ISO 6780: standard pallet sizes and footprints

What ISO 6780 covers

ISO 6780 sets the principal plan dimensions of flat pallets used for intercontinental materials handling, together with their tolerances. It does not tell you how to build the pallet or how strong it must be. Construction is left to national standards such as the Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets or EPAL, and strength testing to ISO 8611.

Its practical value is agreement on a short list of footprints so that racking, trucks, containers and automated equipment can be designed around them.

The six ISO 6780 footprints

This list is from the 2003 edition. Check the current edition before quoting it in a contract.

Where the sizes come from

Each footprint matches a regional system that was already in wide use. The 48 x 40 in is the North American grocery pallet described by the GMA spec. The 1200 x 800 is the European EUR pallet. The 1165 x 1165 is the Australian standard size, used by the CHEP Australia pool, and the 1100 x 1100 is the T11 size used in Japan and Korea. Rather than pick one, the standard lists all six.

Who uses ISO 6780

• Exporters choosing a footprint that the destination's warehouses, racks and pooled systems already handle.
• Packaging engineers sizing cartons and unit loads, since a load designed for one ISO footprint can move between compatible handling systems.
• Equipment makers designing racking, conveyors and AS/RS lanes.
• Buyers writing global specs who want one footprint list for every region.

How ISO 6780 relates to other size standards

A pallet can be ISO 6780 sized without being an EPAL or GMA pallet. A 1200 x 800 block pallet built by any shop has the ISO footprint, but only a licensed EPAL producer can make and mark an EPAL pallet.

Footprint is not the whole pallet

ISO 6780 fixes the plan dimensions only. Two pallets on the same footprint can differ in height, entry, deck coverage and strength. An EPAL 1 is 144 mm tall with full 4-way entry; a GMA-style 48 x 40 is 4.75 in tall with partial 4-way entry. Specify those separately.

How it shows up on a spec or drawing

The footprint is the first item on a spec and in the classification line: length x width, with length along the stringers or stringerboards. For metric pallets, state millimeters first; for North American pallets, inches first. Converting a 48 x 40 in pallet gives 1219 x 1016 mm, the ISO value, so both forms describe the same footprint. Overall height is set separately and is not part of ISO 6780's footprint list.

Picking an ISO footprint for an export lane

• North America: 48 x 40 in (1219 x 1016 mm) or 42 x 42 in (1067 x 1067 mm).
• Europe: 1200 x 800 or 1200 x 1000 mm. If the customer runs on the EPAL exchange pool, specify a licensed EPAL pallet.
• UK: 1200 x 1000 mm is the common perimeter-base size.
• Australia: 1165 x 1165 mm.
• Japan and Korea: 1100 x 1100 mm.

Also check the container. Different footprints fill a shipping container differently, so do the floor-plan math before committing to a size.

How palletdesign.ai uses it

palletdesign.ai uses the ISO 6780 footprints as its starting sizes. The 48 x 40, 42 x 42, 1200 x 800, 1200 x 1000, 1165 x 1165 and 1100 x 1100 pages each have a generated drawing, parts list, weight and indicative cost. The EUR / EPAL 1 template builds a 1200 x 800 block pallet in metric units. The engine stores every size internally in inches and displays either unit, so a metric footprint keeps its exact millimeter value on the drawing. Use choosing a pallet size to pick between them.