48x36 plastic pallets

The narrow 48 in footprint

A 48x36 is 48 in in the runner direction and 36 in across, or 1219 x 914 mm. It keeps the full 48 in length of the grocery pallet but drops 4 in of width. That narrower deck suits products whose bundles or cases were sized long and slim, and it lets more pallets fit across a trailer when they are turned.

Three trades that use 48x36

Industry pallet tables list 48x36 for beverage, roofing shingles and packaged paper. Each picked it for its own product.

Beverage case patterns for some bottle and can sizes stack neatly on a 36 in wide deck, and a narrower pallet is easier to move through a tight route truck or a store backroom. Roofing shingles ship in flat bundles, and a bundle footprint lays out well in a long, narrow stack; the result is one of the densest loads a pallet of this size will see. Packaged paper, such as cartons of copy paper, sits in tight column stacks that tend to be heavy and tall.

All three are heavy for the floor area they cover. That makes the dynamic and static ratings worth checking closely before a 48x36 replaces wood in any of them.

Shingle pallets often sit outside, and a roofing yard may leave them in sun and rain for weeks. Ask whether the resin carries UV stabilizers if your pallets will be stored outdoors, since sunlight slowly embrittles unprotected polyolefins.

Paper is the opposite case: it hates moisture. A plastic deck cannot wick water from a wet floor up into the bottom ream, which is one reason paper distributors take an interest in plastic.

• Plastic pallets for beverage bottlers →

Models available in 48x36

The 48x36 catalog is short next to the 48x40 one. Most models are stackable or rackable, because the products on them are heavy and stored before they ship.

• Stackable 48x36s on runners for loaded floor stacks of paper and cases
• Solid-deck heavy-duty models for shingle bundles, which need a flat, stiff surface
• Nestable versions for lighter beverage loads on a delivery loop
• Rackable models with a published racked load, less common in this size
• Used 48x36s from bottling and paper fleets, in smaller lots than 48x40

• Stackable plastic pallets →
• Heavy duty plastic pallets →

Turning the load for more floor spots

A 53-foot dry van is about 630 in long and 100 in wide inside. Loaded straight, with 36 in faces across, two pallets take 72 in. A third would need 108 in, which is too wide, so the straight load is 13 rows of 2, about 26 positions, with 28 in of width idle.

Turn the pallets and the 48 in sides go across, two of them filling 96 in. Each row now takes only 36 in of length, and 630 / 36 = 17.5, so 17 rows fit, about 34 positions. That is 8 more than straight loading, which is why turned loading is the norm for this size. With heavy products, weight may cap the count before the floor fills.

• How many plastic pallets fit on a trailer →

48x36 in containers

An ISO container is about 92.4 in wide inside, too narrow for two turned 48x36s (96 in). A mixed pattern gets close: one lane with 36 in across and one with 48 in across, 84 in in all. In a 20-foot box, about 231.6 in long, that gives 4 plus 6, about 10 pallets. In a 40-foot box, about 474 in long, it gives 9 plus 13, about 22.

The size is North American. Paper and building products shipped abroad usually move to the receiver's footprint, and a plastic pallet needs no ISPM 15 treatment mark if it goes.

• ISPM 15 and plastic pallets →

How 48x36s are molded and marked

Most narrow pallets in plastic are injection molded in HDPE or PP copolymer, with the resin code and a date clock molded into the underside. Thermoformed twin-sheet models are also made, and structural foam is used where a stiff, thick deck is wanted. Ask which process the model uses, since it changes the weight, the stiffness and how the pallet takes a fork strike.

Colors and hot-stamped logos are offered on many new models. A colored or marked fleet is easier to keep in a closed loop between a plant and its customers.

Ordering 48x36 pallets

Name the product and its weight per pallet, whether pallets stack loaded or go into racks, the deck, the quantity and the delivery ZIP. We email back the models or used grades that fit with a delivered price. A full order fills a 53-foot van; a smaller one moves LTL.

Mention whether forklifts with clamps, push-pull attachments or slip-sheet handlers touch the load, because those change what the deck edges endure.

• Request a 48x36 quote →