Industrial pallet: dimensions, weight and uses

The industrial pallet is a category of carriers, not a single fixed standard. In practice a 1200 × 1000 mm footprint may be a certified EPAL 2 or a pallet of quite different construction. For the EPAL 2 the figures are firm: 1200 × 1000 × 162 mm, about 35 kg, safe working load 1250 kg. The distinction matters, because the dimensions alone tell you nothing about capacity or about how the load will behave in a warehouse and on the road.

When 1200 × 1000 mm actually matters

The dimension is meaningful when it describes a specific carrier rather than a general category. A wider base can help with a bigger load, or with goods that need steadier support. What you must not do is assume every carrier with that footprint has EPAL 2 parameters. Without a standard mark, go to the manufacturer's data sheet and confirm weight, height and permitted load. In a warehouse operation those are the figures that decide whether the pallet suits the job.

An overview of the other standards - EUR, ISO, the CHEP and CP pooling systems - is in the guide to pallet types and sizes.

Industrial pallet vs euro pallet

The difference is not just the name. A EUR / EPAL 1 measures 1200 × 800 × 144 mm, weighs around 25 kg and carries 1500 kg. The 1200 × 1000 mm base changes how many units stand in a row, how stable the stack is and how much floor gets used. For a load plan that is a real difference: the same goods can end up with a different weight distribution and different support.

The height gap has operational consequences too. An EPAL 2 is 18 mm taller than a euro pallet, which at low rack clearances or when double-stacking can decide whether the unit fits its slot at all - the load height sits on top of that.

Where the wider base wins

An industrial pallet makes sense where the bigger footprint helps hold the load steady or spreads the weight better. That applies especially to taller, wider or tip-sensitive goods. The choice cannot rest on the dimension alone: weight, height, centre of gravity and the permitted orientation of the carton all come into it.

• Case packs with a footprint near 500 × 600 mm, which close out a layer on 1200 × 1000 mm with no overhang.
• Goods with a high unit weight, which need wider support rather than a taller stack.
• Tip-sensitive loads, where a lower centre of gravity and a wider base cut down on rocking.
• Export flows where the consignee works on the industrial format and expects a matching carrier.

Working out the carton layout

Assume a 600 × 500 mm carton, no overhang and no gaps:

Before adopting that layout, check weight, height, stability and the permitted orientation of the packaging. And remember that doubling the cartons per layer doubles the weight resting on the bottom ones. The method for counting them is in how many boxes fit on a EUR pallet.

The most common mistakes

The usual one is treating the 1200 × 1000 mm format as automatically carrying EPAL 2 weight and capacity. It is not a safe assumption. The second is looking only at the pallet dimensions while ignoring load weight, total unit height and stability - in practice those are what decide whether the layout survives the warehouse, the dock and the road. Without a clear standard mark, base the decision on the manufacturer's documentation, not on the name.