How many pallets fit in a 20 foot or 40 foot container? The arithmetic, pallet by pallet.

A general purpose container is about 2.35 m wide inside, which is the whole story: two Australian standard pallets side by side need 2.33 m, so the count comes down to what fits along the length and whether the door frame lets the last pair in.

Price a container run Export pallets, new and used

Or call Jayden on 0494 820 639, 7am to 5pm weekdays.

Quick answer

How many pallets fit in a 20 foot or 40 foot container?

A general purpose container is about 2.35 m wide inside, so two Australian standard 1165 pallets fit across (2.33 m) and five fit along a 20 foot box (5.83 m of 5.9 m): ten on the floor, often planned as eight because the door frame is the tight spot. Square 1100 x 1100 export pallets load to ten with room to spare; Euro 1200 x 800 pallets load to eleven. A 40 foot container doubles the length: twenty standard or square export pallets, 23 to 24 Euro. A high cube adds height only, which matters just for double stacking.

The numbers

How many pallets fit in a 20 foot container?

A 20 foot general purpose container is about 5.9 m long and 2.35 m wide inside, with a door opening a little narrower than the box. Floor loaded, one layer:

Pallet	Footprint	Across	Along	Floor count
Australian standard	1165 x 1165 mm	2 (2.33 m)	5 (5.83 m)	10, often loaded as 8 to leave room at the door
Export, square	1100 x 1100 mm	2 (2.2 m)	5 (5.5 m)	10
Export, ISO	1200 x 1000 mm	2 (2.4 m) does not fit; 2 turned (2.0 m)	4 (4.8 m)	9 to 10 with a mix of orientations
Euro	1200 x 800 mm	2 turned (2.4 m) does not fit; 2 (1.6 m) plus 1 turned	5 to 7	11

The Australian standard pallet is the awkward one. Two across need 2.33 m of a 2.35 m box, which works on paper and in most containers, but a container with internal cladding, a dent or a tight door frame can refuse the last pair, which is why loaders often plan on 8 and treat 10 as the good day. Square export pallets at 1100 x 1100 mm leave 150 mm of play and load to 10 without drama, which is one reason export packers specify them.

The numbers

How many pallets fit in a 40 foot container?

A 40 foot general purpose container is about 12.0 m long inside at the same 2.35 m width, so the across arithmetic is identical and the length roughly doubles:

Pallet	Across	Along	Floor count
Australian standard 1165 x 1165	2	10 (11.65 m)	20, planned as 16 to 18 where the door is tight
Export 1100 x 1100	2	10 (11.0 m)	20 to 21
Export 1200 x 1000	2 turned	10 to 12 mixed	20 to 21
Euro 1200 x 800	2 plus 1 turned, alternating	14 to 15	23 to 24

A high cube container adds about 300 mm of height and nothing to the floor count. Height matters only when pallets are double stacked, which needs product that can carry the load above it and a pallet sound enough to carry both: the same check as racking.

What changes the count

What stops you getting the full count in?

Overhang. A carton that sits 20 mm past the pallet edge turns two across into one across. Pack inside the footprint: how to pack a pallet.
Weight. A 20 foot container carries roughly 28 t of cargo by its plate but the road leg is limited by the truck, the axle group and the route, so a heavy product fills the weight limit long before the floor is full.
Door frame. The opening is narrower than the box; the last pair of 1165 pallets is the one that gets stuck.
Mixed sizes. One Euro pallet in a load of standards wastes a slot unless the plan puts the odd ones at the door.
Pallet condition. A broken board on the bottom pallet of a double stack is a collapsed load at the other end, which is why export loads go out on graded pallets with the grade on the paperwork.

Export loads also need heat treated timber with the ISPM 15 mark, or plastic: export pallets and the ISPM 15 rule. On the road, a container on a skeletal trailer counts as a dedicated truck, priced by lane and vehicle on the booking page.

Pallets for the container

Export pallets, graded, with the treatment mark on the paperwork.

Say the container size, the product and the destination and we quote the pallets and, if you want it, the road leg to the wharf or the packer, priced the same business day when you ask before 2pm.

Price a container run Export pallets, new and used

Questions about container loading

How many Australian standard pallets fit in a 20 foot container?

Ten on the floor in two rows of five when the container and the door frame allow two across (2.33 m in a 2.35 m box); many loaders plan on eight.

How many pallets fit in a 40 foot container?

Twenty Australian standard or square export pallets on the floor, 23 to 24 Euro pallets with the alternating pattern, and nothing more in a high cube unless the load is double stacked.

Can you double stack pallets in a container?

Only when the product on the bottom pallet can carry the load above it and both pallets are sound. A standard container has about 2.39 m of height; a high cube about 2.69 m.

Which pallet is best for export containers?

Square 1100 x 1100 mm heat treated pallets load to ten and twenty without the tight fit of the 1165, and the ISPM 15 mark is what quarantine looks for at the other end.

Do you move containers?

A container on a skeletal trailer is a dedicated vehicle job, quoted by lane and vehicle. Say where it is going and when the slot is.

Prefer to talk? Call Jayden on 0494 820 639. The vehicle side of the same question: how many pallets fit on a truck. Export pallet sizes and the treatment rule: export pallets. What an importer does with the pallets that come off: pallets for wholesalers and importers.

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