48x40 containers

Built around the grocery pallet

US grocery and beverage warehouses are laid out around the 48 x 40 in pallet. Craemer, a pallet maker, builds its US standard industrial pallet at exactly that size, and bulk boxes cut to the same outline drop into those rack bays, conveyors and trailer patterns with nothing changed. That is the whole appeal of this footprint over the automotive 48x45.

ORBIS pitches its 4048 series at food, industrial, beverage and international shipments, with capacities from 1,500 to 2,000 lb. Buckhorn rates its 48 x 40 boxes from 1,200 to 2,500 lb and describes a post-and-pocket build with optional steel runners and hit plates for heavy parts. Flexcon names distribution centers, 3PLs, HVAC and plumbing distributors and line-side supply as users of its 48x40x30 folding box.

Length, width and the door side

Length is the 48 in side, width the 40 in side. On the ORBIS GP4048-34, the two access doors sit on the 40 in end, so the box is picked from the short face. That differs from most 48x45 automotive boxes, where doors run along the 48 in side, and it changes which way the box faces in a pick aisle.

Watch the decimals on ORBIS's HDR4048 line. It measures 47.2 x 39.4 in, not 48 x 40. Converted, 47.2 in is about 1199 mm and 39.4 in about 1001 mm, which is the metric 1200 x 1000 mm pallet size. Those boxes still fit a 48 x 40 deck with a little room around them; they simply are not the same outline as the GP and AG models at a full 48 x 40 in.

Handling is four-way. Buckhorn's category page lists drop doors and fork entry from every side, extension rings for taller builds, and 100% recyclable HDPE. For export loads, tell us the receiving end's pallet: overseas plants often run 1200 x 1000 or 1200 x 800 mm decks, and a metric-sized HDR4048 can suit both ends of that lane better than a full-inch box.

Models and heights on 48x40

ORBIS also rates the GP4048-34 at 6 high static and 3 high dynamic, with a solid or ventilated deck. Where a seller page contradicts itself, as the PHS page does on capacity, we check the maker's sheet before we quote a number.

How the trailer count works

Start from about 630 in of inside length in a 53-foot trailer. Turned with the 40 in side running lengthwise, 630 / 40 = 15.75, so 15 rows; at two across that is 30 floor spots. Three high gives 90, which is the assembled count ORBIS prints for the GP4048-34, and eight folded boxes per spot gives its 240.

Turn the same box the other way and 630 / 48 is only 13 rows, or 26 spots. Which way the box faces is worth four floor spots per trailer, so we settle orientation per load. Worked figures for your own mix of heights are on our trailer fill page, and the trailer loads guide covers weight limits.

What gets built in this footprint

Collapsible bulk containers are the bulk of it: ORBIS GP, AG and HDR models, Buckhorn BH and BG, and others with optional drop doors. Rigid bulk bins share the deck; IPL Schoeller says its MacroBin 44 Solid, 39.0 x 46.75 x 42.38 in with double walls, sits on a standard pallet footprint for food, beverage and industrial use. Hand-held totes tile it too: ORBIS says its AF-21 fits four to a 40 x 48 pallet, which is the 24x20 page, and its AF2416-13 fits five, a 600x400 mm size.

Industries that run 48x40

• Food processing: ingredient and work-in-process bins that live on grocery pallets.
• Beverage: ORBIS lists beverage among its 4048 uses and files models under that filter.
• Distribution and 3PL and wholesale distribution: the users Flexcon names for its 48x40x30.
• Manufacturing: line-side supply, and the heavy parts Buckhorn's runners and hit plates are built for.
• Agriculture: ORBIS files 4048 models under agriculture as well.

Buying used, and what to send us

Because this footprint serves food and drink as well as industry, a used lot's history is the first question. We do not call any used box food-grade. Tell us what goes in, and we ask the seller what it held before and pass on whatever the maker states about the resin; Flexcon itself says to confirm food-contact use before ordering. Our food contact guide lists the papers plants ask for, and buying used covers grades A, B and C.

For a quote, send the outside height or the tallest load, which end the doors must face, solid or vented deck, weight per box, stack height, count and delivery ZIP. If you are torn between this and the automotive size, read 48x40 vs 48x45 first, then use the quote form.