Cartons Per Pallet: Worked Example

Start with the best of two simple layers

This worked example keeps cartons upright: 40 × 30 cm footprint and 25 cm height. On a 120 × 80 cm pallet, the aligned grid holds six cartons and the rotated grid holds eight. Rotation here changes the footprint only; it does not turn a 25 cm side into the box height.

Open the example to see both diagrams beside the inputs. The calculator compares floor(120/40) × floor(80/30) with floor(120/30) × floor(80/40). Rounding down on each axis is essential because a fraction of a carton cannot occupy the leftover strip.

Use overall height, not carton-stack height

The maximum field includes the pallet. With a 180 cm limit and 14.4 cm pallet, six 25 cm layers fit. The load is 164.4 cm tall, leaving 15.6 cm below the limit. A seventh layer would exceed it.

• Load the exact measurements in the calculator

Why volume division is not a packing plan

The available rectangular space above the deck is 120 × 80 × 165.6 cm, or 1.58976 m³. Each carton is 0.03 m³. Dividing gives an upper bound of 52 whole cartons, but the simple upright grid fits only 48. The remaining vertical space cannot accommodate another complete layer.

The volume quotient ignores where the unused space sits. A narrow strip beside the boxes or a short gap above them can add up to substantial volume without accepting one more carton. The floor-by-axis count captures that restriction for the two grids shown.

Record the assumptions with the count

For a packing note, record the carton size, pallet size, pallet height, overall-height limit, orientation, layers and cartons per layer. A bare number such as 48 is difficult to verify later if a different pallet or carton arrives.

Weight capacity, carton compression strength, center of gravity and restraint are outside this count. A mixed pattern might improve floor utilization on other dimensions, but this tool does not promise a globally optimal packing arrangement. The same zero-overhang assumption is used in the guide and calculator.

• Pallet loading worksheet