Guide
Custom pallet sizing: a guide that mostly argues against itself.
Describe the load
The product, its weight and how it is handled. More often than not, a standard footprint will do.
- Buy, sell, recycle or remove: tell us which way it flows
- Add the size, grade and quantity if you know them
- A partner supplier follows up
- Availability depends on partner suppliers
Sorted stacks
Used pallets sorted into stacks by size and condition.
The method
How to specify a pallet properly.
- Step 01
Measure the unit load, not the product
The dimension that matters is the outside of the assembled load — cases, slip sheets, corner boards and stretch wrap included. Measure it on a real pallet with a real load, not from a CAD drawing.
Add nothing for 'safety'. Overhang is worse than underhang.
- Step 02
Check the destination before the origin
Racking beam length, conveyor width, trailer door, and the receiver's pallet policy. A footprint that works in your building and jams at your customer's is a failure.
This is the step people skip.
- Step 03
Decide the load case
Static, dynamic or racked — and if racked, whether the pallet is edge-supported or fully supported. Racked, edge-supported is the demanding case and it drives stringer and deck dimensions.
See [load capacity explained](/resources/pallet-load-capacity).
- Step 04
Then choose members
Deck board thickness, board count and spacing, stringer dimension and species. This is where cost lives, and it is the last decision, not the first.
It is worth pricing two specs: the cheap one and the durable one.
Rules of thumb
Numbers worth knowing before you draw anything
| Question | Rule of thumb | Why |
|---|---|---|
| How much overhang is acceptable? | None, ideally; 1″ maximum | Overhang cuts corrugated stack strength quickly |
| How much underhang is acceptable? | Up to about 1″ each side | More than that and you are shipping air and loading the deck centre |
| Deck board thickness | 9/16″ hardwood typical; 5/8″–3/4″ for heavy loads | Deflection under a concentrated load |
| Deck board spacing | Gaps under 3.5″ for most cases | Small cases fall through wider gaps |
| Stringer dimension | 1⅜″ × 3½″ standard; 1⅝″ × 3½″ heavy | Racked span is the governing case |
| Fork opening height | 3½″ minimum | Below this, some jacks will not enter |
| Bottom deck coverage | More boards or wider boards for racking | Beam contact area governs racked capacity |
| Maximum practical footprint | 96″ × 48″ | Beyond this you are building a skid or a crate |
The hidden costs
What a custom footprint costs you after year one.
A custom pallet usually costs more than the equivalent standard size. That is the visible cost, and it is the smallest one.
The real costs arrive later: you cannot buy replacements at short notice when a load is damaged, you cannot sell the fleet at end of life for anything like GMA money, you cannot participate in any exchange or pool arrangement, and every new customer, carrier and third-party warehouse has to be told about your exception.
Custom pallets are sometimes the right answer. It is just worth going into it having priced the whole decade rather than the first invoice.
- A price premium per unit, on every order
- No spot-market availability when you run short
- Lower end-of-life value than a GMA
- Excluded from pooling and exchange arrangements
- Every 3PL and carrier needs briefing on the exception
- Minimum order quantities on every reorder
Custom 60 × 48
The alternatives
Four things to try before going custom
- 01Change the case sizeOften far cheaper than changing the pallet. A small adjustment to case dimensions can make a load tessellate onto a 48×40 with no overhang at all.
- 02Change the patternPinwheel, block-stack, column-stack, brick — the same cases arranged differently can fit a standard footprint. Ask a packaging engineer before a pallet supplier.
- 03Use a slip sheet or a top frameFor loads that are marginally too big, a top frame under the wrap can control the overhang without changing the platform.
- 04Use a standard size from a different regionA 1200 × 1000 mm or a 48 × 45 is non-standard for you but standard somewhere, which means it is still buyable. Better than a bespoke rectangle.
Questions
Custom sizing questions
Can I ask for a copy of a pallet I already use?
Yes. Put the dimensions in the form, and describe the deck boards and stringers. Measurements across the deck and the stringer face help.
Should a custom pallet be new or recycled?
Custom footprints are usually built new, because used pallets in that size rarely exist. Recovered lumber can sometimes be used where the design allows, which brings the price down.
Can the design be tested?
ISO 8611 sets out load-testing methods where a specification requires documented ratings. For most applications a loaded prototype and a week in your own operation tells you more.
Why hold buffer stock of a custom size?
A custom footprint has no spot market behind it, so if a load is damaged on a Friday you cannot simply buy replacements on Monday.
Describe the load on its current pallet.
Give the measurements and the weight in the form. That goes a long way to telling whether you need a custom footprint at all.