Recognize a width problem before requesting equipment
A shipment contains thirty Euro pallets and the planner wants to know whether pallet-wide equipment could accommodate a simpler floor arrangement than a standard forty-foot dry container. The question is about internal width as well as length. Standard High Cube mainly provides height; pallet-wide belongs to a different equipment family. Requesting High Cube without specifying pallet-wide can leave the original width problem unchanged. Identify the equipment class that the carrier actually offers on the intended movement before treating a wider drawing as a booking option.
The following example compares the site’s 12032 × 2352 mm standard floor with CMA CGM’s published forty-foot High Cube pallet-wide floor of 12095 × 2444 mm. The carrier’s page also lists a 2400 mm door width for that pallet-wide example. Those are representative, non-contractual technical data. Availability and the assigned unit specification remain separate questions. A dimensional comparison is useful at the planning stage, but the calculation should not be described as a promise that this equipment will be supplied.
See exactly why three Euro widths are a threshold
Place each Euro footprint with its 1200 mm side along the container and its 800 mm side across. Three widths require 3 × 800 = 2400 mm. That exceeds the standard 2352 mm floor by 48 mm and therefore cannot form a uniform three-across row there. It is 44 mm below the 2444 mm pallet-wide example. Ten 1200 mm positions require 12000 mm along the length, so the simple zero-gap pallet-wide grid contains 10 × 3 = 30 footprints on the stated 12095 × 2444 mm rectangle.
The standard floor’s same-orientation grid contains ten positions along and only two across, or twenty footprints. Its mixed-orientation search can improve on twenty and the historical zero-gap fixture places twenty-five. Compare the simple thirty-position pallet-wide grid with that actual standard mixed candidate, not only with the weaker standard grid. The wider equipment changes a geometric threshold, but a fair comparison must preserve footprints, spacing assumptions and result status on both sides.
| Item | Standard historical preset | CMA CGM pallet-wide example |
|---|---|---|
| Internal floor | 12032 × 2352 mm | 12095 × 2444 mm |
| Three 800 mm widths | 48 mm too wide | 44 mm residual |
| Ten 1200 mm lengths | 32 mm residual | 95 mm residual |
| Simple zero-gap uniform grid | 20 | 30 |
| Door width | 2340 mm preset | 2400 mm example |
Use the gap formula before accepting thirty positions
Thirty footprints in that uniform pallet-wide grid occupy 12000 mm length and 2400 mm width with no added separation. If an illustrative gap g = 10 mm is required between neighboring footprints, the length becomes 10 × 1200 + 9 × 10 = 12090 mm and the width becomes 3 × 800 + 2 × 10 = 2420 mm. Both are below the published floor dimensions, but the length residual is now only five millimetres before end clearance. This is a threshold calculation, not a loading allowance recommendation.
Add a specifically required ten millimetres at each end and the length requirement becomes 12110 mm, which exceeds the 12095 mm example. The thirty-position uniform arrangement then fails those particular inputs. A mixed search might find another candidate, but its returned coordinates and status must be examined rather than retaining the earlier thirty count. A small percentage reduction is not an adequate substitute for checking which complete rows fit. The count changes in discrete steps as dimensions cross layout thresholds.
Check the door and the insertion method separately
Three 800 mm footprints side by side occupy 2400 mm, the listed door width of the pallet-wide example. That does not mean three loaded pallets should be driven in as a combined row. Pallets are usually handled individually, and their wrapped footprints, fork-entry direction and the loading sequence must be reviewed. The door is a separate passage from the final interior floor. A group that fits inside can still be unsuitable for the proposed entry method.
Likewise, a single loaded pallet can have an upper-level protrusion beyond its deck. A nominal 800 mm width may become 840 mm at a protective board. Three such envelopes require 2520 mm and no longer fit across the example. Use the largest relevant loaded envelope in the rectangle model, and record when a rectangular envelope is conservative or fails to capture an important shape. The planner does not infer those protrusions from the Euro pallet name or from a carrier’s published pallet-capacity reference.
Avoid borrowing a forty-five-foot claim for forty-foot equipment
Carrier pages can discuss forty-foot and forty-five-foot pallet-wide equipment within the same section. A capacity claim for the longer version is not evidence of the same count in the shorter version. Compare the specific equipment row and its inside length, width and door. CMA CGM’s current table distinguishes a 12095 × 2444 mm forty-foot example from a 13624 × 2420 mm forty-five-foot example. Their width residuals and length thresholds differ, so a label alone is insufficient for a reproducible calculation.
Do not reuse commercial claims about handling time or reduced restraint as loading approval. The floor engine models final rectangles, not motion, cargo strength or securing. A tightly filled floor still needs an appropriate restraint and handling plan. If pallet-wide equipment is unavailable on part of the route, confirm how the proposed pallet arrangement would transfer to the equipment actually used. Route access and commercial availability cannot be established by a geometric result.
Compare equipment with your own spacing
Write two scenarios with the same completed pallet footprint and the same rotation, gap and wall clearance. Use 12032 × 2352 mm for the historical standard comparison and 12095 × 2444 mm only as the published pallet-wide example. Hand-check the thirty-position grid with n × dimension + (n − 1) × gap. Replace both example records with assigned equipment information before using the result for shipment planning.
Write your own input record beside this example: equipment identifier; dimension source and date; actual loaded footprint; rotation; gap; wall clearance; loaded height; result count and proof status. Retain the record with the layout.
Keep proof status and shipment quantity separate
The simple thirty-position grid is a valid construction under its zero-gap example assumptions; it is not automatically a proof that thirty is the largest possible packing. The site’s finite engine searches strips and multiple MaxRects rules for identical rectangles. Best found means the best valid candidate it discovered. A supported area bound or verified fixture is required for an optimal label. Custom pallet-wide dimensions should not inherit proof from a standard dry-container fixture with a different floor.
For an order of 1170 cases at forty cases per pallet, ceil(1170 / 40) = 30 finished pallets. Twenty-nine full loads contain 1160 cases and the last has ten. The final pallet still occupies a floor position if its footprint is unchanged. Track its different height and gross weight in the cargo list. The potential value of the wider equipment comes from a demonstrated arrangement for those thirty actual loads, rather than an abstract pallet count with no order or dimensional record.
Primary sources and scope
CMA CGM container technical tables: Separate standard and pallet-wide equipment rows; technical examples are non-contractual.
EPAL Euro pallet: Reference 1200 × 800 mm footprint, distinct from the wrapped envelope.