36 x 36 plastic pallets, by the trailer
36 x 36
- Inches
- 36.0 x 36.0
- Millimetres
- 914 x 914
- Deck area
- 9.00 sq ft
- Rank
- Ninth most produced in US, all materials
- Metric
- 914 mm square
A 36 x 36 in pallet, 914 mm square, is the ninth most produced size in the US across all materials according to the Wikipedia article on pallets. It is the smallest square on this site's list of full pallets.
Plastic availability is not sourced, so we treat each enquiry as a question to answer rather than a stock line to sell.
Where the 36 x 36 is used
Small loads where a full-size deck would waste floor or load height.
The footprint, worked out
The 36 x 36 figures below are arithmetic on the footprint (36.0 by 36.0 in), not a maker's claim. Inches convert to millimetres at 25.4, deck area is length times width, and the comparison is against the 48 x 40 GMA at 1,920 sq in.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Nominal length x width, inches | 36.0 x 36.0 |
| Length x width, mm | 914 x 914 |
| Deck area | 1,296 sq in (9.00 sq ft) |
| Area against a 48 x 40 | 67.5 percent |
| Corner to corner | 50.9 in |
| Long side over short side | 1.00 |
Its area is 1,296 sq in, 67.5 percent of a 48 x 40. Two 36 x 36 pallets occupy less floor than two 48 x 40, but they carry a smaller load each.
Next to its closest footprints
| Footprint | Deck area | Compared with this one |
|---|---|---|
| 48 x 32 Euro | 1,536 sq in | 118.5 percent of this footprint |
| 40 x 40 | 1,600 sq in | 123.5 percent of this footprint |
| 48 x 20 half | 960 sq in | 74.1 percent of this footprint |
| 40 x 24 half | 960 sq in | 74.1 percent of this footprint |
A small deck lowers the room for forklift tines. Check that the tine width fits the opening of the pallet you are quoted.
What to settle before the order
- What fixes the 36 in: a bag base, a shelf bay or a machine feed.
- The weight of one loaded pallet.
- Whether a 40 x 40 or a half-size pallet would serve instead.
- How many arrive in each delivery.
- Whether empties need to nest between trips.
State the entry you need, two-way or four-way.
All sixteen footprints against the 36 x 36
The table sets every other footprint on this site against the 36 x 36, whose deck is 1,296 sq in. A figure under 100 percent means the other deck is smaller. The last column is the plain difference in area, which is what a lift truck driver would call extra or missing deck.
| Footprint | Deck area, sq in | Against the 36 x 36 | Difference, sq in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 1,920 | 148.1% | +624 |
| 48 x 48 | 2,304 | 177.8% | +1,008 |
| 48 x 45 | 2,160 | 166.7% | +864 |
| 45 x 45 | 2,025 | 156.3% | +729 |
| 43 x 43 | 1,849 | 142.7% | +553 |
| 42 x 42 | 1,764 | 136.1% | +468 |
| 40 x 40 | 1,600 | 123.5% | +304 |
| 48 x 32 Euro | 1,536 | 118.5% | +240 |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1,860 | 143.5% | +564 |
| 1200 x 1200 mm | 2,232 | 172.2% | +936 |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 1,876 | 144.7% | +580 |
| 56 x 44 | 2,464 | 190.1% | +1,168 |
| 48 x 20 half | 960 | 74.1% | -336 |
| 40 x 24 half | 960 | 74.1% | -336 |
| 24 x 20 quarter | 480 | 37.0% | -816 |
Measure this on your own dock
Compare the load, not the footprint. A 36 in square deck is 67.5 percent of a 48 x 40, so a load that weighs a third less per pallet is the one it suits. If the product is heavier than that, the deck is the wrong place to save floor space.
From request to trailer
- Send the ship-to. A delivery ZIP, a footprint and a quantity, in pallets or in trailers. If you do not know a rating, describe the load.
- We match a model. We pick a maker and model whose published static, dynamic and racking load fit the load, and say so when only one maker fits.
- You get a count. The quote carries the maker's own per-trailer figure where one is published, and says plainly where none is.
- Papers and delivery. For food or pharma we attach the resin and colourant documents. A standing supply repeats the same line on every order.
What a complete request carries
- The footprint, in inches or millimetres, and whether it is fixed by a rack bay or a container.
- How many pallets, or how many 53 ft trailers.
- The ratings the load needs: static for the stack, dynamic for the move, racking only if the pallet sits on beams.
- Food, pharma, chemical, automotive, warehouse or export use, which sets the papers.
- One load now, or a standing supply with the same line on every order.
- Where it goes and when, and anything marked on the pallet: colour, logo, RFID tag.
Terms on this page
- Static load
- Weight a pallet carries at rest, or the bottom pallet carries when stacked. The highest of the three ratings.
- Dynamic load
- Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
- Racking load
- Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
- 4-way entry
- Forks or a jack can enter from all four sides.
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- Cruciform base
- Bottom with a cross-shaped member as well as a perimeter, for strength and automated handling.
- Closed loop
- Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
- Stackable
- Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
Questions at the dock
Where does 36 x 36 rank?
Ninth most produced in the US across all materials, per Wikipedia.
Is it easy to buy in plastic?
Plastic availability is not sourced here. Send the request.
Keep reading
Last reviewed 2026-11-12.