Guide: Reading a maker's pallet spec sheet
A maker's sheet is accurate and incomplete. It prints what the maker tested, and the missing lines tell you as much as the printed ones.
The lines that decide a purchase
| Line | Read it as | Missing means |
|---|---|---|
| Size and height | Footprint and the forklift opening | You cannot compute nest ratio |
| Weight | Weight of the empty pallet | No way to compare freight |
| Static | Load at rest, spread evenly | Do not stack it |
| Dynamic | Load in motion | Do not lift a heavy load on it |
| Racking | Load across a gap | Do not put it on a rack |
| Nest increment | Height each empty adds | It may not nest |
| Per trailer | Pallets per 53 ft trailer | Ask; do not guess |
| Material and recycled content | Resin and what is reground | Ask for the paper |
Rehrig Pacific's sheets print recycled content as a range by colour: up to 90 percent in black for one model, up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour for another. That is the kind of detail to find on a sheet and to hold the maker to.
Three habits
- Read the ratings in the order static, dynamic, racking, and stop at the one that applies.
- Look for the line that is not there.
- Ask whether the figures are for the exact model you are buying, new or reconditioned.
Every figure on this site carries the date it was last checked against the maker's page: November 12, 2026. Makers change sheets, so check again before ordering.
Trailers for your volume
Suppose 3,100 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 3 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 2 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 6 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 3,100 to 16,260.
| 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,100 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 5,730 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 8,360 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| 11,000 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 21 |
| 13,630 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 26 |
| 16,260 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 31 |
A beam load worked out
Take a pallet with a 2,000 lb racking load. A loaded pallet of 898 lb uses 44.9 percent of it and leaves 1,102 lb; one of 2,516 lb is 516 lb over. Rack engineers also apply their own safety margins, so treat the figure as a ceiling.
| Loaded pallet, lb | Share of the racking load | Left over, lb | Within the rating? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 898 | 44.9 percent | 1,102 | yes |
| 1,101 | 55.0 percent | 899 | yes |
| 1,304 | 65.2 percent | 696 | yes |
| 1,607 | 80.3 percent | 393 | yes |
| 1,910 | 95.5 percent | 90 | yes |
| 2,113 | 105.7 percent | -113 | no |
| 2,516 | 125.8 percent | -516 | no |
Words on this page
- Pallet pooling
- A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.
- Static load
- The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.
- UL
- Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.
- Nest increment
- The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.
- Closed loop
- A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.
- Footprint
- The length and width of a pallet deck. It is chosen to fit the container, the drum, the bag or the receiving rack.
- Dunnage
- Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.
Questions people ask
What if two makers print different ratings for the same size?
Compare the test method. A pallet tested on a flat floor, and one tested on beams, give different numbers for the same deck.
Tell us the footprint and how many stacks you move.
We work out the empty trailer, then take the request for a load.