The modern global logistics industry depends on two simple but incredibly effective inventions – the container and the pallet. Both have a much longer history than you might expect but came into their own during the Second World War. This was when millions of tons of supplies had to be efficiently shipped around the world with as little manual labour possible at a time when that was in short supply.
When peace returned, these ideas were adapted for civilian commercial use. In the 1950s the internationally recognised standard specifications for both containers and pallets were laid down. This allowed the standardisation, mechanisation and automation of what had previously been difficult and time-consuming loading and unloading of freight at every stage of its journey.
The Power of Pallets and Containers
Both pallets and containers bring benefits by the same principle. Instead of the product, material or items being moved individually, they are placed in or on a pallet or container. This then, in effect, becomes the load. Because the design of these items is standardised, each load is identical and so vehicles, loading/unloading machinery and handling equipment can be designed to accommodate and move it with maximum efficiency.
Whereas it used to take weeks to load a small cargo ship with 2000 tons of mixed cargo, a modern container ship with one hundred times as much cargo in 20,000 containers can be loaded in just a couple of days. Industry estimates that using pallets cuts down the time and labour of material handling by over 90 percent. Containers and pallets can be quickly moved between transport modes – from truck to ship to train to truck – making long globe-spanning journeys efficient and cost-effective.
Of course, pallets and containers can be combined – smaller loads can be put on pallets, and then all these pallets can be shipped in a single container. Whether it’s multiple products being sent as part of one shipment or different loads with different destinations sharing container space to reduce costs to the shipper, pallets in containers is a very efficient form of shipping.
Which raises the obvious question: How many pallets fit in a container?
Sizes of Containers and Pallets
Since 1956 the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has laid down standard dimensions and specifications for shipping containers. The standard ISO container – of which there are approximately 30 million around the world – is 40ft long, 8ft feet wide and 8.5ft high. This is by far the most common sort of container (forming about three quarters of the global container fleet) and the type that is ideal for shipping non-specialist loads (those not requiring ventilation or refrigeration, for instance) on pallets.
There are two common specifications of pallet used around the world. The ISO pallet (often simply termed the ‘Standard Pallet’) is 1000x1200mm. There is also the slimmer ‘Euro Pallet’, of 800x1200mm. Both types are typically made of timber beams and slats, but plastic pallets – which cost more to buy but are significantly more durable and can carry more weight – are becoming more common.
How Many Pallets Fit in a 40ft Container?
It is more efficient, more cost effective and more environmentally sustainable to ensure that every bit of possible space in a container is used. Because containers are a fixed size, any unused space is effectively wasted energy moving air around the world. So, it is in everyone’s interest to make the most use of the space in a container.
Because the container and pallet sizes were standardised independently, they are not fully compatible; an ISO container is not quite wide enough to accommodate two rows of pallets (Standard or Euro) ‘long side across’ or three rows ‘short side across’. This means that for maximum utilisation of space, a 40ft container is best loaded with one row of pallets with its long side across (perpendicular to the length of the container) and the other row short side across (long side aligned with the length of the container).
How many standard pallets in a 40ft container this way? The answer is 20 – two rows of ten. You can find room for an extra pallet, bringing the total to 21, if you interlace the pallets at the end of each row. Putting one pallet with its short side across at the end of the ‘long’ row will create space for one extra ‘long’ pallet at the end of the ‘short’ row.
How Many Euro Pallets in a 40ft Container?
The same techniques apply to the smaller Euro Pallet, but the total number of pallets is slightly greater. You can get one row of 14 and one row of nine Euro Pallets in a 40ft container (so a total of 23), or by turning the end pallets of each row at right angles to the others in the row you can fit in an extra pallet.
What’s the Right Number of Pallets in a 40ft Container?
The number of pallets in a container is a balancing act between making the most use of the space and time taken to load and unload them. Turning the pallets at the end of each row may create space for an extra pallet, but that benefit may be outweighed by the extra time needed to arrange them this way. For instance, many pallet designs cannot be safely lifted by a forklift truck on their short side, so pallets loaded this way in a container may require special handling to turn them around in the container.
There is also the issue of weight. As well as their physical size, ISO containers have a maximum overall weight of 30 tonnes (66,000lbs). When allowing for the empty weight of the container itself, this usually means that the load itself can be no more than about 26,500kg (58,400lbs).
Pallets also have their own load capacities. A wooden Standard Pallet has a maximum dynamic load capacity (what the pallet can take when being moved) of 1100kg (2500lbs), while the standard Euro Pallet’s dynamic load capacity is 1500kg (3300lbs). This means that a 40ft container can handle a full load of 21 fully loaded Standard Pallets, but it cannot hold a full load of Euro Pallets at their maximum weight – it can only take 17.
Plastic pallets have even higher dynamic load capacities – as much as 2250kg (5000lbs), so only 11 of these could be safely and legally loaded into a 40ft container.
In reality, it’s very unusual for pallets to carry loads near their maximum capacity, and most containers run out of physical space long before their maximum weight becomes a concern. If your pallet loads are light and not very tall, you may even be able to load two tiers of pallets in one container, allowing for up to 42 Standard Pallets in a 40ft container. Here too, there is a balance between the extra loads carried and the time needed to fit racking and load and unload the pallets in the extra tier.