How Many Cartons on a Pallet?
Calculate how many cartons fit on a pallet from your carton size, with layers, total units and the layer pattern.
How it works
This calculator fits one uniform carton size onto a single pallet and returns the layer pattern, layer count, and total. Carton and box are loaded the same way here, the difference is just the defaults, sized for the larger cartons common in case-pack and e-commerce freight. The default pallet is the GMA / 48 x 40 in footprint.
The method:
- Cartons per layer = the better of
floor(48 / a) x floor(40 / b)across both flat orientations. - Layers =
floor(cargo height / carton height), using a 60 in cargo stack by default. - Total cartons = cartons per layer x layers.
Larger cartons leave more deck unused, so the per-layer figure and the resulting coverage are where this page earns its keep.
Worked example (page defaults)
Default carton: 14 x 12 x 10 in on a 48 x 40 in GMA pallet.
- Orientation A:
floor(48 / 14) = 3along the length byfloor(40 / 12) = 3across the width = 3 x 3 = 9 cartons per layer. - Orientation B (rotated):
floor(40 / 14) = 2byfloor(48 / 12) = 4= 2 x 4 = 8 cartons per layer, worse, so we keep orientation A. - Footprint coverage: 9 cartons x 168 in2 = 1,512 in2 of the 1,920 in2 deck, about 79%.
- Layers:
floor(60 / 10) = 6layers. - Total = 9 x 6 = 54 cartons, a 60 in cargo stack (about 65.6 in including the 5.6 in pallet deck).
At 65.6 in overall this stack clears a 40 ft High Cube container ceiling easily but is worth checking against tighter trailers.
How carton height sets the layer count
Layers depend only on carton height against your cargo limit:
| Carton height (in) | Layers in 60 in | Layers in 50 in |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 10 | 6 | 5 |
| 12 | 5 | 4 |
| 14 | 4 | 3 |
Drop to a 50 in cargo target and the 10 in default carton loses a layer (6 to 5), cutting the total from 54 to 45. Always set the cargo height to your real clearance and stack-strength limit before reading the total.
This result assumes uniform cartons in one orientation with no overhang. For a load that also tracks cube and weight against a pallet rating, use the pallet load calculator or the pallet calculator; to test interlocked layer patterns, see the Ti-Hi calculator. For smaller units, the boxes on a pallet page uses the same math with smaller defaults.