Nestable Pallets, 48 x 40 in Footprint

What rides on a 48 x 40 in pallet

• General shipping, grocery, retail and manufacturing
• Anything that goes on a standard North American rack
• Closed loops between a plant and a distribution centre

This is the North American default, also called the GMA pallet. It is the size makers list most models in: PHS Plastic's nestable list leans on it, and Container Exchanger puts it first among plastic pallet dimensions. Because the most models exist at this size, the range of ratings is the widest, from light nestables to a used one-piece HDPE rated 30,000 lb static.

It is also the only footprint on this site where the maker figures for empty-trailer counts are on file for several models. The calculator uses them: 1,200 to 2,340 per 53 ft trailer, depending on model.

Shape and size

• Perimeter: 176.0 in (4,470 mm).
• Diagonal corner to corner: 62.5 in (1,587 mm), which is the room a pallet needs to turn in an aisle.
• Area: 1.239 square metres, 13.33 square feet.
• Aspect: the long side is 1.200 times the short side.

In practice

Because so many racks, trailers and conveyors were built around 48 x 40 in, choosing it removes questions. A receiver rarely refuses it, a rack rarely needs a pallet-specific beam, and a spare is easy to find. The cost of that freedom is that the footprint tells you nothing about the load: it fits drums badly, bulk bags awkwardly and tall boxed freight well, so the rating, not the size, becomes the thing to read.

Where a 48 x 40 in loop goes wrong is in assuming every pallet of the size behaves alike. Two nestables can share a footprint and differ by 540 pallets on a trailer, and a static rating of 10,000 lb can sit beside a racking rating of none. Treat the size as the start of the sheet, not the end of it.

Against its nearest footprints

The table orders the closest four by area. A 48 x 40 in pallet is 1,920 sq in; the nearest listed footprint differs by 60 sq in. Footprint is the choice the container makes for you, and a small difference in area is a large difference to a rack beam or a drum.

Counting the empty trailer

This is the one footprint where several makers print the figures. The table counts trailers for three return volumes at each model's published per-trailer number, next to a rackable comparison.

48 x 40 in against every other footprint

Questions for the maker

• Which of static, dynamic and racking applies to the way the pallet is used
• The per-stack and per-trailer figures, if the pallet returns empty
• Entry type: 2-way or 4-way

From the dock

• A trailer loaded to the roof is limited by cube, not weight, which is why empties are priced by the trailer.
• Nesting pays only when pallets come back. A one-way shipment gains nothing from a deep nest except cheaper freight out.

Words on this page

GMA pallet

The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.

HDPE

High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.

Closed loop

A route where pallets return to the sender after delivery, so the empty trip is a standing cost.

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.