How many cartons fit on a Euro pallet?

It depends on the carton and the height limit. Cartons of 40 × 30 × 25 cm go 8 to a layer on a Euro pallet; with a 180 cm load height limit, pallet included, 6 layers fit on EPAL's 144 mm Euro pallet, giving 48 cartons and a load height of 164.4 cm.

How tall is a Euro pallet and how much can it carry?

EPAL gives the Euro pallet as 800 × 1,200 × 144 mm and about 25 kg, with a safe working load of 1,500 kg. The EPAL 2 pallet (1,200 × 1,000 mm) is 162 mm high with a safe working load of 1,250 kg.

How is the number of layers found?

The pallet height is taken from the load height limit and the rest divided by the carton height, rounded down: (180 − 14.4) ÷ 25 = 6.6, so 6 layers.

How many pallets do 500 cartons need?

At 48 cartons a pallet, 500 ÷ 48 = 10.4, rounded up to 11 pallets; the last pallet carries 20 cartons.

How many cartons fit on a pallet? Cartons-per-pallet calculator

What it calculates

The calculator finds how many cartons go in one layer on a pallet, how many layers fit up to the load height you set, and the cartons per pallet. With a carton weight and a pallet load limit, it shows whether the weight cuts the count; with the number of cartons to ship, it gives the pallets needed and the cartons on the last one. The Euro pallet (EPAL 1) and the industrial pallet (EPAL 2) come as presets; any other pallet is entered as “Other size”.

Formula

Cartons per layer: the carton is tried both ways round, and so are two-block layouts with some rows lengthways and the rest across; the highest count is kept.
Layers = (load height limit − pallet height) ÷ carton height, rounded down.
Cartons per pallet = cartons per layer × layers; with a pallet load limit and a carton weight entered, at most the load limit ÷ the carton weight (rounded down).
Load height = pallet height + layers × carton height.
Pallets needed = cartons to ship ÷ cartons per pallet, rounded up.

Example

EPAL’s Euro pallet has an 800 × 1,200 mm footprint and is 144 mm high. Cartons of 40 × 30 × 25 cm go 8 to a layer on it. With a 180 cm load height limit, pallet included, the layers are (180 − 14.4) ÷ 25 = 6.6, so 6; the pallet carries 48 cartons and the top of the load is at 164.4 cm. At 10 kg a carton the load is 480 kg, below the 1,500 kg safe working load EPAL gives for the Euro pallet. 500 cartons need 11 pallets.

Assumptions and limits

Every layer uses the same pattern; interlocked stacking that changes the pattern from layer to layer is not modelled.
Cartons do not overhang the pallet; overhang and stretch film are not counted.
Layouts are limited to two blocks; patterns with three or more blocks are not tried.
The load height limit is the user’s input; limits set by a vehicle, a warehouse or a consignee are not in the calculator.
For the preset pallets the load limit is EPAL’s safe working load; it can be cleared or changed.

Source notes

The Euro pallet’s dimensions, weight and safe working load come from EPAL’s Euro pallet sheet, the industrial pallet’s from the EPAL 2 pallet sheet. How many loaded pallets fit in a trailer is what the pallet calculator finds.