42 x 42 plastic pallets, by the trailer
42 x 42
- Inches
- 42.0 x 42.0
- Millimetres
- 1,067 x 1,067
- Deck area
- 12.25 sq ft
- Rank
- Second most produced in US, all materials
- Metric
- 1067 mm square
A 42 x 42 in square pallet ranks second among pallets produced in the US across all materials, per the Wikipedia article on pallets. One plastic supplier lists a nestable 42 x 42 as a best seller.
Those two facts are about different things: the first is a ranking of every pallet material, the second is one supplier's plastic listing. Neither says how many plastic 42 x 42 pallets are made.
Where the 42 x 42 is used
Flows that already run on a 42 in square wooden pallet, where a plastic one is chosen to replace it with the same footprint.
The footprint, worked out
The 42 x 42 figures below are arithmetic on the footprint (42.0 by 42.0 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 | 42.0 x 42.0 |
| Length x width, mm | 1,067 x 1,067 |
| Deck area | 1,764 sq in (12.25 sq ft) |
| Area against a 48 x 40 | 91.9 percent |
| Corner to corner | 59.4 in |
| Long side over short side | 1.00 |
Because the ranking is for all materials, plastic availability depends on the maker. We list what we can source and say so when we cannot.
Next to its closest footprints
| Footprint | Deck area | Compared with this one |
|---|---|---|
| 43 x 43 | 1,849 sq in | 104.8 percent of this footprint |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1,860 sq in | 105.4 percent of this footprint |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 1,876 sq in | 106.3 percent of this footprint |
| 48 x 40 | 1,920 sq in | 108.8 percent of this footprint |
A like-for-like swap keeps every opening and conveyor guide in your plant as it is. That is the case for matching footprint, not for matching price.
What to settle before the order
- The current wooden pallet it replaces, to confirm the 42 in footprint.
- Whether nesting matters, since one supplier lists a nestable model.
- Static and dynamic load for your use.
- Entry type.
- Colour and marks for identifying your own pallets.
Check the thickness. A plastic deck is not always the same height as the wooden one it replaces.
All sixteen footprints against the 42 x 42
The table sets every other footprint on this site against the 42 x 42, whose deck is 1,764 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 42 x 42 | Difference, sq in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 1,920 | 108.8% | +156 |
| 48 x 48 | 2,304 | 130.6% | +540 |
| 48 x 45 | 2,160 | 122.4% | +396 |
| 45 x 45 | 2,025 | 114.8% | +261 |
| 43 x 43 | 1,849 | 104.8% | +85 |
| 40 x 40 | 1,600 | 90.7% | -164 |
| 36 x 36 | 1,296 | 73.5% | -468 |
| 48 x 32 Euro | 1,536 | 87.1% | -228 |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1,860 | 105.4% | +96 |
| 1200 x 1200 mm | 2,232 | 126.5% | +468 |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 1,876 | 106.3% | +112 |
| 56 x 44 | 2,464 | 139.7% | +700 |
| 48 x 20 half | 960 | 54.4% | -804 |
| 40 x 24 half | 960 | 54.4% | -804 |
| 24 x 20 quarter | 480 | 27.2% | -1,284 |
Measure this on your own dock
Count how many of these a rack bay holds today and ask whether a plastic pallet of the same footprint keeps the count. A 42 in deck is 3 percent wider than a 40 x 40 and 4.2 percent shorter than a 44 in rack opening; those small differences are what decides a snug fit.
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
- Dynamic load
- Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Lip
- Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.
- Anti-slip
- Textured deck or rubber grommets that reduce load slip.
- Multi-trip pallet
- A pallet designed to be returned and reused many times.
- One-way pallet
- A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.
- Captive pallet
- A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
- Edge rack
- Resting on the rack beams by the pallet's edges only, with no support in the middle.
- Recycled-content pallet
- A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
Questions at the dock
Is the 42 x 42 a common pallet?
It is second most produced in the US across all materials, per Wikipedia.
Is it common in plastic?
One plastic supplier lists a nestable 42 x 42 as a best seller. That is one supplier.
Keep reading
Last reviewed 2026-11-12.