Pallet Size Table
| EUR type | Dimensions (mm) | Role |
|---|---|---|
| EUR 1 | 800 × 1,200 × 144 | The full EUR-pallet, EPAL exchange standard |
| EUR 2 | 1,200 × 1,000 × 144 | ISO 2 equivalent, 33 kg |
| EUR 3 | 1,000 × 1,200 × 144 | ISO 3 equivalent, 29 kg |
| EUR 6 | 800 × 600 × 144 | Half EUR |
| - | 600 × 400 | Quarter EUR, retail display |
| - | 400 × 300 | One-eighth EUR |
| Standard (W × L) | Wasted floor in ISO container | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 in (1,016 × 1,219 mm) | 3.7% (20 fit in 40 ft) | North America |
| 1,000 × 1,200 mm | 6.7% | Europe, Asia |
| 1,165 × 1,165 mm | 8.1% | Australia |
| 1,067 × 1,067 mm (42 × 42 in) | 11.5% | North America, Europe, Asia |
| 1,100 × 1,100 mm | 14% | Asia |
| 800 × 1,200 mm | 15.2% | Europe (fits standard doorways) |
Two pallet worlds share the planet's freight: the 48 x 40 inch GMA pallet that owns North American grocery and general distribution, and the 800 x 1,200 mm EUR-pallet that owns European logistics - with Australia's square 1,165 mm and Asia's 1,100 mm running regional majorities. The dimensions are not arbitrary: each standard encodes its home infrastructure. The EUR-pallet's 800 mm width slips through the standard European doorway; the 48 x 40 fits two-up across a North American truck; the Australian 1,165 square was chosen to tile an ISO container with minimum waste.
That last point is the table's sharpest column: how much floor space each pallet wastes inside a standard shipping container. The 48 x 40 American pallet is the champion - 20 of them tile a 40 ft container with only 3.7 percent floor loss - while the EUR-pallet is the worst of the six at 15.2 percent, because it was designed for European trucks and doorways in a world before containerized sea freight. A quarter of the pallets on earth swap between systems through trans-loading, and every size mismatch on this page is a real labor line-item at a cross-dock somewhere.
How to use
- Match the pallet to the destination first: shipping into Europe on EUR-pallets avoids trans-loading (goods can roll through the EPAL exchange system), while US retail distribution expects 48 x 40 GMA - the pallet is part of the packaging, not just the platform.
- Compute container fit before booking: the wasted-floor column tells you how many pallets tile a container - 20 x 48x40 in a 40 ft box versus 17-18 x EUR - and the difference is your actual freight cost per pallet-position.
- Respect the 144 mm height when stacking EUR family sizes: the half (EUR 6, 800 x 600) and quarter (600 x 400) derivatives share the full pallet's height so mixed stacks stay level on the same forklift and in the same racking.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the EUR-pallet exactly 800 x 1,200 mm and 144 mm tall?
The 800 x 1,200 footprint is the intersection of European infrastructure: 800 mm passes the standard doorway and elevator, and the 800 x 1,200 rectangle packs six-to-eight across European trucks and rail cars that were metric from birth. The 144 mm height is the quiet constant of the family - every EUR derivative (half at 800 x 600, quarter at 600 x 400, eighth at 400 x 300) keeps it, because forklifts, pallet jacks and warehouse racking are spaced to that number: a mixed stack of full and half pallets stays level, and one racking shelf accepts any member of the family. The split into 2, 4 and 8 sub-multiples also maps to retail: a quarter pallet (600 x 400) is the display platform that rolls off a truck and straight onto a store floor, carrying a full mixed-load crate. None of this efficiency transfers to sea containers - hence the 15.2 percent floor waste in the table - but inside its home continent the EUR system is a coordinate system for buildings as much as for boxes.
Why does the 48 x 40 inch pallet dominate North America?
History plus grocery: it is the GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) standard from the 1940s, sized so two sit side by side across a North American truck (96 inches interior) and one holds a stacked matrix of retail cases. It remains production rank one by a wide margin - the table's second chart lists 48 x 42, 48 x 45, 44 x 44 and the rest as niche specialists (drums want 48 x 48, the military ships on 35 x 45.5 half-container pallets). The practical consequence for anyone shipping into the US: the 48 x 40 is the only pallet every distributor's racking, pallet jack and truck is guaranteed to accept, and a nonstandard footprint invites surcharges (partial-PLT fees in parcel freight) or trans-loading. The wasted-floor column shows its one superpower: 20 of them tile a 40 ft container at 3.7 percent floor loss - the best container fit of any standard pallet on earth, which quietly made the US export lane cheaper for seventy years.
What is the difference between dynamic, static and racking load ratings?
Three different tests, one pallet: dynamic load is what it carries while being lifted and moved (EUR: about 1,000-1,500 kg), static load is what a stack on firm ground tolerates (often 4,000 kg and up), and racking load is the spanned load when the pallet sits only on its two end beams - the number that fails first, because the middle of the pallet carries nothing but its own stiffness. Plastic and wooden pallets differ most on racking: wood spans well, cheap plastics sag at 30 degrees in a warm warehouse. The buying rule: match the rating to the worst moment in the pallet's journey, which is usually the racked position in a warehouse, not the forklift ride; and when stacking loaded pallets on top of each other in transit, the bottom pallet sees the static number, which is why two-layer stacking rules exist on load documents.
How does pallet swapping (EPAL exchange) actually work?
The EUR-pallet is not just a size standard but a licensed asset: EPAL-licensed pallets are interchangeable currency across the European rail and logistics network - a shipper hands over 100 EPAL pallets and receives 100 back at some other terminal, on a one-for-one exchange obligation written into freight contracts. Quality is enforced by the license: every genuine EUR-pallet carries EPAL branding (corner marks, nails and staples of licensed makers, an owner stamp), and damaged pallets must be repaired by licensed shops or exchanged as damaged. The system works because the pallet is standardized enough to be worth more in circulation than as scrap - which is also why counterfeit EPAL pallets are a real inspection category, checked by the stamp pattern, wood quality and nail counts. For a shipper outside Europe the practical note: EUR-pallets arriving on your dock are not free souvenirs; they are typically owed back or invoiced, so the receiving agreement should say which side keeps them.