How Many Cartons Fit on a Pallet?

What it depends on

• Pallet footprint: in the U.S. usually 48 x 40 in., which a USDA Forest Service study calls the dominant standardized pallet size.^[3]
• Carton dimensions, tried in both orientations and in mixed patterns.
• Overhang: usually not allowed; retailers treat it as a safety hazard and a chargeback trigger.^[1]
• Maximum pallet height set by the receiver, the trailer and the racking, minus the pallet's own deck height.
• Weight: heavy goods hit the weight limit before the height limit.^[1]
• The receiver's published Ti-Hi, which overrides the arithmetic.^[2]

What is tie high on a pallet?

Ti-Hi (often spelled "tie high") is the standard way to describe a full pallet. The Ti, or tier, is the number of cartons on one layer; the Hi, or high, is the number of layers stacked before reaching safe height or weight limits.^[1] An Australian grocery industry guide gives the shorthand directly: a Ti-Hi of 12x5 means 12 units per layer and 5 layers per pallet, or 60 units.^[2]

Ti x Hi equals the total cases per pallet.^[1] Retailers load each product's Ti-Hi into their warehouse systems, which use it to calculate pallet height and assign rack locations, so a pallet that does not match can be rejected or cause problems in the DC.^[2]

How many cartons on a pallet: worked example

Take 20 x 16 x 12 in. cartons on a 48 x 40 in. pallet with a 6 in. deck and a 60 in. maximum overall height.

1. Try the first orientation. 20 in. along the 48 in. side: 48 / 20 = 2.4, so 2 across; 16 in. along the 40 in. side: 40 / 16 = 2.5, so 2 deep. That is 2 x 2 = 4 per layer.
2. Turn the carton. 16 in. along the 48 in. side: 48 / 16 = 3; 20 in. along the 40 in. side: 40 / 20 = 2. That is 3 x 2 = 6 per layer, filling the deck exactly. The Ti is 6.
3. Find the Hi. Usable height is 60 - 6 = 54 in. Then 54 / 12 = 4.5, so 4 full layers. Round down; a partial layer does not count.
4. Multiply. 6 x 4 = 24 cartons per pallet, standing 54 in. of product on a 6 in. deck.

Always round each division down. A carton that does not fully fit becomes overhang, which retailers treat as a safety hazard and a frequent reason for chargebacks.^[1]

How many boxes can fit on a pallet with a mixed pattern?

A simple grid is not always the best layer. With 16 x 12 in. cartons on a 48 x 40 in. deck, a plain grid fits 9 (3 across at 16 in., 3 deep at 12 in., using only 36 of the 40 in.). Turning the cartons the other way fits 8 (4 across, 2 deep).

A mixed layer fits 10: two rows of 3 cartons with the 16 in. side along the 48 in. edge (each row 48 in. long and 12 in. deep) plus one turned row of 4 cartons (4 x 12 = 48 in. long, 16 in. deep). The depths add to 12 + 12 + 16 = 40 in., so the layer fills the deck with no overhang. That one pattern change adds 11 percent more cartons per layer.

Interlocking layers, where each layer is rotated from the one below in a brick pattern, keep columns from shifting independently; plain column stacking can get wobbly as the stack grows.^[1] Federal workplace rules require stored material stacked in tiers to be stacked, blocked, interlocked and limited in height so it is stable and secure against sliding or collapse.^[4] For how this trade-off plays out when a pallet is rebuilt, see how a damaged pallet gets rebuilt.

How many cartons in a pallet when weight is the limit?

Height is not the only ceiling. Light, bulky goods such as cereal usually run out of height first, while dense goods such as canned food hit the weight limit well before the maximum height.^[1] After you compute Ti x Hi, multiply by the carton weight and add the pallet weight, then compare the total with the pallet's rating, the receiver's maximum, and what the bottom cartons can carry without crushing. If the pallet is too heavy, remove a layer and recompute.

Example

Illustrative only: a distributor ships 20 x 16 x 12 in. cartons that weigh 40 lb each. The Ti-Hi works out to 6 x 4 = 24 cartons, or 960 lb of product plus the pallet. The receiver's routing guide allows a 60 in. pallet, so the fifth layer is not an option even though the weight would allow it. A 2,000-carton order therefore needs 2,000 / 24 = 83.3, or 84 pallets, with the last pallet partly built. If the inbound container arrived floor-loaded, these numbers set how many pallets the cartons are rebuilt onto during devanning.

Limitations

A retailer's published Ti-Hi for an item overrides the arithmetic, and the Ti should not vary between layers or between pallets of the same product.^[2] Bulging cartons, corner boards and label placement can each cost a carton per layer, and carton strength may cap the Hi below the height limit.