Nestable pallets by footprint
Eight nestable footprints, from the 48 x 40 in default to the 1200 x 1000 mm ISO size. The container decides which.
Eight footprints
| Footprint | Page |
|---|---|
| 48 x 40 in | 48 x 40 in nestable |
| 48 x 48 in | 48 x 48 in nestable |
| 48 x 45 in | 48 x 45 in nestable |
| 45 x 45 in | 45 x 45 in nestable |
| 43 x 43 in | 43 x 43 in nestable |
| 42 x 42 in | 42 x 42 in nestable |
| 48 x 32 in Euro (1200 x 800 mm) | 48 x 32 in Euro (1200 x 800 mm) nestable |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1200 x 1000 mm nestable |
| Footprint | Millimetres | Area, sq in | Area, sq ft | Against 48 x 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 in | 1219 x 1016 | 1,920 | 13.33 | 100.0 percent |
| 48 x 48 in | 1219 x 1219 | 2,304 | 16.00 | 120.0 percent |
| 48 x 45 in | 1219 x 1143 | 2,160 | 15.00 | 112.5 percent |
| 45 x 45 in | 1143 x 1143 | 2,025 | 14.06 | 105.5 percent |
| 43 x 43 in | 1092 x 1092 | 1,849 | 12.84 | 96.3 percent |
| 42 x 42 in | 1067 x 1067 | 1,764 | 12.25 | 91.9 percent |
| 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 |
Each page gives the arithmetic for its footprint, what rides on it and what to ask the maker. Nesting numbers are printed for only some models; where a maker does not print them, the page says so.
Trailers for your volume
Suppose 940 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 1 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 1 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 2 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 940 to 4,920.
| 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 940 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1,730 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2,530 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 3,330 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 4,120 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 4,920 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
Which footprint, in three questions
First: what rides on the pallet? Drums, bags, bins, cartons or a receiving country's standard each point at a size, and that is nearly always the answer. Second: does the pallet come back? A nestable is chosen for the empty return, and the per-trailer figure for your size is the number to ask for. Third: what is the lowest rating that applies? Static, dynamic or racking, whichever your use needs.
If those three questions settle on 48 x 40 in, you are in the best-served corner of the market. If they settle elsewhere, expect fewer models and more blanks on the sheets, and plan to ask the maker for the per-stack and per-trailer figures instead of reading them off a page.
From the dock
- Hollow legs collect meltwater and grit; a rinse before nesting keeps stacks from sticking together.
- Count empties by stack height against a mark on the wall, not pallet by pallet, and the tally takes seconds.
- Nesting pays only when pallets come back. A one-way shipment gains nothing from a deep nest except cheaper freight out.
- Warehouses with low ceilings find nested stacks fit under sprinkler lines that tall un-nested stacks would hit.
- A trailer loaded to the roof is limited by cube, not weight, which is why empties are priced by the trailer.
- A pallet that nests well but cracks at the corner after a season is not a bargain; ask for the service record.
- Return legs are often the cheapest freight a carrier hauls, which is why closed loops lean on the nest figure.
- A returning stack is judged at the dock door: crooked stacks, cracked legs and a missing strap cost more time than the pallets save.
- Forklift operators prefer stacks that stand square to the tines; a leaning stack gets re-stacked by hand.
Words on this page
- Dunnage
- Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.
- 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.
- Pallet pooling
- A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.
- Recycled content
- The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.
- 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.
- Footprint
- The length and width of a pallet deck. It is chosen to fit the container, the drum, the bag or the receiving rack.
- Closed loop
- A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.
- Nest increment
- The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.
- 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.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.
Tell us the footprint and how many stacks you move.
We work out the empty trailer, then take the request for a load.