Material Handling Reference · Updated June 2026
Every standard pallet size, pallet types, and dimensions used in commercial shipping — GMA 48×40, Euro EUR-1 800×1200, ISO containers, military, chemical, dairy, automotive — with load capacities, weights, regional adoption, and the right material handling equipment to move each one. Sourced from GMA, EPAL, ISO, and IPPC specifications.
The US standard is the GMA pallet at 48 × 40 inches — used by grocery, retail, and most domestic freight. The European standard is the EUR-1 at 800 × 1200 mm (31.5 × 47.24 in). Australia uses 1165 × 1165 mm. Japan/China use 1100 × 1100 mm. There is no single ISO pallet standard — ISO recognizes six. Your choice depends on shipping mode, warehouse rack openings, and which pallet jack or forklift you already own. For US domestic operations, default to 48×40 GMA.
Interactive tools · Free
Four free utilities to make a pallet decision faster: visualize any two sizes side-by-side, calculate how many fit in a 20'/40'/53' container or trailer, estimate freight class & LTL cost, or run a 3-question wizard that recommends the right pallet plus the matching pallet jack or forklift.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) pallet is the de facto US standard. At 48 inches long × 40 inches wide, it accounts for roughly 30% of every wooden pallet in active US circulation — about 1.9 billion pallets, per a 2024 Virginia Tech / USDA Forest Service census. If you walk into any North American distribution center, the racks, forklift forks, dock plates, and pallet positions in the trailer are all spec'd around this pallet.
The math is brutal: a standard 53-foot dry-van trailer holds 26 GMA pallets (13 long × 2 wide) loaded 48-out, with under 2 inches of slop per side. Switch to 42×42 and you fit 24. Switch to Euro 800×1200 and you fit 22 with 15.2% wasted floor. GMA wins US domestic freight on geometry alone.
| Stringer length | 48 in (1219 mm) |
| Deck-board length | 40 in (1016 mm) |
| Height | 6.5 in (170 mm) |
| Static load capacity | 3 short tons (2.7 t / 6,000 lb) |
| Dynamic load capacity | 1 short ton (0.91 t / ~2,000 lb) |
| Practical safe load (carrier-approved) | 460 lb (210 kg) |
| Empty weight | 37 lb (17 kg) typical, 33–48 lb range |
| Deck-board width | 3.25 in (83 mm) |
| Deck-board thickness | 5/16 in (7.9 mm) |
| Fork entry | 2-way (4-way with notched stringers) |
| Industry-standard freight class | NMFC 110 to 250 depending on commodity |
Same pallet dimensions, every unit you might need. Use this table when shipping internationally, spec'ing equipment to metric drawings, or converting between US and European standards. Pallet height and pallet weight columns included for full reference.
| Pallet type | Inches (L × W) | Feet (L × W) | cm (L × W) | Meters (L × W) | mm (L × W) | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMA 48 × 40 (US standard, 48x40) | 48 × 40 | 4 × 3.33 | 121.9 × 101.6 | 1.219 × 1.016 | 1219 × 1016 | 6.5 in / 16.5 cm | 37 lb / 17 kg |
| Euro EUR-1 (800 × 1200 mm) | 31.5 × 47.24 | 2.62 × 3.94 | 80 × 120 | 0.8 × 1.2 | 800 × 1200 | 5.71 in / 14.5 cm | 44–55 lb / 20–25 kg |
| Euro EUR-2 (1200 × 1000 mm) | 47.24 × 39.37 | 3.94 × 3.28 | 120 × 100 | 1.2 × 1.0 | 1200 × 1000 | 5.67 in / 14.4 cm | 73 lb / 33 kg |
| 42 × 42 (telecom) | 42 × 42 | 3.5 × 3.5 | 106.7 × 106.7 | 1.067 × 1.067 | 1067 × 1067 | ~6 in / 15 cm | ~42 lb / 19 kg |
| 48 × 48 (drum) | 48 × 48 | 4 × 4 | 121.9 × 121.9 | 1.219 × 1.219 | 1219 × 1219 | ~6 in / 15 cm | ~55 lb / 25 kg |
| Australian standard (1165 × 1165 mm) | 45.87 × 45.87 | 3.82 × 3.82 | 116.5 × 116.5 | 1.165 × 1.165 | 1165 × 1165 | 5.9 in / 15 cm | ~88 lb / 40 kg |
| ISO5 / Asian (1100 × 1100 mm) | 43.30 × 43.30 | 3.61 × 3.61 | 110 × 110 | 1.1 × 1.1 | 1100 × 1100 | ~5.7 in / 14.5 cm | ~49 lb / 22 kg |
| Half-Euro EUR-6 (800 × 600 mm) | 31.5 × 23.62 | 2.62 × 1.97 | 80 × 60 | 0.8 × 0.6 | 800 × 600 | 5.67 in / 14.4 cm | 21 lb / 9.5 kg |
Wood pallet height (deck top to floor) is typically 5.5–6.5 inches (14–16.5 cm). With a typical 48-inch load stacked on top, total shipping height is about 54 inches / 137 cm / 4.5 feet. Most LTL carriers cap pallet height at 96 inches (244 cm / 8 ft).
North America runs hundreds of pallet sizes, but 13 cover ~95% of commercial freight. Here are all of them, ranked by production volume per the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association annual census.
| Size (in) | Size (mm) | Rank | Name | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | #1 (~30%) | GMA (the standard) | Grocery, retail, general freight |
| 42 × 42 | 1067 × 1067 | #2 | 42-inch square | Telecommunications, paint |
| 48 × 48 | 1219 × 1219 | #3 | Drum pallet | Drums (oil, chemical) |
| 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | #4 | Military spec | Military, cement |
| 48 × 42 | 1219 × 1067 | #5 | Beverage | Chemical, beverage |
| 40 × 40 | 1016 × 1016 | #6 | Dairy block | Dairy |
| 48 × 45 | 1219 × 1143 | #7 | Auto OEM | Automotive |
| 44 × 44 | 1118 × 1118 | #8 | 44-inch drum | Drums, chemical |
| 36 × 36 | 914 × 914 | #9 | 36-inch beverage | Beverage (large bottles) |
| 48 × 36 | 1219 × 914 | #10 | 48×36 sheeted | Beverage, shingles, packaged paper |
| 35 × 45.5 | 889 × 1156 | Specialty | Military half-ISO | Military (fits standard 36" doors, half ISO container) |
| 88 × 108 | 2240 × 2740 | Specialty | 463L master | Military air cargo (463L master pallet) |
| 48 × 20 | 1219 × 508 | Specialty | Retail half | Retail (half-pallet, store display) |
The European Pallet Association (EPAL) licenses six standard Euro pallet sizes. Every authentic Euro pallet is stamped EUR plus an EPAL oval on the stringers. Without both stamps, it's not a real Euro pallet and won't be accepted in the European exchange pool.
For US importers: Euro pallets show up on every shipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and increasingly China. They enter from the short (800 mm / 31.5") side, which means your standard 27-inch GMA-spec forklift forks may bind. The fix is either adjustable forks or a 22-inch fork set kept at the receiving dock.
| Type | Dimensions (mm) | Dimensions (in) | Weight | Load Cap. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR / EUR-1 | 800 × 1200 × 145 | 31.50 × 47.24 × 5.71 | 20–25 kg (44–55 lb) | 2,490 kg (5,490 lb) | The standard. Stamped "EUR" + "EPAL" oval. |
| EUR-2 | 1200 × 1000 × 144 | 47.24 × 39.37 × 5.67 | 33 kg (73 lb) | 1,470 kg (3,240 lb) | ISO2 equivalent. Industrial chemical, paint, intermediate bulk. |
| EUR-3 | 1000 × 1200 × 144 | 39.37 × 47.24 × 5.67 | 29 kg (64 lb) | 1,920 kg (4,233 lb) | Reversed EUR-2 grain. Common in Asia trade. |
| EUR-6 | 800 × 600 × 144 | 31.50 × 23.62 × 5.67 | 9.5 kg (21 lb) | 500 kg (1,102 lb) | Half-Euro. Display pallets, light retail. |
| Quarter-Euro | 600 × 400 | 23.62 × 15.75 | 4–6 kg | ~250 kg | Display, in-store, e-commerce. |
| CP1–CP9 (Chemical) | Varies | Varies | 20–45 kg | 1,000–1,500 kg | CP = Chemical Pallet. 9 standardized sizes for chemicals/petrochemicals. Often plastic-treated. |
ISO 6780:2003 does not define a single pallet size. It recognizes six dimensions that comply with global container shipping economics. The "wasted floor" column below is the percentage of a 40-foot ISO container floor area that's not covered by pallets — the lower, the more efficient your ocean freight per cube.
| Size (in) | Size (mm) | Wasted Floor | 40' Container | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 × 48 | 1016 × 1219 | 3.7% | 20 pallets in 40' ISO | North America |
| 39.37 × 47.24 | 1000 × 1200 | 6.7% | 21 in 40' | Europe, Asia (industrial) |
| 45.9 × 45.9 | 1165 × 1165 | 8.1% | 16 in 40' | Australia |
| 42 × 42 | 1067 × 1067 | 11.5% | 18 in 40' | North America, Europe, Asia |
| 43.30 × 43.30 | 1100 × 1100 | 14% | 16 in 40' | Asia (Japan, China) |
| 31.50 × 47.24 | 800 × 1200 | 15.2% | 24 in 40' | Europe (EUR-1 / EPAL) |
Australia is the only major market with a truly proprietary standard. The 1165 × 1165 mm (45.87 × 45.87 in) hardwood pallet was sized in the 1950s to perfectly fit Australian rail container cars. It's nearly square, very heavy (often 40+ kg), and almost always built from hardwood like jarrah or messmate.
Australian pallets do not fit efficiently in 40-foot ISO containers (8.1% wasted floor), so imports/exports through Sydney and Melbourne ports often involve re-palletizing. If you're shipping into Australia, factor in the re-palletize cost — typically AUD $8–15 per pallet at the destination port.
The European chemical industry uses nine standardized Chemical Pallet sizes (CP1 through CP9), defined by the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI). They're built to resist chemical exposure — usually from kiln-dried hardwood or treated plastic — and are sized for European chemical drum (200L), IBC (1,000L), and bulk-bag dimensions.
Three (sometimes 4) long wooden runners between the deck boards. Forklift forks enter from the 40-inch side only — true 2-way entry. Some have notches cut for partial 4-way access (1-way from the long edge).
Nine wooden or composite blocks support the deck. Full 4-way fork entry from any side. Used by Euro EUR-1, CHEP, and PECO rental programs and most automated warehouses.
Any wood pallet (whether heat treated, kiln-dried, or methyl-bromide fumigated) crossing an international border must comply with ISPM 15 — the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15. The pallet must be either heat-treated (HT, kiln-dried to 56°C core for 30 min) or methyl-bromide fumigated (MB, being phased out due to ozone concerns). Each treated pallet gets an IPPC stamp burned or stenciled on the side of the stringer.
No stamp = your freight will be rejected at customs and held until the cargo is re-palletized — typically $50–200 per pallet plus storage fees. Always inspect imports for the IPPC mark before booking outbound.
The PHS Lift angle
Pallet sites tell you about pallets. Freight sites tell you about shipping. What no one tells you: which piece of material handling equipment to buy for the pallets you actually move. Here's the matrix we use when quoting PHS Lift customers.
Tell us your pallet size, weight, daily move count, and aisle width. Our team will recommend the exact lithium-powered pallet jack or forklift you need — and give you a real LTL freight quote via R+L Carriers in the same email.
Get a free spec recommendation →Spec'ing a pallet is a decision tree, not a single answer. Run through these five questions in order — if your answers conflict, default to the GMA 48×40 (the safest US choice).
All dimensions, load capacities, and standards on this page are taken from primary specifications published by the standards bodies and industry associations responsible for each system. We do not link to or cite secondary blog posts; we cite the source-of-truth document.
Page reviewed by the PHS Lift logistics team. Published 2026-06-11. Last updated 2026-06-11. If you spot an outdated dimension or specification, email [email protected] and we'll correct the same day.
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