Size / GMA standard
48x40 pallets for Oklahoma City docks
A 48 x 40 pallet measures 1,219 x 1,016 mm and is the GMA standard, the most common wood pallet in North America. It is the pallet nearly every Oklahoma City dock ships on.
Spec at a glance
- Dimensions
- 48 x 40 inches, 1,219 x 1,016 mm. Usable surface area about 13.3 square feet (1.23 m²).
- Height
- Typically 5.5 to 6 inches (140 to 150 mm), or 6.5 inches in some references.
- Weight, empty
- Standard wood GMA pallets weigh roughly 33 to 49 pounds; reinforced ones 55 to 66 pounds.
- Load
- Dynamic loads of about 2,000 to 2,800 pounds and static loads of about 2,500 to 4,600 pounds are typical for standard GMA pallets.
- Market share
- Accounts for about 30% of all new wood pallets produced in the United States.
Grades and builds available
A 48x40 comes as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, a combo pallet, new or a core. Most are stringer pallets with notched stringers for four-way entry. A block version exists for heavier or pooled loads. See block versus stringer.
Heat-treated 48x40 pallets carry the ISPM 15 stamp for export; domestic loads do not need it. Details are under heat-treated pallets.
Where it is used in the metro
Everything that moves in volume uses it. The fulfillment buildings near Will Rogers airport, including Amazon's first Oklahoma fulfillment center on South Portland Avenue, announced in 2018, ship on it by the trailer. Hobby Lobby's Oklahoma City distribution center supplies more than 900 stores, and UPS's northeast Oklahoma City hub next to I-35 is an automated facility of more than 180,000 square feet. They show where the area's volume sits. The I-44 southwest leg is where that freight concentrates.
Questions to settle before ordering
- Does your racking beam spacing suit the 40-inch width, and which way do forks enter?
- Do you need Grade A for a customer inspection, or does Grade B do?
- Will any go overseas? Then they must be heat treated.
- How many per week, and can the dock take a full trailer?
If a load looks wrong on 48 x 40, the next stops are 48 x 45 for heavy and automotive goods or 48 x 48 for drums.
Why 48x40 dominates used piles
Because most of North America's racking, trailers and conveyors were built around the 48 by 40 deck, most pallets in circulation are this size. A pallet pool therefore holds far more 48x40s than any other footprint, which is why used stock in this size is easy to find and easy to price.
Condition varies widely. A pallet that has circulated through many warehouses will carry stamps from several pooling systems, repairs from several shops and the scuffs of many forklifts. Sorting by condition, not by size, is therefore where the real work lies. A sorted stack of Grade A 48x40s is the easiest thing in the pallet trade to sell.
If your product is unusual in weight or shape, check the 48x40 against it before assuming it suffices. A standard deck is rated for the average load, not for concentrated weight at one end.
Questions, answered
How many 48x40 pallets fit in a 53-foot trailer?
The count depends on whether pallets go single or turned and on stack height; see the trailer counts guide.