Used 40x48 plastic pallets, also 48x40

Two ways to write one pallet

Standards and makers differ on which side comes first. ISO 6780 lists the North American pallet as 1016 x 1219 mm, shorter side first. Rehrig Pacific names its rackable and nestable pallets 40 x 48, and gives the heavy-duty nestable as 48.25 x 40.25 in. Nelson and PHS list 48 x 40. The pallet is the same GMA footprint.

For a buyer the point is simple: do not turn away a listing because the numbers are in the other order, and do not accept one without measuring.

How it reads on a request

What does change between listings

The footprint is the same. The height, the rating, the number of runners and the deck style are not. A 40 x 48 rackable and a 48 x 40 nestable are both GMA pallets and behave nothing alike on a rack. Compare the rating, the weight and the entry, not the order of the numbers.

• Height: 4.8 in to 6.5 in in the examples on file
• Weight: 18.0 lb to 49 lb in the examples on file
• Racking rating: none listed, 2,000 lb edge rack, 2,200 lb, or 2,700 lb

Searching both ways

People who write 40 x 48 and people who write 48 x 40 mean the same pallet, so a search for either should reach the same page. If a seller lists only one form, ask for the other by name and compare the measurements, because an unusual listing sometimes hides a different footprint such as a 48.25 x 40.25 heavy-duty nestable. A tape measure on the deck settles the question faster than the label.

A note for catalogues and systems

Warehouse systems and procurement catalogues sometimes store the footprint as length by width and sometimes as the reverse. A purchase order that says 40 x 48 may be rejected by a system expecting 48 x 40. Keep both forms in your item master and note that they refer to one pallet, so receiving does not bounce a correct delivery for a typing difference.

On the receiving dock

• Count stacks before pallets, then count the pallets in two stacks to confirm the tally.
• Lay a tape across the deck and along the runners of three pallets from different stacks.
• Look for pooled marks, bar codes and moulded owner names before anything is put away.
• Sign for the count and note any shortfall on the delivery receipt in the driver's presence.
• Photograph the stacks from both ends while the trailer doors are still open.

Paperwork to keep

• The written lot description and the date it was sent.
• Your own count, signed and dated by whoever received the load.
• Photographs of stacks, plates and any marks, stored with the order number.
• The maker's papers for resin, colour or rating, where the job needs them.
• A line naming who agreed to which exceptions, so a later dispute has a record.

Words used on this page

Rackable

Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.

Runners

Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.

Racking load

Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.

Nestable

Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.

Fork pocket

Opening in the pallet where the forks go.

What the sources say

• Rehrig Pacific's heavy-duty nestable can be made with post-consumer or post-industrial recycled material, up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour, and is RFID compatible. rehrigpacific.com
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet weighs 44.2 lb with a dynamic rating of 4,000 lb, static 10,000 lb and edge rack 2,000 lb. rehrigpacific.com
• ISO 6780 lists 1016 x 1219 mm for North America, 1000 x 1200 mm for Europe and Asia and 800 x 1200 mm for Europe. en.wikipedia.org
• Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable pallet weighs 26.5 lb with a static rating of 10,000 lb and dynamic 3,000 lb. rehrigpacific.com

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