Container internal width is roughly 2.35 metres, and internal length is about 5.90 metres for a 20ft and 12.03 metres for a 40ft. Those numbers were not chosen to suit pallets, and no common pallet divides into them cleanly. The result is that every palletised container ships some quantity of air, and how much depends on which pallet you standardised on years ago.
The six ISO sizes
ISO 6780 recognises six pallet footprints, in millimetres:
- 1200 x 800, the EUR or EPAL pallet, dominant in Europe
- 1200 x 1000, common in Europe, the UK and parts of Asia
- 1219 x 1016, the North American 48 x 40 inch pallet
- 1140 x 1140
- 1100 x 1100, the Asian standard, common in Japan, Korea and much of Southeast Asia
- 1067 x 1067, the 42 x 42 inch pallet
The Australian 1165 x 1165 pallet is a widely used national standard rather than an ISO size, and it is worth knowing because it is unusually well suited to containers, for a reason that follows.
How many fit, in one tier
Published counts contradict each other constantly, because some sources give theoretical floor area and others give what actually loads. These are the practical figures:
- 1200 x 800 EUR: about 11 in a 20ft, 23 to 25 in a 40ft
- 1200 x 1000: about 10 in a 20ft, 20 to 21 in a 40ft
- 1219 x 1016 (48 x 40): about 10 in a 20ft, 20 to 21 in a 40ft
- 1100 x 1100 Asian: about 10 in a 20ft, 20 in a 40ft
- 1165 x 1165 Australian: about 10 in a 20ft, 20 in a 40ft
A 40ft high cube holds the same number per tier as a 40ft standard, because the floor is identical. The extra height buys you a taller stack, not more positions.
Why the numbers are lower than the arithmetic suggests
Take the EUR pallet in a 20ft. Floor area is 5.90 x 2.35, about 13.87 square metres. A EUR pallet is 0.96 square metres. Divide and you get 14.4, so why is the answer 11?
Because pallets are rigid rectangles that must be placed whole, in one of two orientations, without overlapping. Two EUR pallets side by side at 800mm wide occupy 1,600mm of a 2,350mm width, wasting 750mm, which is less than the 800mm needed for a third. Turn one and you use 1,200 plus 800, which is 2,000mm, wasting 350mm. Neither pattern tiles the whole floor, so loaders mix orientations and end up at 11.
That is roughly a 24 percent loss against theoretical floor area, and you pay ocean freight on the whole box either way. Model your own case with the pallet calculator and the cartons per container calculator.
The Australian pallet, and why it is the efficient one
1165 x 1165 is close to half the container internal width. Two side by side occupy 2,330mm of 2,350mm, leaving 20mm. It is the only common pallet that tiles the container width almost perfectly, which is not a coincidence given Australia's dependence on containerised trade. The cost is that it is square, so it wastes space on European road trailers, which are built around the 1200 x 800.
Practical consequences
- Do not pallet cargo that does not need to be palletised. Floor loading cartons can add 15 to 20 percent more product to a container. The trade is handling time and damage risk at both ends.
- Consider slip sheets where the receiving end can handle them. They remove the pallet footprint and the pallet height.
- Match pallet to lane, not to habit. A European exporter shipping to Asia on 1200 x 800 may fit better on 1100 x 1100 at destination.
- Watch the overhang. Cartons overhanging the pallet edge lose the pallet's protection and are the first thing crushed. Underhang wastes paid space.
- Remember height. A 20ft internal height is about 2.39m, a 40ft high cube about 2.70m. Subtract pallet height, then decide whether you get two tiers.
And they all need treating
Any solid wood pallet over 6mm thick crossing a border needs heat treatment and the IPPC mark under ISPM 15. Presswood and plastic pallets are exempt, which is one reason they appear on problem lanes.
