Pallet specifications and carrier rules checked on 16 October 2026.
You've got a pallet to ship, and the quote form wants a length, a width, and a height. Or a customer asks "what's your pallet size?" and you realize you've never measured one. Or a carrier invoice shows up with a bigger number than the quote, and the reason is a few inches of freight sticking out past the pallet edge.
Pallet size looks like a trivial detail. It's one of the main inputs that decides how much trailer floor your freight takes up, and that's what carriers charge for. This guide gives you the standard pallet size in the U.S., a chart of the other common sizes and who uses them, the weight and height numbers people usually ask about, and the part most pallet articles skip: how pallet dimensions change what you pay.
What Is the Standard Pallet Size?
The standard pallet size in the United States is 48 inches by 40 inches (1,219 by 1,016 mm). It's called the GMA pallet, after the grocery association that popularized it, and it makes up roughly 30% of all new wood pallets built in the U.S. Other common sizes include 42 x 42, 48 x 48, 48 x 42, 40 x 40 and 48 x 36.
In other words, the standard pallet size in inches is 48 x 40, and that footprint works out to about 13.3 square feet. Freightquote puts the GMA pallet at roughly one-third of U.S. pallets, and Kamps Pallets says around 30% of new wood pallets produced in the U.S. fall into this size. ArcBest cites a Virginia Tech and USDA Forest Service study that puts the 48 x 40 at 26% of pallets in North America, and says it's the most-used size because it's the standard footprint for the grocery industry (ArcBest). The numbers differ a little because each source counts something different (new pallets built versus pallets in circulation), but they all land on the same answer.
The name is a little out of date. The Grocery Manufacturers Association became the Consumer Brands Association in 2019, but everyone in freight still says "GMA pallet," so that's what you'll see on a bill of lading, a carrier tariff, or a pallet supplier's website.
If you only remember one thing, remember this: unless your product forces another size, 48 x 40 is the safest choice. Every dock, forklift, pallet jack, rack and trailer in the country is set up for it.
Standard Pallet Size Chart: Pallet Dimensions by Industry
Different industries settled on different footprints, mostly because their products pack differently. A square pallet suits drums and paint cans. A narrow one suits cases of bottled drinks. Here are the standard pallet dimensions you'll run into in North America, with their metric equivalents and the freight they usually carry.
| Pallet size (inches) | Metric (mm) | Footprint (sq ft) | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 1,219 x 1,016 | 13.3 | Grocery, retail, general freight (the standard) |
| 42 x 42 | 1,067 x 1,067 | 12.3 | Paint, telecom equipment, square loads |
| 48 x 48 | 1,219 x 1,219 | 16.0 | Drums, chemicals, oil and liquid materials |
| 48 x 42 | 1,219 x 1,067 | 14.0 | Chemicals and beverages |
| 40 x 40 | 1,016 x 1,016 | 11.1 | Dairy |
| 48 x 36 | 1,219 x 914 | 12.0 | Beverages, shingles, packaged paper |
The footprint column is our own arithmetic (length times width, divided by 144). The sizes and industry uses come from Freightquote's pallet size chart and the production-rank table on the Wikipedia pallet page, which lists the 48 x 40, 42 x 42 and 48 x 48 as the top three by production.
How to read "48 x 40"
Sources don't agree on which number comes first. Freightquote's chart writes 48 x 40, while the ISO table lists the same pallet as 1,016 x 1,219 mm (40 x 48 inches). It's the same pallet either way. When you order pallets, ask the supplier which side the stringers (the boards the deck sits on) run along, so the orientation matches your racking and your pallet jacks.
Stringer pallets vs block pallets
Size is only half the specification. A stringer pallet has boards running between the top and bottom decks. Forklift tines can go in along the length or the width, but pallet jacks only fit in the length direction. A block pallet uses blocks instead, so tines and jacks can go in from both directions (ArcBest). Block pallets typically cost more. If your freight gets handled by hand jacks at several docks, the extra cost can be worth it.
How Big Is a Pallet? Pallet Dimensions, Weight and Load Rating
Once you know the footprint, the next questions are always about how heavy the pallet is, how tall it is, and how much it can carry.
How much does a standard pallet weigh? Pallet weight depends on the material. An empty wood GMA pallet generally weighs between 30 and 48 pounds (PalletOne). Kamps lists an average of 37 pounds for a 48 x 40 pallet. Plastic pallets can be far lighter or far heavier, anywhere from about 3 to 300 pounds according to the Wikipedia pallet page, so don't assume a plastic one weighs the same as wood. Put the pallet's own weight on the bill of lading as part of the shipment weight, because the carrier weighs the whole thing, wood included.
How tall is a pallet? PalletOne lists a standard GMA pallet at 4.75 inches tall before any product goes on it. That small number matters, because the pallet height counts toward the total height of your load. A pallet stacked 48 inches of boxes high is really about 53 inches tall.
How much weight can a pallet hold? Pallet makers rate a new 48 x 40 pallet at a safe maximum load of around 4,600 pounds (Kamps lists 4,592 pounds, PalletOne says up to 4,600). Treat that as the pallet's limit, not yours. The weight you can actually ship is capped by the carrier's tariff and by the trailer. On a full 53-foot trailer, for example, we covered in our guide to how many pallets fit on a 53 foot trailer that the cargo weight limit is usually reached before the floor space is.
Euro pallets and ISO sizes
If you import or export, the pallet sizes change. The International Organization for Standardization recognizes six pallet sizes in ISO 6780, and the 48 x 40 is one of them. Per the Wikipedia pallet page, the six are:
1,016 x 1,219 mm (40 x 48 in): North America. Fits 20 pallets in a 40-foot ISO container with 3.7% wasted floor.
1,000 x 1,200 mm (39.37 x 47.24 in): Europe and Asia. Close to the 40 x 48 but not identical, and the same footprint as the EUR 3 pallet.
1,165 x 1,165 mm (45.9 in square): Australia.
1,067 x 1,067 mm (42 in square): North America, Europe and Asia.
1,100 x 1,100 mm (43.3 in square): Asia.
800 x 1,200 mm (31.5 x 47.24 in): Europe. This is the classic EUR 1 "Euro pallet."
The euro pallet size, 800 x 1,200 mm, is narrower than anything in the U.S. standard set. A load built on a Euro pallet in Rotterdam doesn't have the same footprint as a GMA pallet in Chicago. If you receive overseas freight on Euro pallets and then re-ship it domestically, measure it again. Don't copy the dimensions from the packing list.
How Pallet Size Changes Your Freight Cost
This is the part that touches your wallet. LTL (less than truckload) carriers price by weight and freight class, and they also watch how much of the trailer your shipment occupies. Pallet size feeds both.
Linear feet: how the footprint turns into trailer floor
Linear feet is the length of trailer floor your freight uses. A U.S. dry van is about 101 inches wide inside, according to the Wabash dry van specification sheet, so two standard pallets fit side by side. Here's how much floor a row of two pallets takes, depending on pallet size and how it's loaded:
| Pallet size | How it sits (two side by side) | Row length | Linear feet per row |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 48-inch side lengthwise | 48 in | 4.0 ft |
| 48 x 40 | Turned, 40-inch side lengthwise | 40 in | 3.3 ft |
| 48 x 48 | Either way | 48 in | 4.0 ft |
| 42 x 42 | Either way | 42 in | 3.5 ft |
| 40 x 40 | Either way | 40 in | 3.3 ft |
| 48 x 36 | 36-inch side lengthwise | 36 in | 3.0 ft |
This is our own arithmetic, assuming two pallets across the 101-inch width and no overhang. A carrier's own measurement rules govern the actual bill. The point is that the same weight of freight on a 48 x 48 pallet takes more floor than on a 48 x 36, and the carrier prices the floor.
Those linear feet matter because carriers have thresholds. Old Dominion's accessorial guide treats a shipment needing 20 linear feet or more, or 20,000 pounds or more, as a capacity load under Item 390 of its rules tariff, priced differently from standard LTL. Estes defines volume LTL as shipments of 5,000 pounds or more taking at least 8 linear feet (Estes LTL FAQ). Ten standard 48 x 40 pallets loaded straight come to 20 linear feet, which is right at Old Dominion's line.
Overhang: when a few inches cost you a whole row
This is the mistake that surprises people most. Say you build a load that overhangs the pallet by 2 inches on each side. The 48 x 40 pallet is now a 52 x 44 footprint.
Two of those across the 48-inch side need 104 inches. The dry van is 101 inches wide inside, so they no longer fit side by side that way. You'd have to turn them so the 44-inch faces go across (88 inches, which fits), and each row now takes 52 inches of floor instead of 48. Ten pallets become five rows of 4.3 feet, about 21.7 linear feet, and that tips you past the 20-foot capacity-load line we just covered.
It gets tighter in a refrigerated trailer. Utility Trailer's 3000R specification lists an inside width of 97.5 inches. Two 48-inch pallets take 96 inches there, which leaves an inch and a half to spare. Even one inch of overhang on each side and they won't go two wide.
ArcBest lists overhang as a common cause of pallet shipping failures, because freight hanging off the edge has nothing underneath it and gets damaged more easily (ArcBest). So the cost goes up and the claim risk goes up with it. Keep freight inside the pallet edges.
Cubic space, density and the low-density charge
Footprint times height gives you cubic feet, and cubic feet against weight gives you density in pounds per cubic foot (pcf). Low-density freight takes lots of room for its weight, and carriers price that room.
Take one 48 x 40 pallet stacked to 48 inches. That's 48 x 40 x 48 = 92,160 cubic inches, or 53.3 cubic feet. At 400 pounds, you're at 7.5 pcf. At 1,000 pounds, you're at 18.8 pcf. The same pallet footprint can land in very different freight classes just based on what's on it, which is why we cover the density tables separately in our freight class and NMFC codes guide.
Carriers also set a floor for light, bulky freight. Old Dominion's accessorial guide describes a minimum charge for low-density freight (Item 610-1): shipments under 3 pcf that need 350 to 749 cubic feet, or under 6 pcf that need 750 cubic feet or more. A taller or wider pallet pushes you toward those cubic-space numbers faster than you'd expect. If you want to see what this looks like on a real invoice, our post on why an LTL invoice comes in higher than the quote walks through the reweigh and reclass charges that follow.
When the pallet count says to book a full truck
Pallet size also helps you see when LTL stops being the cheaper choice. Once your freight reaches the capacity-load lines above, it isn't priced like regular LTL anymore, so it's worth putting a full truckload quote next to it. A truck gets you a dedicated trailer and fewer handlings. Our FTL vs LTL guide lays out the break-even method, and the pallet shipping cost guide has per-pallet rate ranges.
If you already know your pallet count and sizes, get an LTL freight quote and enter the dimensions of the loaded pallet, not the empty one. For a bigger shipment, full truckload shipping may be the better fit.
How to Measure a Pallet for a Freight Quote
Quote forms ask for the dimensions of the shipment as it will sit on the dock, not the dimensions of the pallet you bought. Here's how to get the numbers right.
Measure the loaded pallet. Use the longest and widest point of the freight, wherever it is. If a box sticks out, that's your measurement. Don't use the 48 x 40 printed on the supplier's spec sheet.
Measure the height from the floor. Include the pallet deck (about 4.75 inches), the product, and any dunnage, caps or top frames.
Round up, don't round down. A carrier will re-measure at the terminal. If your quote says 48 x 40 x 52 and the freight measures 50 x 42 x 55, the invoice gets adjusted, and so do the rates. Our bill of lading guide explains why the BOL dimensions and weight need to match what the carrier actually picks up.
Weigh the whole pallet. Include the pallet itself (30 to 48 pounds for wood), the stretch wrap and the product.
Put the piece count and handling units on the BOL. The carrier rates what the bill of lading says, and corrections cost you.
Packing rules that keep the size from growing
ArcBest recommends palletizing freight that's more than 75 pounds, or taller or wider than 42 inches, or that's hard to move with a hand truck. It also suggests a tie sheet under the first layer of boxes, stretch wrap and banding to remove voids, loading boxes evenly, and avoiding pyramid stacking because the upper layers are hard to secure. Those steps keep a load inside its footprint, and that's the footprint you get billed for.
Which Pallet Size Should You Use?
Go with 48 x 40 unless there's a reason not to. It's what carriers, warehouses and receivers expect, and it makes the trailer math simple.
Pick a different size when:
Your product is square or round. Drums, paint cans and similar freight fit a 42 x 42 or 48 x 48 better, and you avoid wasted space on the deck.
You ship to a receiver that dictates a size. Some retailers and grocery receivers publish pallet specs. Ask before you ship, because a pallet that doesn't match can be refused at the dock.
You're shipping internationally. Check the destination's standard (see the ISO table above) and the wood packaging rules, which require wood pallets going overseas to be heat treated or fumigated and stamped (ArcBest).
You're running a lot of pallets through one lane. Over a year of weekly shipments, a half foot of linear space per row adds up to real money. Run the table above for your actual sizes.
Standard Pallet Size FAQ
What size is a 48x40 pallet?
A 48x40 pallet is 48 inches by 40 inches, or 1,219 by 1,016 mm, with a footprint of about 13.3 square feet. It's the GMA pallet and the standard in the United States.
Why are pallets 40x48?
The 40x48 became the standard because the grocery industry adopted it as its common footprint, and the rest of the supply chain built racks, trailers and equipment around it. ArcBest describes it as the standard footprint for the grocery industry.
How big is a full-size pallet?
In the U.S., a full-size pallet is the 48 x 40 inch GMA pallet, about 4.75 inches tall empty, weighing roughly 30 to 48 pounds. Loaded height is up to you and the carrier's limits.
What is the standard size of an American pallet?
48 inches by 40 inches. About 30% of new wood pallets in the U.S. are this size, and the 42 x 42 and 48 x 48 are the next most produced.
What is the standard pallet size for shipping?
For LTL and truckload shipping, it's still 48 x 40 inches. What matters for the quote is the loaded dimension of your pallet, including height and any overhang.
The Bottom Line on Standard Pallet Size
The standard pallet size is 48 x 40 inches, and you should use it unless your product or your receiver says otherwise. What costs people money isn't the empty pallet, it's what happens to the footprint once the freight is on it: overhang that stops two pallets going across the trailer, height that raises the cubic space, and a quote built from the wrong dimensions.
Measure the loaded pallet, round up, weigh everything, and check your linear feet before you book. If you're not sure how your shipment will be rated, send us the pallet count, sizes and weight and get an LTL freight quote. If the numbers say a truck will be cheaper, we'll tell you that too. The American Truck Inc. is a licensed freight brokerage (MC 1631835, USDOT 4221571) based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, serving shippers across the Chicago area from our Chicago location page and all 48 states, and you can reach us at (630) 884-1125.
Cover photo: Nikita Grishin on Pexels.
