Styles · a yard walk

Plastic pallet styles buyers ask about

Eight styles cover what sellers call their pallets. The style sets the rating, and the rating sets how a buyer reads the lot. Pick one to inspect.

Last reviewed November 12, 2026

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Style tells a buyer what the pallet can do

A seller says "nestable" or "rackable" and means a function. Nestable pallets sit inside one another. Stackable pallets carry other pallets on top. Rackable pallets bridge rack beams. Some do all three. The style is also the quickest guide to the rating, and the rating is what a buyer needs.

Styles and what they promise
Style	What it does	Rating to read
Nestable	Legs fit inside each other when empty	Static and dynamic; often no rack rating
Rackable	Sits on rack beams	Racking or edge rack, the lowest rating
Nestable, stackable and rackable	All three in one model	All three, per model
Stackable	Carries loaded pallets above	Static
Export or one-way	Cheap, light, not expected back	Lower; not usually rack-rated
Hygienic or food-safe	Cleanable, for food and pharma docks	Resin and colour documents
Fire-rated	Listed under FM 4996 or UL 2335	The listing label
Injection moulded	Made by forcing molten resin into a mould	Process, repair route

Three ratings to know

Static capacity is the highest of the three: the weight a pallet carries at rest, or the bottom pallet carries when stacked. Dynamic capacity is lower: the weight carried while moving. Racking capacity, where a pallet has one, is often the lowest. Only pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating. The maker issues all three from calculation and tests that assume an even load.

Words for the shape of a pallet

Term	Meaning
Open deck	Gaps between slats or ribs; lighter, drains
Closed deck	Solid top; keeps small items from falling through
Runners	Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack
Cruciform base	A cross-shaped member as well as a perimeter, for strength and automated handling
4-way entry	Forks or a jack can enter from all four sides
Nest increment	The height each extra nested pallet adds to a stack

Words you will meet

Cruciform base: Bottom with a cross-shaped member as well as a perimeter, for strength and automated handling.
Static load: Weight a pallet carries at rest, or the bottom pallet carries when stacked. The highest of the three ratings.
Runners: Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
Racking load: Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
Open deck: Top deck with gaps between slats or ribs; lighter and drains.
Closed deck: Solid top deck with no gaps; keeps small items from falling through.
Nest increment: How much height each extra nested pallet adds to a stack.
Rackable: Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
Dynamic load: Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
Lip: Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.
4-way entry: Forks or a jack can enter from all four sides.
Injection moulding: Pallet made by forcing molten resin into a mould at high pressure.
Compression moulding: Moulding by pressing resin in a closed mould; one of six processes in use.
Edge rack: Resting on the rack beams by the pallet's edges only, with no support in the middle.
FM 4996: FM Approvals standard that rates a pallet as equal to wood in fire tests.
Anti-slip: Textured deck or rubber grommets that reduce load slip.

Who asks, and what they need

Warehouses with automated storage: Rackable pallets with a stated rack rating, cruciform base, consistent size for conveyors.
Pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers: Hygienic pallets that can be sanitised; documents on resin and colour; PP sometimes preferred for sterilisation.
Closed-loop and captive pallet users: Large uniform lots of one size and style; repair and replacement parts.

What the sources say

Nelson Company defines dynamic capacity as the load a pallet carries in motion, always below static; static as the load at rest and the bottom pallet's limit in a stack; racking as the load across an open rack span, often the lowest and given only for pallets designed for it. (nelsoncompany.com)
Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet is high-pressure injection molded co-polymer polypropylene, with 540 per 53 ft trailer. (rehrigpacific.com)
Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. (nelsoncompany.com)
That nestable has a 2.50 in nest increment and 1,260 units per 53 ft trailer. (rehrigpacific.com)
Only pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating. (nelsoncompany.com)
Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 heavy-duty nestable pallet is 48.25 x 40.25 x 6.5 in, weighs 28.5 lb, is rated 10,000 lb static and 3,500 lb dynamic, has a 2.55 in nest increment and 1,200 units per 53 ft trailer; the page lists no racking rating. (rehrigpacific.com)
Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet weighs 44.2 lb with a dynamic rating of 4,000 lb, static 10,000 lb and edge rack 2,000 lb. (rehrigpacific.com)
Pallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load. (nelsoncompany.com)
About 500 million pallets are made each year as of 2020, with about 2 billion in use in the US. (en.wikipedia.org)
HDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking. (nelsoncompany.com)
For products touching the pallet directly, stricter federal requirements may call for non-blended virgin HDPE; recycled pallets often meet general FDA needs. (nelsoncompany.com)
HDPE has resin identification code 2, a density of 930 to 970 kg/m3, melts at 131.8 C and is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded. (en.wikipedia.org)
PHS lists its EXP 100 nestable (48 x 40 x 5.2 in) at 78 pallets per stack and 2,340 per truckload, and its EXP 116 (48 x 40 x 5.75 in, 15,000 lb static) at 40 per stack and 1,260 per truckload: a higher static rating comes with fewer pallets per stack. (phsinc.com)
USDA NASS counted 3.99 billion cubic feet of gross refrigerated warehouse capacity in the US on October 1, 2025, with usable capacity of 3.25 billion cubic feet (82 percent of gross). (esmis.nal.usda.gov)
Fastmarkets estimates 3.7 billion pallets were in circulation in the US in 2025, and that annual pallet production rose from about 800 million before the pandemic to nearly one billion afterward. (fastmarkets.com)
A Nelson 48 x 40 x 4.8 in nestable, stackable, rackable polypropylene pallet weighs 18.0 lb with ratings of 10,500 lb static, 3,100 lb dynamic and 2,700 lb racking, and is listed as ISPM 15 exempt. (nelsoncompany.com)

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