Sell 42 x 42 plastic pallets
A 42 x 42 lot is the second most produced pallet size in the US across all materials, and a nestable best seller for at least one plastic supplier. Send the count, the grade, any marks and the ZIP, and the desk reads it against that footprint.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026
42 x 42 at a glance
- Footprint
- 42 x 42 in (1067 mm square)
- Rank
- Second most produced pallet size in the US (all materials)
What a buyer reads in a 42 x 42 lot
A buyer reads a 42 x 42 lot as a common mid-size square. The rank comes from all pallet materials, not from plastic alone, so do not assume plastic buyers are plentiful. One plastic supplier lists it as a nestable best seller, which tells a buyer that nestable stock in this size circulates.
The ranking is a statement about the whole pallet market. This page does not claim it for plastic. What it means for a seller is that buyers know the size.
Who sells 42 x 42 pallets
- Food and beverageHow this industry's lot is read
- Retail and groceryHow this industry's lot is read
- Distribution centersHow this industry's lot is read
Send this with a 42 x 42 lot
- Style: nestable is the usual one
- Count by stack
- Whether the lot is one maker or several
- The ZIP and photos of a stack from the side
Put the footprint, the count and the ZIP into the pile sorter first. It rules the lot sold, returned or scrapped, then hands the same answers to the form below.
42 x 42 pallets that are whole, flat and unmarked.
42 x 42 pallets with a pool name, logo or RFID tag: the owner's, not yours.
42 x 42 pallets with cracked, burnt or crushed decks, by weight.
Is 42 x 42 a common plastic size?
One plastic supplier lists it as a nestable best seller. The rank of second most produced is for all materials, and the plastic share is not stated.
Do I need to count 42 x 42 nestables by stack?
Yes. Nestables sit inside one another, so a lot is counted in stacks, and the number per stack matters.
Words you will meet
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
- Resin identification code
- Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
- Regrind
- Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
- Dynamic load
- Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
- Racking load
- Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
- ISPM 15
- The international standard for treating wood packaging against pests. Plastic pallets are outside it.
- Captive pallet
- A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
- Multi-trip pallet
- A pallet designed to be returned and reused many times.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- UL 2335
- UL fire-test standard for storage pallets, with an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test.
- Commodity classification
- Sprinkler design class of stored goods; an unlisted plastic pallet can raise it.
- Thermoforming
- Heated plastic sheet formed over a mould; lighter pallets.
- Profile extrusion
- Pushing resin through a die to make long shapes that form pallet parts.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 x 40 in North American standard footprint.
- Euro pallet
- 800 x 1200 mm footprint.
Who asks, and what they need
- Food and beverage distributors and bottlers
- Clean, odour-free, washable pallets; open or closed deck; 56 x 44 beverage and 48 x 40 sizes; often asks about food-contact paperwork.
- Retailers that collect pooled or one-way pallets
- Stacks of marked and unmarked pallets left by suppliers; need to know which can be sold and which belong to a pool.
- Warehouses with automated storage
- Rackable pallets with a stated rack rating, cruciform base, consistent size for conveyors.
What the sources say
- A 48 x 40 pallet fits 30 stacks in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, per one supplier. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Private employers in the US averaged 1,775,008 jobs across 42,763 establishments in food manufacturing (NAICS 311) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (166,660), Texas (112,088), Illinois (98,300), Pennsylvania (82,538), Wisconsin (81,993). (data.bls.gov)
- Private employers in the US averaged 316,938 jobs across 16,316 establishments in beverage manufacturing (NAICS 3121) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (63,604), Texas (24,154), New York (13,802), Pennsylvania (13,207), Florida (12,661). (data.bls.gov)
- Private employers in the US averaged 829,364 jobs across 49,933 establishments in grocery and related product wholesale (NAICS 4244) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (109,827), Texas (75,474), Florida (63,967), New York (50,594), Illinois (48,629). (data.bls.gov)
- Census Bureau: seasonally adjusted e-commerce sales were $340.2 billion, 17.1 percent of total retail sales, in the second quarter of 2026 (released August 18, 2026). (census.gov)
- States where food manufacturing is the largest share of private jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW): Nebraska (4.9%), Arkansas (4.7%), Iowa (4.6%), Alaska (3.4%), Wisconsin (3.2%); the national share is 1.33%. (data.bls.gov)
- Rehrig Pacific's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair and options for FDA-approved colours, RFID and up to 15 percent black recycled content. (rehrigpacific.com)
- Pallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle and reduce performance. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Plastic pallets can deform (creep) under heavy long-term loads and are hard to repair. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Plastic pallets are made by injection molding, structural foam molding, thermoforming, compression molding, rotational molding and profile extrusion. (en.wikipedia.org)
- NFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them. (en.wikipedia.org)
- FM 4996 passes a pallet if fire is controlled at 5.9 mm/min (0.15 GPM/ft2) within a 10-minute test of eight 1.2 m stacks. (iccsafe.org)
- Nestable pallets can cut empty-pallet storage space by up to 75 percent. (blog.containerexchanger.com)
- The 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide. (blog.containerexchanger.com)
- 48 x 48 plastic pallets hold four 55-gallon drums without overhang; 48 x 45 matches North American auto parts bulk containers. (nelsoncompany.com)
Keep reading
Send the lot
Size, count, grade, branding and ZIP. Photos help, and you can reply to the first answer with them. This site states no price or pickup date.