Plan pallet loads with clear, reproducible calculations.

Plan one pallet, then check the transport envelope

A practical load estimate starts with three separate questions: how many cartons fit on one layer, how many layers are permitted, and how many completed pallets can be loaded into the assigned equipment. The answers use different inputs. Carton length and width determine the layer pattern. Carton height, pallet base height and an agreed load-height limit determine the number of layers. Container interior dimensions, actual loaded pallet footprints, gaps and wall clearance determine a floor arrangement. Completing the first calculation does not resolve the next two.

Use the measured outside dimensions of the packed carton, rather than the dimensions of its product or an empty flat box. Include stretch wrap, corner protectors and any protruding packaging when checking the finished load. Keep units consistent throughout an example. A 48 × 40 inch pallet is 1219.2 × 1016 mm; it is close to, but different from, a 1200 × 1000 mm industrial pallet. A tight floor arrangement can change when those dimensions are rounded.

A worked carton-to-pallet example

Suppose a carton measures 400 × 300 × 250 mm and the pallet footprint is 1200 × 800 mm. A uniform arrangement places three 400 mm carton lengths along the 1200 mm side and two 300 mm widths across the 800 mm side: TI = 3 × 2 = 6. Turning every carton through 90 degrees places four 300 mm widths along the pallet length and two 400 mm lengths across its width: TI = 4 × 2 = 8. With rotation allowed, the uniform-grid calculator reports the larger result, eight cases per layer.

If total loaded height is limited to 1500 mm and the pallet base is 144 mm high, 1356 mm remains above the base. Whole layers of 250 mm give HI = floor(1356 / 250) = 5. The plan holds 8 × 5 = 40 cartons. Its loaded height is 144 + 5 × 250 = 1394 mm. There is 106 mm of unused height, but it cannot accommodate another complete layer. This example assumes no interlayer sheet thickness and no permitted overhang; change the inputs if those conditions differ.

At 12 kg per carton and an illustrative 25 kg pallet tare, the palletized load is 40 × 12 + 25 = 505 kg before any additional packaging or securing material. The 25 kg value is an example consistent with the approximate tare published for an EPAL Euro pallet; weighing your own pallet is preferable. Neither 505 kg nor the geometric case count establishes a pallet rating, rack rating or vehicle payload approval.

Choose the tool that answers your next question

The TI-HI calculator explains layer count and stack limits. The configuration calculator searches mixed 0° and 90° case patterns with gaps and edge clearance, and exposes coordinates for checking the arrangement. Its best-found result can exceed a simple uniform grid, but a larger count alone does not establish stability or a practical loading sequence. Use the weight calculator to total known component weights, and the cube calculator for the outside volume of the completed load.

When pallets move into a container, open the floor planner from the main calculator and replace the preset dimensions with the assigned unit's dimensions. Compare the zero-clearance arrangement with the actual gaps, wall clearance and loaded footprint you need. Standard and High Cube dry containers can share a floor footprint while having different usable heights. Refrigerated equipment has its own interior, door and airflow constraints and needs a separate specification.

What to verify before using an estimate

Check the door opening as well as the interior. Verify pallet and carton condition, permitted stacking, load securement, handling access, payload, weight distribution and receiver requirements with the appropriate carrier or supplier. The site calculates geometry and arithmetic from entered values; it does not certify any of those operational conditions. Save the inputs together with the result so a colleague can reproduce the estimate without guessing which assumptions were used.

For reference dimensions, consult the EPAL Euro pallet specification and the Hapag-Lloyd 20-foot dry equipment example. Read our methodology and model limits before interpreting a packing result as a maximum. Equipment examples are starting inputs, not a promise about the next unit assigned to your shipment.