Bulletin 187 · footprints
A retired 40 x 40 in plastic pallet is sorted by resin, colour and condition, then reused or ground into regrind. Plastic availability is not sourced here.
Five questions and a photo. We say what we think happens next once the pallets have been seen.
The sixth most produced pallet size in the US across all materials, per Wikipedia. Plastic availability for this size is not sourced here, so treat any claim about it with care.
Dairy, paint and specialty product shippers who run square pallets. These sizes are retired when a customer changes the standard.
Describe what you have rather than relying on the size name. A 40 x 40 may be nestable or solid. Check the resin code and any maker mark.
Send a close-up of a runner, because unusual sizes are easier to identify from the part. Then the count, the resin, the colour, any marks and the ZIP.
Size matters for the trailer. Deck area here is 11.1 sq ft, and Euro 48 x 32 is next closest at 10.3 sq ft, so check you have not got the two mixed together.
The deck is 40 inches by 40 inches, which is 1016 by 1016 millimetres, 1,600 square inches or 1.032 square metres. The diagonal is 56.6 inches. In shape it is square, with a long side 1.00 times the short one.
A tape across the diagonal, 57 inches or 1437 millimetres, is a quick check that a pallet is the size you think it is.
Walk the 13.3 feet of edge on a 40 x 40 in pallet and look at the corners first. Rounded, chipped or cracked corners are where a 40 by 40 deck gives up, and a photograph of each of the four corners tells a buyer more than a paragraph. Sound corners suggest reuse; broken ones suggest regrind.
A 40 x 40 in lot is described by count, resin, colour and condition, with a note on whether it sits banded or loose. Add the pickup ZIP, and photograph one underside so the maker marks and any metal are visible before anything is quoted.
Dairy, paint and specialty product shippers who run square pallets. The size is the sixth most produced in the US across all materials, but the sources do not give a plastic share, so we say nothing about how many are plastic.
Odd square sizes are easiest to identify from a close-up of a runner or a corner. Put a tape on the deck in the picture. A recycler can then tell a 40 x 40 from a 42 x 42 without a visit.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Deck, inches | 40 x 40 |
| Deck, millimetres | 1016 x 1016 |
| Deck area | 11.1 sq ft |
| Against a 48 x 40 | -16.7% deck area |
| Rank | Sixth most produced pallet size in the US (all materials) |
| Footprint | Deck, in | Deck area, sq ft | Area against this | Width difference | Depth difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 | 48 x 40 | 13.3 | 20.0% | +8 in | 0 in |
| 48 x 48 | 48 x 48 | 16.0 | 44.0% | +8 in | +8 in |
| 48 x 45 | 48 x 45 | 15.0 | 35.0% | +8 in | +5 in |
| 45 x 45 | 45 x 45 | 14.1 | 26.6% | +5 in | +5 in |
| 43 x 43 | 43 x 43 | 12.8 | 15.6% | +3 in | +3 in |
| 42 x 42 | 42 x 42 | 12.3 | 10.3% | +2 in | +2 in |
| 36 x 36 | 36 x 36 | 9.0 | -19.0% | -4 in | -4 in |
| Euro 48 x 32 | 47.2 x 31.5 | 10.3 | -7.1% | +7.2 in | -8.5 in |
| 56 x 44 beverage | 56 x 44 | 17.1 | 54.0% | +16 in | +4 in |
| 1200 x 1000 mm | 47.2 x 39.4 | 12.9 | 16.2% | +7.2 in | -0.6 in |
| 1100 x 1100 mm | 43.3 x 43.3 | 13.0 | 17.2% | +3.3 in | +3.3 in |
| Measure | Inches | Millimetres | Centimetres | Feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 40 | 1016 | 101.6 | 3.33 |
| Depth | 40 | 1016 | 101.6 | 3.33 |
| Diagonal | 56.6 | 1437 | 143.7 | 4.71 |
| Pallets | Square feet | Square metres |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11.1 | 1.0 |
| 10 | 111.1 | 10.3 |
| 25 | 277.8 | 25.8 |
| 50 | 555.6 | 51.6 |
| 100 | 1111.1 | 103.2 |
| 250 | 2777.8 | 258.1 |
| 500 | 5555.6 | 516.1 |
Rank: Sixth most produced pallet size in the US (all materials).
Yes. Describe the count, the resin and the condition, and say how the pallets are stacked. We say what we think happens next.
Measure the deck. This one is 40 x 40 in, 1016 x 1016 mm. Euro 48 x 32 is 10.3 sq ft, against 11.1 here.
No. A 48 x 40 is 8 inches longer on one side. Measure both ways before you count.
Usually because a customer changes its standard to 48 x 40 or a different square size.
Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: en.wikipedia.org.