Pallet Styles for Export shippers
Export shippers want the receiver's footprint, a light pallet and no wood treatment to certify. Plastic is outside ISPM 15.
The three asks
- The receiver's footprint. Europe often requires 1200 x 800 mm; Europe and Asia run 1200 x 1000 mm; bulk bags use 1100 x 1100 mm.
- A light pallet. Cabka describes plastic export pallets as built for one-way trips.
- No treatment. USDA APHIS regulates wood packaging material; plastic is outside it.
| Footprint | Millimetres | Area, sq in | Area, sq ft | Against 48 x 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro 1200 x 800 mm | 1199 x 800 | 1,487 | 10.33 | 77.4 percent |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1199 x 1001 | 1,860 | 12.91 | 96.9 percent |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 1100 x 1100 | 1,875 | 13.02 | 97.7 percent |
| 48 x 40 in | 1219 x 1016 | 1,920 | 13.33 | 100.0 percent |
The nesting angle
Even one-way pallets travel empty at least once, from the maker to the loading dock. A nestable cuts that trip. For 9,000 pallets, the heavy-duty nestable needs 8 trailers and a rackable 17, which is the difference between a light delivery and a heavy one.
| 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 9,000 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
Next
- The export hub lists the style pages.
- The footprint pages cover each region's size.
- The ISPM 15 guide explains the wood rule.
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 6 stands 19.25 in and a stack of 18 stands 49.85 in, against 117.0 in un-nested.
| Pallets in the stack | Nested height, in | Un-nested height, in | Saved, in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 19.25 | 39.0 | 19.75 |
| 8 | 24.35 | 52.0 | 27.65 |
| 10 | 29.45 | 65.0 | 35.55 |
| 12 | 34.55 | 78.0 | 43.45 |
| 14 | 39.65 | 91.0 | 51.35 |
| 16 | 44.75 | 104.0 | 59.25 |
| 18 | 49.85 | 117.0 | 67.15 |
A stack worked out
Take a stackable rated 30,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 3,520 lb it can hold 8 above, a stack of 9. With 7,562 lb per pallet it can hold 3 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.
| Loaded pallet, lb | Pallets above the bottom | Stack height | Load on the bottom pallet, lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,520 | 8 | 9 | 28,160 |
| 4,027 | 7 | 8 | 28,189 |
| 4,534 | 6 | 7 | 27,204 |
| 5,041 | 5 | 6 | 25,205 |
| 5,548 | 5 | 6 | 27,740 |
| 6,555 | 4 | 5 | 26,220 |
| 7,562 | 3 | 4 | 22,686 |
Words on this page
- ISPM 15
- An international standard on treating and marking wood packaging material. Plastic is outside it.
- UL
- Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.
- 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.
- One-way pallet
- A light pallet built to carry cargo to a destination and stay there, often used in export.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.
- Cube utilisation
- How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.
- Stretch wrap
- Elastic film wound around a loaded pallet to hold the load together.
Tell us the footprint and how many stacks you move.
We work out the empty trailer, then take the request for a load.