) is 2,235 mm, leaving 117 mm. Two with the 40 in side across (2 × 1,016 mm) take 2,032 mm.

On a single tier, that works out to 25 Euro pallets in a 40ft container: 15 with the 800 mm side along the container (12,000 mm) and 10 with the 1,200 mm side along it (12,000 mm), using 2,000 mm of width. The 48 × 40 in size fits 20: 11 with the 1,016 mm side along the container and 9 with the 1,219 mm side along it, using 2,235 mm of width. CargoSum’s pallets per container guide gives 21 for some layouts. For the exact counts by container type, see that guide and the container internal dimensions.

Two worked examples#

Example 1: Euro pallet vs. 48 × 40 in into Germany

You’re shipping 600 boxes, each 40 × 30 × 25 cm and 8 kg, from Asia to a distribution center (DC) in Germany that accepts both pallet sizes. Loads can be no taller than 180 cm, including the pallet.

• 48 × 40 in: 9 boxes per layer (3 × 3). Layers: (180 − 14.5) ÷ 25 = 6.62, so 6. That’s 54 boxes per pallet and 12 pallets for the order. See this in the pallet calculator.
• Euro pallet: 8 boxes per layer (4 × 2). Layers: (180 − 14.4) ÷ 25 = 6.62, so 6. That’s 48 boxes per pallet and 13 pallets. See this in the pallet calculator.

The 1,000 kg load limit doesn’t come into play: a layer weighs 72 kg on the 48 × 40 in pallet and 64 kg on the Euro pallet, which would allow 13 and 15 layers.

Per pallet, the 48 × 40 in size looks better. Per container, it flips. A full 40ft container holds 25 Euro pallets × 48 = 1,200 boxes, compared with 20 × 54 = 1,080 boxes on 48 × 40 in pallets (1,134 if the layout allows 21). The Euro pallets also go back into the German exchange pool, so there is nothing to dispose of. Unless the DC asks for 48 × 40 in, the smaller pallet moves more freight.

Weight is not a problem either. Each Euro pallet carries 384 kg of boxes plus about 25 kg of pallet, so 25 pallets come to about 10.2 t, well under a 40ft container’s payload of 26,840–28,750 kg.

Example 2: one pallet for both the US and Europe

If the same product ships to both markets, 1,200 × 1,000 mm is a reasonable compromise. It is 19 mm shorter and 16 mm narrower than 48 × 40 in, so it should fit most US racking. A 40ft container takes 20 of them loaded all one way (2 × 10), or up to 22 in a mixed layout: 12 with the 1,000 mm side along the container and 10 with the 1,200 mm side along it, using 2,200 mm of width. That’s about the same as the 48 × 40 in size, or slightly more.

The trade-offs: this size sits outside the EPAL 1 exchange system, and some automated US warehouses reject anything that isn’t 48 × 40 in. Confirm with both destinations before you commit.

Wood, plastic or presswood pallets#

Wood. Wood pallets, whether stringer pallets (deck boards nailed to long runners, the usual US build) or block pallets (deck boards on blocks, as on the Euro pallet), are the cheapest option and can be repaired. Any wood pallet crossing a border must meet ISPM 15, the international rule for wood packaging: the wood is debarked and heat-treated (marked HT) or fumigated with methyl bromide (MB), which the EU has banned since March 19, 2010. Untreated wood can be held for quarantine. A typical 48 × 40 in wood pallet weighs about 37 lb (17 kg).

Plastic. Plastic pallets are not wood, so ISPM 15 doesn’t apply. They’re the usual choice where hygiene matters, such as food and pharmaceuticals. Check the racked load rating before you put them in racking: some plastic pallets are rated for much less on a rack than on the floor.

Presswood. Presswood pallets are molded from wood fibers under heat and pressure. As processed wood, like plywood and OSB, they fall outside ISPM 15. They nest inside each other when empty and suit one-way export loads of moderate weight.

How to read pallet load ratings#

A pallet’s load rating is not a single number. There are three, and they are not interchangeable:

• Static load: the weight the pallet can hold sitting on a flat floor with the load spread evenly. This is the highest of the three.
• Dynamic load: the weight it can hold while a forklift or pallet jack is moving it.
• Racked load: the weight it can hold when it is supported only at its edges on beam pallet racking. This is the lowest, and going over it risks the pallet collapsing.

The order is always static, then dynamic, then racked. Published specs show how wide the gap can be. The EPAL 1 Euro pallet can carry up to 5,500 kg as the bottom pallet in a stack, but its safe working load is 1,500 kg. CHEP’s pooled 48 × 40 in block pallet (pallet pooling means renting pallets from an operator such as CHEP instead of buying them) is designed for a 2,800 lb evenly distributed load in normal use, while block stacking goes up to five high at no more than 10,000 lb. On a rack, that pallet is supported on its outer blocks, with free span in either direction. Those figures are for that one product, not a general rating for every 48 × 40 in pallet.

If the destination warehouse uses selective pallet racking, specify the pallet by its racked load rating. For the shape of the load itself (layers, boxes per layer and height limit), use the pallet calculator, and see how many boxes fit on a pallet for stacking patterns.

Pallet mistakes that show up on the invoice#

Leaving the pallet out of the freight dimensions. A pallet adds about 14–16 cm of height and about 17–35 kg of weight (17 kg for a 48 × 40 in wood pallet, 25 kg for EPAL 1, 35 kg for EPAL 2). Leave that out and your dimensional weight and density are wrong, and the carrier’s reweigh and reclassification charges follow. See how pallet dimensions affect freight density.

Shipping untreated wood across a border. A wood pallet without the HT mark can be fumigated, re-palletized or sent back, depending on the country. Each of those means delay plus handling charges.

Reading the static rating as the racked rating. A racked rating can be less than half the static figure. On EPAL 1, 1,500 ÷ 5,500 is about 27%. On the CHEP block pallet, 2,800 ÷ 10,000 is 28%. An overloaded beam rack can collapse, and a warehouse can refuse the delivery.

Asking for “Euro-size” on an exchange lane. The size is right, but unbranded pallets are turned away from the exchange pool, so you pay the full cost of a pallet on every shipment.

Choosing the pallet before checking the boxes. The same box uses each pallet size differently. With a 40 × 30 cm box, 8 boxes on a Euro pallet cover 8 × 0.12 = 0.96 m², or 100% of the deck. On a 48 × 40 in pallet, 9 boxes cover 9 × 0.12 = 1.08 m² of 1.2387 m², about 87%, leaving about 13% unused. Before you order pallets, test both candidates with your actual boxes.