Pallet loading calculator
Enter the carton size and weight, the maximum height you can use, and the pallet you are loading onto.
Cartons per pallet
—
- Load height
- — in
- Handling unit height
- — in
- Handling unit weight
- — lb (pallet weight not in this figure)
- Volume
- — ft³
- Density
- — lb/ft³
- Freight class
- —
- Subprovision
- —
The pallet's own height and weight are part of this calculation: the density above is the handling unit's weight divided by its volume, not the freight alone. This is a density-based estimate using the 13-subprovision density scale from NMFC Docket NMFC-2025-1, and the density scale applies only where there are no handling, stowability, or liability issues. Your carrier makes the final call.
This tool answers the question that comes before a freight class: if you put these cartons on this pallet, what are you actually shipping? Give it a carton size, a carton weight and a maximum height, pick the pallet you have, and it works out how many cartons fit per layer, how many layers you get, how tall and how heavy the finished handling unit is, and the density and class that follow. The step most tools skip is the last one: the pallet you are loading onto is part of the shipment.
The pallet is part of what you are shipping
Freight class here is calculated from the density of the handling unit — the pallet plus everything on it. That means the pallet contributes height and weight to the same measurement your class comes from, and the load height you measure with a tape is not the number the calculation uses.
This is the mistake the tool is built to prevent. Most people measure the stack, because the stack is the part they built. Pull the tape from the floor next to the pallet to the top of the freight and you have missed the pallet's own height entirely, and the resulting density comes out high. So this page reports both heights side by side — load height and handling-unit height — and calculates from the second one.
If you have not weighed the pallet, that is fine and the page will say so. Our sources give pallet weights for some builds and not others, and we would rather show you which part of the total is missing than quietly substitute a figure from somewhere we cannot cite.
What it optimises, and what it will not guess
It looks for the arrangement that fits the most cartons on the pallet in total, not the arrangement that fits the most per layer. Those are different answers: turning a carton on its side usually packs more per layer and also makes each layer taller, so you get fewer layers. Maximising the total is what a shipper wants, and it is not what a per-layer maximum gives you.
Two limits are applied and the page tells you which one bound the result. Stack height is limited by the maximum height you enter, minus the pallet's own height. Load is limited by the pallet's rated capacity where our sources give one, less the pallet's own weight. Knowing which limit you hit is the difference between lowering your stack and changing your pallet, so it is reported rather than hidden.
What the tool will not do is invent a maximum height. The pallet specifications we can cite give stacking limits and load ratings, and none of them state how high freight may be stacked in a trailer or a rack. Your trailer, your rack opening or your receiver's requirements decide that, so it is an input rather than a default.
What this does not decide
The class this tool reports is a density-based estimate under the NMFC density scale, and that scale applies only where there are no handling, stowability or liability issues with the commodity. A pallet load that fits neatly and weighs the right amount can still class differently because of what is on it. The carrier makes the final call.
It also does not tell you whether the pallet is legal for the trailer, whether the load needs strapping or void fill, or whether your receiver will accept the pallet at all. Those are real constraints, and they come from somewhere other than a density calculation.
Frequently asked
Do I enter the load height or the total height?
Enter the maximum **total** height you can use, including the pallet — for example the clear height of your trailer or rack opening. The tool subtracts the pallet's own height to work out how much room is left for freight, which is why you choose a specific pallet build first.
Why does it ask which pallet I have?
Because pallets with the same 48 × 40 footprint are built to different heights — the builds we can source are 4.75, 5.56 and 143.002 mm depending on construction — and the height goes straight into the volume your density comes from.
Can I use this for a pallet it does not list?
Not directly. We list a pallet only when we can cite its dimensions to a primary source, which is why the list is short. A pallet we cannot source would give you a number with nothing behind it.
Is the class it reports the class I will be charged?
No. It is a density-based estimate under the NMFC density scale, which applies only where there are no handling, stowability or liability issues, and your carrier's tariff decides the price.