- Footprint
- 48 x 45 in
- Inside height
- 40 in
- Volume
- 50 cu ft
- Listed by one distributor
- No figure listed
What this size is
A 48 x 45 in footprint is not a general warehouse pallet. It is a pack size. A supplier whose returnable containers are 48 x 45 in needs a backup pack that matches, so that racks, trucks and the receiving plant's handling do not change. This is the entry the backup pack desk points to.
A used listing for this size was a five-ply box with partial bottom flaps and slip sheets, and the boxes had carried plastic components once. That tells you the shape of a typical lot: heavy construction, a partial bottom that relies on the slip sheet, and a clean history. It does not tell you what is available now, and it is not a promise of stock.
The numbers
| Field | Value | How it is worked |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | 48 x 45 in | Length by width, matched to a pallet |
| Inside height | 40 in | Floor of the box to the top of the walls |
| Listed by one distributor | none | No figure for this size; the stamp is the only rating |
| Wall counts cited at this height | 3-wall, 4-wall, 5-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
- Backup packs for a 48 x 45 in returnable shortage.
- Export and cross-border lanes where the pack is one way.
- Plastic and molded components moving in a partial-bottom box on a slip sheet.
- Launch periods when a supplier must ship before returnables arrive.
Check the footprint on the customer's packaging sheet, not the pallet. A 48 x 45 in box on a 48 x 40 in pallet overhangs by 5 in on one side, and overhang costs compression strength. Match the pallet to the box.
The trailer guide works the other sizes the same way.
Questions
Who uses a 48 x 45 gaylord?
Does a partial bottom work for this size?
Filling the 48 x 45 x 40 in box by height
| Fill height (in) | Cubic feet | Share of full |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7.5 | 15.0% |
| 12 | 15.0 | 30.0% |
| 18 | 22.5 | 45.0% |
| 24 | 30.0 | 60.0% |
| 30 | 37.5 | 75.0% |
| 36 | 45.0 | 90.0% |
| 40 | 50.0 | 100.0% |
Why the 48 x 45 in footprint exists
The 48 x 45 in pallet is ranked seventh among North American pallet sizes by production and is the one tied to the automotive trade (Wikipedia, Pallet, retrieved 12 November 2026). A box on that footprint is therefore usually specified to a customer's packaging sheet, not picked from a stock list. A request for this size needs the footprint, height and wall count written out.
Trailer arithmetic, worked out here
Using the 636 in interior length and 98 to 100 in width from the trailer guide (ATS trailer guide, retrieved 12 November 2026), a 48 x 45 in pallet loaded with its 48 in side along the trailer gives 13 rows of two, or 26 positions. Turned, the 45 in side runs along the trailer: 14 rows of two fit in that length, or 28 positions, though the two 48 in sides together come to 96 in and leave very little clearance in a 98 in van. At 40 in plus a 6 in pallet, a box stands 46 in, so two layers are 92 in and still fit under a 108 in roof.
Outside the ISO pallet list
Six pallet sizes are ISO-sanctioned and 48 x 45 in is not among them; the 40 x 48 in GMA size wastes 3.7 percent of the floor of a 40 ft ISO container, the best of the six (Wikipedia, Pallet, retrieved 12 November 2026). A 48 x 45 in footprint is 3 in (76 mm) deeper than a GMA pallet, which is why it suits a plant that ships to its own customer's racks and fits a container less efficiently than the standard.
Cube, worked out here
Taking 48 x 45 x 40 in as interior, the cube is 86,400 cubic inches, or exactly 50 cubic feet, which is 25 percent more than the 40 cubic feet of a 48 x 40 x 36 in box. That is why an automotive pack on this footprint carries more parts per move, and why its weight rating matters more than its size.
- Uline, triple-wall boxes (1,100 lb test)
- Container Exchanger, the gaylord box guide
- Container Exchanger, used 48 x 45 x 40 five-wall listing