Export pallets, sized to where they land

Export pallets are built light, sized to the receiving country and made to be left behind. Plastic is outside ISPM 15, so there is no wood treatment to certify.

Export, in short

Wood packaging rule: ISPM 15applies to wood, not plastic
Common size, Europe: 1200 x 800 mm
Common size, Europe and Asia: 1200 x 1000 mm
Built for: One way tripsLight on purpose

USDA APHIS and Cabka, reviewed November 12, 2026.

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Why plastic for export

A wood pallet that crosses a border has to carry a mark showing it was heat-treated or fumigated under ISPM 15. USDA APHIS describes the rule for wood packaging material; plastic is not wood, so the rule does not reach a pallet moulded from resin. That removes a certificate, a treatment and a reason for a container to be held at a port.

Export pallets are also built to be light. Cabka lists export-specific plastic pallets whose job is to carry the cargo one way and cost little to lose. The cheapest freight on a pallet is the freight you do not pay for, and a light pallet weighs less in a container.

Where export goes wrong

The wrong footprint. A pallet that does not match the receiving warehouse's racking or the container's floor wastes the container.
A rating that does not cover the leg. Light pallets are rated for the trip they were built for.
Assuming the destination's standard is yours. 48 x 40 in is the North American standard; Europe uses 1200 x 800 mm and often 1200 x 1000 mm.

Receiver's rules come first

Some importers specify the pallet. Ask the receiver for its footprint, its rack size and any paperwork it expects before you pick a style.

Pages for exporters

Question	Page
What does a built-light pallet look like on paper?	Plastic export pallets
Which footprint for which container?	Export plastic pallets: footprint and container
What does ISPM 15 actually cover?	Plastic pallets for export and ISPM 15
Which region wants which size?	Export footprints

Trailers for your volume

Suppose 4,270 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 4 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 2 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 8 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 4,270 to 22,410.

Trailers = pallets ÷ the maker's per-trailer figure, rounded up. An example of arithmetic, not a quote.
Pallets to return	Rehrig Pacific Heavy-duty nestable (1,200 per trailer)	Rehrig Pacific Standard-duty nestable (1,260 per trailer)	Nelson Company Nestable, stackable, rackable (1,800 per trailer)	PHS Plastic EXP 116 nestable (1,260 per trailer)	PHS Plastic EXP 100 nestable (2,340 per trailer)	Rackable (540 per trailer)
4,270	4	4	3	4	2	8
7,900	7	7	5	7	4	15
11,520	10	10	7	10	5	22
15,150	13	13	9	13	7	29
18,780	16	15	11	15	9	35
22,410	19	18	13	18	10	42

How tall the empties stand

Stack height is the other half of the return leg. For the Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable, a stack of 8 stands 24.35 in and a stack of 32 stands 85.55 in, against 208.0 in un-nested.

Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable: 6.5 in tall, 2.55 in nest increment. Height = 6.5 + (n - 1) x 2.55.
Pallets in the stack	Nested height, in	Un-nested height, in	Saved, in
8	24.35	52.0	27.65
12	34.55	78.0	43.45
16	44.75	104.0	59.25
20	54.95	130.0	75.05
24	65.15	156.0	90.85
28	75.35	182.0	106.65
32	85.55	208.0	122.45

Questions to put to the maker

What footprint tiles the container floor best for your cases?
Does the receiving country ask for a treatment mark on plastic, or only on wood?
What documents does the forwarder need from the maker?
Is a nestable version offered, to cut the empty leg?
Is the pallet meant for one trip, or will it be returned?
Which receiver handling equipment does the pallet need to match?
Does the sheet give a rating for a container and for the stack in it?
How is the pallet recycled at the end of its trip?
How much does the empty pallet weigh, since every pound is freight?
Is the pallet light enough to survive being tipped by hand at the receiving end?

From the dock

Pallets that cross water are exposed to humidity and salt air; plastic ignores both better than most materials.
A receiver without forklifts will unload by hand; a lighter pallet and an open deck can matter more than rating.
Container floors are unforgiving: a pallet an inch too wide wastes a whole row.
Foreign racks follow their own standards; the receiving rack, not yours, sets the footprint.
Plan for the pallet to be re-used locally; a good plastic pallet outlives the shipment that carried it.
One-way pallets are priced to be left behind; build them into the cost of goods, not the return.
A load strapped to a pallet by the shipper should survive being slid, not just lifted.
A forwarder cares about the pallet that arrives in the container, not the one you quoted; confirm before booking.
Light pallets save freight on every trip; the pallets that come back heavy cost the same again.

Words on this page

One-way pallet: A light pallet built to carry cargo to a destination and stay there, often used in export.
ISPM 15: An international standard on treating and marking wood packaging material. Plastic is outside it.
Cube utilisation: How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.
UL: Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.
Dunnage: Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.
GMA pallet: The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.
Recycled content: The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.
CP9: A chemical industry pallet standard, 1140 by 1140 millimetres, about 45 by 45 inches.

Questions people ask

Do I need an ISPM 15 stamp on a plastic pallet?

No. The standard applies to wood packaging material. A plastic pallet carries no treatment mark, but check the importing country's own rules for any other packaging documents.