Pallets in a 40ft Container
How many pallets fit in a 40ft container, by pallet standard, with single-tier floor count and floor-area utilisation.
How the 40ft fit is calculated
A standard 40ft dry container has a usable interior of 12032 x 2352 x 2393 mm and a payload limit of about 26,700 kg, slightly less than a 20ft because the empty container itself is heavier. The width and height match the 20ft exactly; only the length roughly doubles, so the floor count roughly doubles too.
The tool grids the floor by pallet footprint and tries both orientations:
floor(containerLength / palletLength) x floor(containerWidth / palletWidth)
Utilisation is (pallets x palletArea) / containerFloorArea, where the 40ft floor is 12.032 m x 2.352 m = 28.30 m2.
Worked example (page defaults)
The default footprint is 120 x 100 cm. Along the 12032 mm length you fit floor(12032 / 1200) = 10 rows; across the 2352 mm width, floor(2352 / 1000) = 2 columns. That is 10 x 2 = 20 pallets on the floor in one tier. Rotated to 1000 mm lengthwise gives floor(12032/1000) x floor(2352/1200) = 12 x 1 = 12, so the tool keeps 20.
Floor utilisation is (20 x 1.20 x 1.00) / 28.30 = 84.8%. With the 115 cm default stack, two even tiers (115 x 2 = 230 cm under the 239 cm interior) give 40 pallet positions when the goods are stackable.
Pallets per 40ft by standard (single tier, ground floor)
| Pallet | Footprint (mm) | Single-orientation | Mixed-orientation (real-world) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GMA 48x40 | 1219 x 1016 | 18 | 20-21 |
| Euro / EPAL 1 | 1200 x 800 | 20 | 23-25 |
| Industrial (EUR 2) | 1200 x 1000 | 20 | 20-21 |
| ISO / Asian | 1100 x 1100 | 20 | 20-21 |
The Euro pallet is the standout: its 1200 x 800 footprint lines up with a 40ft so well that mixed loading reaches 23-25, with floor utilisation around 78-81%. GMA 48x40 pallets, being wider, give 20-21. The tool reports the safe single-orientation grid; a careful loader usually adds one or two more.
Limits
This is single-orientation, single-size floor packing only. It ignores axle-weight distribution, dunnage, and door-opening clearance. To compare against the smaller box, see pallets in a 20ft container; for a stacked 3D view, use the container load calculator; for any container-and-pallet pairing, use the general pallets per container calculator.