Pallets | Ship pallets | Dimensions | Pallet size chart | Transport | DHL
Ship pallets
Everything you need to know about pallets for your freight shipment
Do you want to ship pallets?
However, when it comes to shipping pallets, there is rarely one answer that fits all. Depending on the scope, pallet dimensions, goods you transport and estimated costs, pallet transport can differ from one country to another.
Ship pallets with Saloodo!
Definition Pallet
From a technical point of view, a pallet is simply a flat structure with dimensions.
The definition describes it as a packaging material used to transport goods. Its use can range from storing, securing, stacking, and handling all types of materials for different ways of transportation. A pallet is usually secured to prevent damage. Without a corresponding pallet, goods are in danger of getting faulty during transport.
Ship pallets safely and reliably to your destination of choice. With Saloodo! you can:
Why you should use pallets
You should use pallets to secure your shipment. The method of storing, securing and transport goods stackable on pallets and shipped as a unit load is called palletization. This enables equipment such as fork-lift trucks to standardize the way loads are handled. As most items shipped require this method, pallets are an essential part of protecting your goods from damage. Without pallets, shipping items would no longer be safe.
Pallet Size Chart
There are, however, six ISO approved pallet sizes. Taking their standards as a guide will prevent you from switching pallet dimensions to country sizes if your goods travel across continents, as you will know what is considered ‘standard’ for every region.
In the following you can find size charts for ISO, European and North American pallets:
ISO Pallets
Dimensions
(W × L) millimetresDimensions
(W × L) inchesRegion most used in 1016 × 1219 40.00 × 48.00 North America 1000 × 1200 39.37 × 47.24 Europe, Asia; similar to 40″ × 48″. 1165 × 1165 45.9 × 45.9 Australia 1067 × 1067 42.00 × 42.00 North America, Europe, Asia 1100 × 1100 43.30 × 43.30 Asia 800 × 1200 31.50 × 47.24 Europe; fits many doorways European Pallets
The European Pallet Association (EPAL) have agreed upon standard European pallet dimensions, making it possible to exchange ”pallet for pallet” (also known as pallet exchange). The most common EUR-pallet dimensions are:
Dimensions
(W × L) millimetresDimensions
(W × L) inchesRegion most used in 1016 × 1219 40.00 × 48.00 North America 1000 × 1200 39.37 × 47.24 Europe, Asia; similar to 40″ × 48″. 1165 × 1165 45.9 × 45.9 Australia 1067 × 1067 42.00 × 42.00 North America, Europe, Asia 1100 × 1100 43.30 × 43.30 Asia 800 × 1200 31.50 × 47.24 Europe; fits many doorways North American Pallets
The most widely-used pallets in the United States are the GMA (The Grocery Manufacturers Association) pallets. Their production rank is 1, with 30% being produced in the U.S each year alone.
Dimensions, mm (W × L) Dimensions, in (W × L) Production Rank Industries Using 1016 × 1219 40 × 48 1 Grocery, many others 1067 ×1067 42 × 42 2 Telecommunications, Paint 1219 × 1219 48 × 48 3 Drums 1219 × 1016 48 × 40 4 Military, Cement 1219 × 1067 48 × 42 5 Chemical, Beverage 1016 × 1016 40 × 40 6 Dairy 1219 × 1143 48 × 45 7 Automotive 1118 × 1118 44 × 44 8 Drums, Chemical 914 × 914 36 × 36 9 Beverage 1219 × 914 48 × 36 10 Beverage, Shingles, Packaged Paper 889 × 1156 35 × 45.5 Unknown Military 1⁄2 ISO container, fits 36″ standard doors 1219 × 508 48 × 20 Unknown Retail
Types of pallet materials
Depending on their usage, the material used to make the pallets can be wood, plastic, metal or in some cases, even paper. On this page, you will find a list of pros and cons for each type of pallet material.
Wooden pallets
The most used material to make pallets is wood. The reason for that is mainly because wood (as a material) is durable, fixable, strong and eco-friendly. Wooden pallets can be made of softwood or hardwood, depending on the type of tree used in the pallet creation.
Advantages
- Wooden pallets are usually light-weight, versatile and can be reused or resold
- Some of the cheapest pallets are made of softwood
- They can be easily repaired in case of damage
- Wood is the most in-demand material for pallets, mainly because of its durability and stiffness
Disadvantages
- Wooden pallets can break under heavy loads
- Wooden pallets can get damaged in contact with water
- Wooden pallets are susceptible to bacterial, chemical and insect contamination
Best Practice
- Perfect for storing sealed and non-biodegradable materials
- Pallets made of wood can be reused for furniture
Plastic pallets
Plastic pallets are normally made of recycled drink bottles or high-density polyethylene. Normally, plastic pallets can be used up to a hundred trips or even more. They are used widely in Europe and the U.S.
Advantages
- Plastic pallets are easy to be sanitized
- Plastic pallets are resistant and they weigh less than wooden pallets
- Plastic pallets are weather resistant
Disadvantages
- The cost for plastic pallets is higher than for wooden pallets
- They are difficult to repair and must be replaced
Best Practice
- Plastic pallets can meet the strict requirements for pharmaceutical industries
- Plastic pallets can be safely used in the beverage and food industries
- Storing and transport in retail stores
Metal pallets
Metal pallets are the least used pallets in the industry, making up only 1% of the market. Normally used for heavy loads, the material of the pallet can be or include carbon steel. aluminium and stainless steel.
Advantages
- Carbon steel pallets have a great durability at a low cost
- Metal pallets are easy to stack
- Metal pallets are corrosion and weather resistant
Disadvantages
- Expensive compared to other pallets
- Metal pallets can be heavy
Best Practice
- Ideal for chemical industries, where pallets need to withstand harsh environments
- Also great for catering business as the items can be preserved under the best hygienic conditions
Recommended pallet types
The general idea is that pallets need to be moved easily through buildings, be stackable, fit in racks and be accessible to material-handling equipment (forklifts, cranes, jacking device, front loaders, etc).
There are no universally approved measurements, so pallets dimensions can differ from a country to another.
Companies across the globe use pallets of different sizes, depending on the country handling and transporting them. The best pallets to use depends entirely on the nature of your goods, the pick-up & drop-off locations as well as on the type of transport you choose.
Pallets optimize your transport
With pallets, you can:
- Secure your shipment and protect it from external damage during the loading, unloading points, and the overall handling process
- Save time by allowing carriers to load and unload your goods safer and faster
- Combine goods and ship them into a single load unit, having fewer items to track
- Benefit from material durability, as pallets are more secure than other materials used for transport (cardboard boxes or plastic wrappers)
- Maximize the truck capacities of your carriers, as pallets are not heavy-weight and do not take up so much space
- Recycle and minimize damage to the environment, as most of the pallets materials can wear down, be melted or sold as scrap
How to ship pallets with Saloodo!
Describe your shipment
Planning ahead will help you eliminate unforeseen costs. This is why it’s important to define your transport requirements at an earlier stage. Details such as pallet dimensions, weight, pick-up & delivery locations, and dates should be known before you post a transport request.
Choose from 6000+ verified carriers
Saloodo! gives you access to a growing network of carriers verified according to DHL’s Code of Conduct. You have the freedom to decide who will transport your shipment based on the offers you receive.
Track & Trace
After you selected the offer that suits your request, you can start tracking the progress of your shipment. You also have access to live chat support and customer service assistance. This way, you have a full overview of the entire shipping process and you can always follow-up on the transport status.
Ship pallets with Saloodo!
Register your company for free today
BRANDS4FRIENDS
"Saloodo offers us a completely new possibility to handle our transports cheaply and safely with little effort. At the same time we receive all necessary documents automatically. Should something go wrong, the support is immediately available. My team enjoys working with Saloodo!"
Speditionsagentur.de
"As a freight forwarder, Saloodo! offers us a very good opportunity to increase the utilisation of the vehicle fleet through the multitude of loading offers. The offer submission and handling are very user-friendly, for questions and problem solutions the support staff is available at any time and at short notice. We are very happy to work with the Saloodo! transport platform and can recommend it without restriction."
Supermarkt 24
''As an online shop dealer, the dispatch of goods is part of our daily work processes. From time to time there are also deliveries in larger quantities and Saloodo! is our perfect contact! The platform is quick and easy to use, the processes are clear and understandable and the forwarding offers are not irrelevant, especially for small and medium-sized companies. All processes are documented and archived so that you can view them in your customer account at any time, even afterwards. Should something be unclear or a question arise, the customer service is there to help! Many thanks to the whole team! The idea Saloodo! is really clever and ingenious - for senders and deliverers - simply to recommend!"
Prima Line
"In Lithuania we have been working almost exclusively digitally in the transport and logistics sector for a long time. This is why manual processes on international routes have always slowed down our business considerably. Thanks to Saloodo! we can now handle our transports fully digitised and save unnecessary costs such as administration costs. We can highly recommend Saloodo!."
Trans Cat
"We can only recommend a cooperation between transport companies and shippers via Saloodo! for international transport in particular. There are always misunderstandings due to language differences, different types of invoicing, etc. With Saloodo! both sides are well protected. All documents are standardized, transparently available online and payment processing is also handled by Saloodo! It couldn't be simpler."
weinkisten-kaufen.de
''We are a small company and do not ship pallets regularly, which is why we have to pay high prices to most shipping companies. Thanks to Saloodo! we have now been able to reduce our transport costs considerably. The handling is uncomplicated, the offer price is displayed within a short time and with a few clicks everything is done. The payment runs safely via PayPal. All previous orders were executed on time and to our satisfaction. Invoice and freight note are made available for download on the platform. We can only recommend Saloodo! to others! Many thanks for that!"
K-Logistics
„One of the positive surprises in the cooperation with Saloodo! is definitely the fast payment of freight invoices as well as the easy handling of the platform, which enables us to process the transport order quickly.“
Remstalsenf
„Saloodo! is the ideal platform for us. Especially because we ship pallets irregularly. The platform is easy to operate. The offers can be received in a few minutes. With Saloodo! we were able to significantly reduce our shipping costs. So far we are very satisfied with the process and can only recommend Saloodo! to others.“
Marlo Expeditie BV
"Saloodo! has made it much easier for us to transport general cargo. The handling from the advertising of the transport order to the collection of the goods is super and reliable. The operation is also simple and clearly structured. Within a few minutes you get some good offers from reputable forwarding agencies. The support team was also able to help us promptly in the event of discrepancies. We can recommend Saloodo! to everyone because it saves money and above all time."
Sarewski Musterbau
"Saloodo! is the ideal freight and transport platform for us. Saloodo! offers economical transport solutions especially in our business, where only a few pallets or freight consignments are required. The platform is easy to understand and operate. Within a few minutes, you receive suitable offers from professional logistics service providers. This saves time and money. The support team is also always friendly and ready to deal with our concerns."
Argendorf Transporte
"We appreciate the uncomplicated handling of the complete transport order via the Saloodo! system. In our dashboard, we see all transport requests from shippers that match our requirements at a glance and can then decide which requests we submit our offers to. Paperless handling and digital order management make our daily work processes much easier."
HUECK Rheinische GmbH
"Since we have been using Saloodo!, it has been very easy for us to compare different carrier offers. The clarity of Saloodo! is outstanding and even beginners find their way around immediately. Thanks to Saloodo!, we have been able to reduce our shipping costs and shorten our transport times. We hope that the range of carriers and program features will grow in the future and can recommend Saloodo! to any shipper."
DHL Freight GmbH
"The platform is well structured and very easy to use. A number of carriers submit transport offers for our shipment requests, which means that we are already able to reduce our costs. We know that on Saloodo!, all carriers are checked extensively - this gives us a "safer" feeling about the delivery of our shipments."
Welady.de
''Since I had to organize transports irregularly, I had also no firm forwarding agent. When I got to the homepage of Saloodo! over a year ago, I was skeptical at first. Nevertheless, I quickly registered with a few clicks and stopped the first transport - Zack, the first offer came and others followed. I was totally thrilled! I chose the best offer and everything went great. Today Saloodo! is my only point of contact for my transports. I am always offered professional and economical transport solutions. I have had very good experiences throughout. Even with difficult transports, the support is fast, friendly and very competent."
Smets Cargo Handling
“We have been using Saloodo! for a long time and have been very enthusiastic since day one. It helps us a lot to use our vehicles even better and to reduce empty runs. Saloodo! is constantly being expanded and suggestions for improvement and criticism are very well received and quickly implemented.”
NKF Media
''Saloodo gives us the chance to select between many different logistics providers at once, thus permitting us to save money and time in the process. No wonder then that Saloodo has quickly become the standard when it comes to book a Freight transport here at NKF Media! The whole inquiry and booking experience is smooth and frictionless. With Saloodo, what used to be quite a daunting task has now become an easy and rewarding process."
Scharf Spedition
"We have had very good experiences with Saloodo! Saloodo! is a well structured and therefore very easy to use platform. On Saloodo! we find transport orders at short notice and find suitable loads through which we can avoid empty runs and optimally utilize our vehicles."
HPS Formenbau
''I appreciate how simple Saloodo! is. You can arrange for your goods to be transported within a few clicks and at the same time, choose the most cost-effective provider. Before we came across Saloodo!, we worked with fixed-rate freight forwarders. Thanks to Saloodo!, we were able to drastically reduce our shipping costs. We use Saloodo! and this is why we can also recommend it to our business partners."
Orange logistics
"I can recommend the Saloodo! platform without restrictions! Very attractive loads and competitive prices. At Saloodo! I find many interesting orders for standard trucks and light trucks. The site is very clear and easy to use. Good contact to the dispatchers of Saloodo! I have been working with them without any problems for over half a year now".
Risto
"Saloodo! is a unique way for us to get shipments across the EU. It's easy and comfortable to work with – quick payment and ideal contact between Saloodo! and their customers. We as a forwarder are very happy to be part of this community and will work together with it to grow."
GABI
“The Saloodo's platform is a very useful tool for our everyday work. Notifications about new interesting offers can't let us miss the chance to find a shipment. Support is always ready to help in solving problems and the way of finalizing transactions is very simple.”
Ahlfeldt Print UG
''Everything went well, the delivery was picked up on time, and most importantly, it was a super punctual delivery. The Saloodo! customer service staff are also very helpful and friendly. We will be happy to order the next transports via Saloodo! again. Thank you very much!"
Weyer Logistik GmbH
"Thanks to Saloodo!, I now receive freight queries which I would not have received otherwise. Through the platform, Saloodo! allows us to plan truck routes at an early stage. Best is how the process handles our delivery data. Scan, print credit and that's all - it could not be easier than that!"
AkkuShop
''Saloodo! is really easy to use. Just select what you want to ship, enter the pickup & delivery addresses and then wait for offers. This saves a lot of time and money. Before we worked with Saloodo!, we had a freight forwarder with whom we placed all freight orders - no matter the cost."
