- Footprint
- 40 x 30 in
- Inside height
- 30 in
- Volume
- 20.8 cu ft
- Listed by one distributor
- 1,200 lb, triple wall
What this size is
Not every load wants a full pallet. A 40 x 30 in footprint is a compact box that two people can move and that fits on a half-stack of a larger pallet. It is cheap to hold and easy to pull from a rack, and it matches a load that is dense but not heavy enough to need a big box.
It appears in the keyword trade as "40x30x30 box," and that is how plants and small shops ask for it. At 30 in tall it sits at the bottom of the 2-wall range (30 to 36 in), which means it can come double wall for light loads or triple wall for heavy ones. State which.
The numbers
| Field | Value | How it is worked |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | 40 x 30 in | Length by width, matched to a pallet |
| Inside height | 30 in | Floor of the box to the top of the walls |
| Volume | 20.8 cu ft | 40 x 30 x 30 = 36,000 cu in. Divided by 1,728 cu in per cu ft that is about 20.8 cu ft. |
| Listed by one distributor | 1,200 lb | One distributor's triple-wall figure, not a maker standard |
| Wall counts cited at this height | 2-wall | Heights makers cite: 2-wall 30 to 36, 3-wall 34 to 40, 4-wall 36 to 41, 5-wall 36 to 46 in |
What it is used for
- Small shops and light assembly.
- Hand-fed lines where a worker lifts from the box.
- Returns and kitting.
- A short box for parts that do not suit a full pallet.
Because 40 x 30 in is an off-size, check how it sits on your pallet. It leaves 8 in on the 48 in side and 10 in on the 40 in side, so the load needs a plan for the empty margin.
How many fit on a 53-foot trailer
Computed, not promised. For the 40 x 30 x 30 in box we use round working numbers for the trailer floor: 636 in long, 100 in wide and 108 in high inside, and a 6 in pallet under each box, which makes each layer 36 in tall. Check your carrier's trailer, since inside dimensions vary.
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| Best orientation | 15 rows of 3 across |
| Boxes on the floor | 15 x 3 = 45 |
| Height per layer | 30 + 6 = 36 in |
| Layers that fit | 3 (108 / 36, rounded down) |
| If every layer is allowed | 135 |
Stacking is limited by the box rating, the weight of the load and your carrier's rules, so the last line is a ceiling, not a plan. The trailer guide works the other sizes the same way.
Questions
What is the volume?
Does it come in double wall?
Filling the 40 x 30 x 30 in box by height
| Fill height (in) | Cubic feet | Share of full |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4.2 | 20.0% |
| 12 | 8.3 | 40.0% |
| 18 | 12.5 | 60.0% |
| 24 | 16.7 | 80.0% |
| 30 | 20.8 | 100.0% |
Checking a 40 x 30 x 30 in request
- Confirm the inside dimensions in writing.
- Ask for the wall count and the stamped limit.