Dimensions and weight
The GMA pallet is 48 inches along the stringer (length) and 40 inches across the deck boards (width). A standard hardwood or mixed-wood unit weighs somewhere between 33 and 48 pounds depending on lumber and moisture. It is a stringer-class pallet, usually notched to allow partial four-way entry.
- Length: 48 in (1219 mm)
- Width: 40 in (1016 mm)
- Weight: ~33–48 lb
- Deck height: ~5–6 in
Load capacity
Capacity depends on construction, but a typical GMA pallet handles around 2,500 lb of dynamic load (while being moved) and can hold up to roughly 4,600 lb static (sitting still) and around 2,800 lb racked. Always confirm the rating for the specific grade and build you are buying, especially for heavy or racked loads.
Board layout
A classic GMA pallet has seven top deck boards and three or more bottom boards over three stringers. The leading and trailing top boards are usually wider ("lead boards") to take the brunt of forklift entry. This layout balances strength, weight, and material cost — which is a big reason it became the standard.
Why it dominates
The GMA footprint won because the grocery industry standardized on it decades ago, and grocery drives a huge share of pallet volume. Once racking, trucks, and automated equipment were all built around 48x40, network effects locked it in. Today it is the safest default: the easiest to buy, sell, recycle, and recover.
For your operation, that ubiquity is an advantage. A 48x40 pallet has the deepest resale and recycling market, so it holds value best and is the easiest to source on short notice.
Stringer vs block construction
Most GMA pallets you will meet in North America are stringer pallets: three parallel runners (the stringers) support the top deck, and the fork entry runs between them. Notching the outer stringers creates partial four-way entry, letting a forklift enter from all four sides while a pallet jack still works best from the two open ends. This is why a classic GMA is often described as "four-way" even though it is not fully symmetrical.
Block pallets, by contrast, use nine solid blocks instead of stringers, giving true four-way entry with equal access from every side. They are common in Europe and in pooled systems, and they tend to be more rigid and easier for automation to handle from any direction. In practice the GMA stringer design remains the default in the US because it uses less lumber for a similar footprint, which keeps both cost and weight down.
- Stringer: three runners, partial four-way via notches, lighter and cheaper
- Block: nine blocks, true four-way entry, more rigid
- GMA standard is a notched-stringer design
How it stacks, racks, and ships
The 48x40 footprint was chosen partly because it fits standard equipment cleanly. Two pallets sit side by side across the roughly 100-inch inside width of a standard 53-foot dry van, and a typical trailer holds around 26 to 30 of them on the floor depending on how they are turned. Loading them "straight" (48-inch side along the trailer length) versus "pinwheeled" changes the count and how tightly the load rides.
On racking, remember that a pallet resting on two rack beams is only as strong as its bottom boards spanning the gap, so the racked rating (around 2,800 lb for a typical build) is lower than the static floor rating. If you rack unsupported, verify the bottom-board layout and the racked rating rather than assuming the static number applies. Getting this wrong is a common cause of deck-board failure in storage.
When to choose a different size
The GMA is the safe default, but it is not always the right one. If your product footprint wastes space on a 48x40 deck, a size like 48x48 (common for drums) or a smaller display pallet can cut both wasted cube and wood. Export shipments to regions built around metric equipment sometimes favor other footprints entirely, though the 48x40 still travels widely.
The trade-off is always market depth. Any non-GMA size is harder to buy used, harder to sell as surplus, and slower to source in a pinch, so a niche footprint should earn its place with a real space or handling saving. When the math does not clearly favor a special size, sticking with 48x40 keeps your options open and your costs low. We can run the load geometry with you before you commit.
Put this into practice
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