48 x 48 plastic pallets, by the trailer
48 x 48
- Inches
- 48.0 x 48.0
- Millimetres
- 1,219 x 1,219
- Deck area
- 16.00 sq ft
- Typical use
- Four 55-gallon drums
- Example
- STK 207, 4,000 lb dyn., 30,000 lb static
A 48 x 48 in pallet is square, and it is the pallet drum shippers reach for: Nelson Company says it holds four 55-gallon drums without overhang. A square deck lets a lift truck pick it from any side without a rotation decision.
Buyers ask for it in uniform lots and tell us the use first, drums, bags or boxes, because the use sets the static load that matters.
Where the 48 x 48 is used
Chemical and drum shipping. The published example is PHS STK 207, a stackable listed at 4,000 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. That is one model; other 48 x 48 models are rated differently, so read the sheet of the model you are quoted.
The footprint, worked out
The 48 x 48 figures below are arithmetic on the footprint (48.0 by 48.0 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 | 48.0 x 48.0 |
| Length x width, mm | 1,219 x 1,219 |
| Deck area | 2,304 sq in (16.00 sq ft) |
| Area against a 48 x 40 | 120.0 percent |
| Corner to corner | 67.9 in |
| Long side over short side | 1.00 |
Square footprints trade trailer efficiency for handling freedom. A 48 x 48 does not tile a trailer floor the way a 48 x 40 does, and we have no published per-trailer count for it, so we do not quote one.
Next to its closest footprints
| Footprint | Deck area | Compared with this one |
|---|---|---|
| 1200 x 1200 mm | 2,232 sq in | 96.9 percent of this footprint |
| 48 x 45 | 2,160 sq in | 93.8 percent of this footprint |
| 56 x 44 | 2,464 sq in | 106.9 percent of this footprint |
| 45 x 45 | 2,025 sq in | 87.9 percent of this footprint |
Check the drum count before the size. A deck that fits four drums without overhang leaves no spare margin for a drum that is slightly out of round, so measure your own drum.
What to settle before the order
- How many drums per layer and how many layers, so the static load is known.
- Whether the drums are steel or plastic and whether they are strapped.
- Entry: all four sides open suits a square deck.
- Chemical resistance of the resin for your product, from the maker.
- Any fire listing the insurer asks for.
Where the drums are filled on the pallet, the deck should hold liquid weight evenly. An uneven load counts against every rating.
All sixteen footprints against the 48 x 48
The table sets every other footprint on this site against the 48 x 48, whose deck is 2,304 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 48 x 48 | Difference, sq in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 1,920 | 83.3% | -384 |
| 48 x 45 | 2,160 | 93.8% | -144 |
| 45 x 45 | 2,025 | 87.9% | -279 |
| 43 x 43 | 1,849 | 80.3% | -455 |
| 42 x 42 | 1,764 | 76.6% | -540 |
| 40 x 40 | 1,600 | 69.4% | -704 |
| 36 x 36 | 1,296 | 56.3% | -1,008 |
| 48 x 32 Euro | 1,536 | 66.7% | -768 |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 1,860 | 80.7% | -444 |
| 1200 x 1200 mm | 2,232 | 96.9% | -72 |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 1,876 | 81.4% | -428 |
| 56 x 44 | 2,464 | 106.9% | +160 |
| 48 x 20 half | 960 | 41.7% | -1,344 |
| 40 x 24 half | 960 | 41.7% | -1,344 |
| 24 x 20 quarter | 480 | 20.8% | -1,824 |
Measure this on your own dock
Measure the drum before the pallet. Four 55-gallon drums fit a 48 x 48 without overhang, per Nelson Company, so the square deck is the whole point; a drum that is slightly out of round or banded with a ring can take that margin. Hold one drum against the deck and count the inches left on each side.
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.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Stackable
- Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.
- 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
How many drums fit a 48 x 48 pallet?
Four 55-gallon drums fit without overhang, per Nelson Company.
What is a published rating for a 48 x 48?
PHS lists STK 207 at 4,000 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. Other models differ.
Keep reading
Last reviewed 2026-11-12.