Container Loading Calculator: Pallets & Cartons

Why can floor-loading fit more cartons?

Loose cartons can use the space occupied by pallet decks and gaps between pallets. The gain depends on carton dimensions and the permitted orientation. Compare that space saving with manual unloading time, damage risk and the equipment available at both ends of the shipment.

Does the container result include the payload limit?

The estimate checks the entered carton and pallet weights against the selected container preset. Confirm the container’s actual payload plate and the transport limits for the route. A geometric fit alone does not establish a safe or permitted cargo load.

How many cartons fit on an Australian pallet?

Divide the pallet’s length and width by the carton’s, in both orientations, and multiply the whole numbers: on a 1165 mm square pallet a 400 × 300 mm carton gives 2 × 3 = 6 one way and 3 × 2 = 6 the other. Splitting the deck, with two columns of cartons lengthwise and a rotated strip in the remaining 365 mm, fits 8. The calculator tries the block and split patterns for every allowed orientation and reports the highest count with a diagram. Then it counts layers: the usable height (your limit minus the pallet) divided by the carton height, 6 layers of 250 mm under an 1,800 mm limit, for 48 cartons. Finally it checks the weight: 48 cartons at 12 kg is 576 kg, under the entered 1,000 kg load limit, so height is the constraint; at 30 kg a carton the pallet would be weight-limited to 33.

What are the standard pallet and container sizes in Australia?

The Australian standard pallet is 1165 × 1165 mm, unlike the 1200 × 1000 mm ISO pallet used in much of the world and the 1200 × 800 mm Euro pallet, which is why global pallet calculators give the wrong answer here. Container dimensions vary by equipment: the calculator uses a 20-foot general purpose planning preset with an internal floor of about 5,898 × 2,352 mm and a height of 2,393 mm, a 40-foot GP is 12,032 mm long, and a 40-foot high cube adds about 300 mm of height. Ten Australian pallets fit on the floor of a 20-foot container and twenty in a 40-foot; the awkward 1165 mm dimension leaves less wasted width than the ISO pallet’s 1000 mm but the same count.

The CHEP Australian wooden pallet specification supplies the 38 kg tare used in the example. Confirm the actual pallet rating and container plate before loading.

How high can you stack a pallet?

The limit is whichever comes first: your racking bay height (commonly 1,800 to 2,100 mm including the pallet), the carrier’s limit (often 2,200 mm for road freight, and containers at 2,393 or 2,698 mm), the pallet’s certified load limit for the intended racking or floor use (the calculator’s 1,000 kg default is a planning assumption), and the crush strength of the bottom cartons. The calculator takes a height limit and a load limit and applies both; set a maximum number of layers if the cartons cannot bear more than a certain number above them. Stack height and gross weight are shown so you can quote the pallet to a carrier for cubic weight.

Should you palletise or floor-load a container?

Floor-loading cartons uses the container’s volume more fully (the calculator shows 981 loose cartons against 480 palletised for the worked example) and avoids paying to ship pallets, but it costs labour at both ends and slows receiving. Palletised loads are unloaded in minutes with a forklift and go straight into racking. Most Australian wholesalers palletise unless the goods are light and the labour is cheap at origin; the calculator gives both numbers so the freight cost per carton can be compared with the handling cost.