[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":309},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page:\u002Fguides\u002Fnestable-vs-stackable-vs-rackable":3},{"tier":4,"sections":5,"faq":205,"sources":206,"related":219,"plate":259,"form":260,"scene":259,"path":261,"crumb":262,"ruler":263,"answer":264,"title":265,"h1":265,"description":266,"type":267,"schema":268,"reviewed":270,"crumbs":271,"jsonld":278},3,[6,38,51,77,112,159,168,175],{"h2":7,"blocks":8},"Three styles, three strengths",[9],{"t":10,"head":11,"rows":16,"caption":37},"table",[12,13,14,15],"","Nestable","Stackable","Rackable",[17,22,27,32],[18,19,20,21],"Built for","The empty return","The load on the bottom pallet","The load across a beam gap",[23,24,25,26],"Typical gain","Short stacks of empties","High static rating","A racking rating on the sheet",[28,29,30,31],"Typical cost","Little or no racking rating","Empties do not nest","Heavy and stiff; empties do not nest",[33,34,35,36],"Empties per 53 ft trailer, one maker, 48 x 40","1,200 to 2,340","About 540 in the rackable comparison","540","Maker-published figures for named models; the stackable column is the rackable comparison because makers rarely print one for stackables.",{"h2":39,"blocks":40},"How to choose",[41,48],{"t":42,"items":43},"ol",[44,45,46,47],"Does the pallet ever go on a rack? If yes, it needs a racking load on the sheet.","Does it return empty? If yes, the nestable saves trailers.","Does it sit in tall stacks for weeks? If yes, read the static rating and the creep guide.","Does it do more than one? Take the lowest rating of the jobs, and consider a multi-use model.",{"t":49,"text":50},"p","Some pallets cross the lines. Nelson Company lists a 48 x 40 x 4.8 in model that is nestable, stackable and rackable, with 10,500 lb static, 3,100 lb dynamic and 2,700 lb racking. The price of being all three is a lower number in each than a specialist carries.",{"h2":52,"blocks":53},"The return leg decides more than you expect",[54,56],{"t":49,"text":55},"A loop that returns 6,000 empty pallets a month needs 5 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables and 12 of rackables. Over a year that is 84 trailers of difference, before the cost of storing them. Run your own figure in the [calculator](\u002Fnest-calculator).",{"t":10,"head":57,"rows":62,"caption":76},[58,59,60,61],"Pallets to return","Rehrig Pacific Heavy-duty nestable (1,200 per trailer)","PHS Plastic EXP 100 nestable (2,340 per trailer)","Rackable (540 per trailer)",[63,68,72],[64,65,66,67],"3,000","3","2","6",[69,70,65,71],"6,000","5","12",[73,74,67,75],"12,000","10","23","Trailers = pallets ÷ the maker's per-trailer figure, rounded up. An example of arithmetic, not a quote.",{"h2":78,"blocks":79},"A stack worked out",[80,82],{"t":49,"text":81},"Take a stackable rated 12,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 2,848 lb it can hold 4 above, a stack of 5. With 6,890 lb per pallet it can hold 1 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.",{"t":10,"head":83,"rows":88,"caption":111},[84,85,86,87],"Loaded pallet, lb","Pallets above the bottom","Stack height","Load on the bottom pallet, lb",[89,93,96,99,102,105,108],[90,91,70,92],"2,848","4","11,392",[94,65,91,95],"3,355","10,065",[97,65,91,98],"3,862","11,586",[100,66,65,101],"4,369","8,738",[103,66,65,104],"4,876","9,752",[106,66,65,107],"5,883","11,766",[109,110,66,109],"6,890","1","Example for an assumed 12,000 lb static rating; use the maker's figure for the exact model.",{"h2":113,"blocks":114},"How tall the empties stand",[115,117],{"t":49,"text":116},"Stack height is the other half of the return leg. For the Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable, a stack of 12 stands 34.55 in and a stack of 24 stands 65.15 in, against 156.0 in un-nested.",{"t":10,"head":118,"rows":123,"caption":158},[119,120,121,122],"Pallets in the stack","Nested height, in","Un-nested height, in","Saved, in",[124,128,133,138,143,148,153],[71,125,126,127],"34.55","78.0","43.45",[129,130,131,132],"14","39.65","91.0","51.35",[134,135,136,137],"16","44.75","104.0","59.25",[139,140,141,142],"18","49.85","117.0","67.15",[144,145,146,147],"20","54.95","130.0","75.05",[149,150,151,152],"22","60.05","143.0","82.95",[154,155,156,157],"24","65.15","156.0","90.85","Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable: 6.5 in tall, 2.55 in nest increment. Height = 6.5 + (n - 1) x 2.55.",{"h2":160,"blocks":161},"Questions to put to the maker",[162],{"t":163,"items":164},"ul",[165,166,167],"Is the pallets-per-trailer number for nested empties, or for loaded pallets?","Do the legs ever jam when pallets are nested warm and then cold?","Does a nested stack need a strap or wrap to ship, and who supplies it?",{"h2":169,"blocks":170},"From the dock",[171],{"t":163,"items":172},[173,174],"A pallet that nests well but cracks at the corner after a season is not a bargain; ask for the service record.","Warehouses with low ceilings find nested stacks fit under sprinkler lines that tall un-nested stacks would hit.",{"h2":176,"blocks":177},"Words on this page",[178],{"t":179,"rows":180},"dl",[181,184,187,190,193,196,199,202],[182,183],"Dynamic load","The weight a pallet holds while it is moved by a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor. It is lower than static because motion adds shock.",[185,186],"UL","Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.",[188,189],"Recycled content","The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.",[191,192],"GMA pallet","The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.",[194,195],"Nest increment","The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.",[197,198],"Creep","Slow, permanent bending of plastic under a steady load. A pallet can hold a load for an hour and bow under it after a month.",[200,201],"Dunnage","Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.",[203,204],"Pallet pooling","A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.",[],[207,210,213,216],{"label":208,"url":209},"Rehrig Pacific, 40 x 48 heavy-duty nestable pallet","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rehrigpacific.com\u002Fsupply-chain\u002Fproducts-and-solutions\u002F40-x-48-heavy-duty-nestable-pallet",{"label":211,"url":212},"Rehrig Pacific, 40 x 48 rackable pallet","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rehrigpacific.com\u002Fsupply-chain\u002Fproducts-and-solutions\u002F40-x-48-rackable-pallet",{"label":214,"url":215},"PHS Plastic, nestable plastic pallets","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.phsinc.com\u002Fpallet\u002Fplastic-pallets\u002Fnestable\u002F",{"label":217,"url":218},"Nelson Company, 48 x 40 x 4.8 in nestable, stackable, rackable pallet","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nelsoncompany.com\u002Fpallet.cfm?Pallet=296",[220,224,227,231,235,239,243,247,251,255],{"path":221,"title":222,"blurb":223},"\u002Fnestable","Nestable Plastic Pallets by Footprint","Nestable plastic pallets sorted by footprint, rating and pallets per stack, with the empty-trailer count worked out.",{"path":225,"title":14,"blurb":226},"\u002Fstackable","Stackable pallets in plastic: the bottom pallet carries the stack, so static rating decides. Footprints, models and trade-offs.",{"path":228,"title":229,"blurb":230},"\u002Frackable","Rackable Plastic Pallets and Racking Load","Rackable plastic pallets carry a stated racking load across the beam gap. How to read it and which styles have one.",{"path":232,"title":233,"blurb":234},"\u002Fguides","Plastic Pallet Guides","Guides on nest ratio, the three load ratings, ISPM 15, fire listing, creep and cold, written from maker spec sheets.",{"path":236,"title":237,"blurb":238},"\u002Fguides\u002Fstatic-dynamic-and-racking-load","Static, dynamic and racking","Static is the load a pallet holds at rest, dynamic the load it holds on the move, racking the load it holds across an open gap. They are three tests, and the.",{"path":240,"title":241,"blurb":242},"\u002Fguides\u002Fispm-15-and-plastic-pallets","Guide: ISPM 15 and plastic pallets","ISPM 15 regulates wood packaging material in international trade. A plastic pallet is not wood, so it needs no heat-treatment or fumigation mark.",{"path":244,"title":245,"blurb":246},"\u002Fstackable\u002Fstackable-plastic-pallets","By static rating","Stackable plastic pallets listed by static load, from light stacks to 30,000 lb models, with entry type and deck notes.",{"path":248,"title":249,"blurb":250},"\u002Frackable\u002Fplastic-pallet-racking","Plastic pallet racking","Racking load is the weight across an open span between beams, often the lowest rating. How to match it to your racks.",{"path":252,"title":253,"blurb":254},"\u002Fnestable\u002Fnesting-pallets","Nesting pallets","How nesting pallets sit inside one another, what the nest increment adds to each stack, and why it matters on the return leg.",{"path":256,"title":257,"blurb":258},"\u002Fnestable\u002Fnesting-plastic-pallets","Nest ratio","Nest ratio for plastic pallets: how many empties fit in the height of one, and how that turns into trailer loads.",null,false,"\u002Fguides\u002Fnestable-vs-stackable-vs-rackable","Nestable vs stackable vs rackable",12,"Nestable pallets are short when empty, stackable ones carry a stack, rackable ones carry a load across a gap. Pick the one whose strength is the job, and accept what the others give up.","Guide: Nestable vs stackable vs rackable","Nestable pallets are short when empty, stackable ones carry a stack, rackable ones carry a load across a gap. Pick the one whose strength is the job, and.","guide",[269],"Article","November 12, 2026",[272,275,277],{"path":273,"name":274},"\u002F","Home",{"path":232,"name":276},"Guides",{"path":261,"name":262},{"@context":279,"@graph":280},"https:\u002F\u002Fschema.org",[281,291,299],{"@type":269,"@id":282,"name":265,"url":283,"description":266,"inLanguage":284,"isPartOf":285,"publisher":287,"headline":265,"dateModified":289,"author":290},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides\u002Fnestable-vs-stackable-vs-rackable#article","https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides\u002Fnestable-vs-stackable-vs-rackable","en-US",{"@id":286},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F#website",{"@id":288},"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F#org","2026-11-12",{"@id":288},{"@type":292,"@id":288,"name":293,"url":294,"email":295,"areaServed":296},"Organization","Nestable Plastic Pallets","https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002F","info@nestableplasticpallets.com",{"@type":297,"name":298},"Country","United States",{"@type":300,"itemListElement":301},"BreadcrumbList",[302,305,308],{"@type":303,"position":304,"name":274,"item":294},"ListItem",1,{"@type":303,"position":306,"name":276,"item":307},2,"https:\u002F\u002Fnestableplasticpallets.com\u002Fguides",{"@type":303,"position":4,"name":262,"item":283},1794519998229]