Specify for your load
Tell us weight, how it is supported and whether it goes into racking.
Static
The load a pallet carries at rest, sitting on a flat floor with full support underneath. This is always the largest figure and the least useful one.
Dynamic
The load it carries while being moved by fork or jack — accelerating, braking, flexing. This is the number that matters for nearly every operation.
Racking
The load it carries unsupported, spanning between two beams. Bending governs here, not crushing, and the figure is dramatically lower.
Figures are typical ranges for recycled 48 × 40 GMA stringer platforms and are indicative, not a certification. If your application is safety-critical or racked, ask us for a specific build and we will specify lumber and board dimensions against your load case rather than quoting a range.
Seven variables, in rough order of impact.
| Variable | Effect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Support condition | Largest single factor | Floor-supported versus racked can halve the usable figure |
| Load distribution | Very large | A uniformly distributed load behaves nothing like four point loads |
| Lumber species | Large | Oak and Appalachian hardwood are substantially stiffer than pine |
| Board thickness | Large | Bending stiffness rises with the cube of depth — a sixteenth matters |
| Stringer count | Moderate | A fourth stringer shortens the deck board span and raises racking capacity |
| Deck coverage | Moderate | Governs whether cartons bridge the gaps or sag into them |
| Moisture content | Moderate | Green lumber is heavier and less stiff than kiln-dried |
Six lines in an email beat a spec sheet.
- Total load weight, and whether it varies
- How it sits — uniformly distributed, drums, a single machine, bagged product
- Floor stacked, racked, or both at different points in the journey
- Stack height, if platforms go on top of each other
- Handling method — fork, jack, clamp, or automated
- Journey length and mode. A sea container does things to a load that a yard move does not.
Four quotes we always question.
- 'It needs to hold 4,000 lb' with no support condition stated.
- Racking a platform that was specified for floor storage, because the warehouse changed layout.
- Economy 5/3 construction under dense bagged product — the cartons sag between boards.
- Double-stacking a load whose bottom pallet was rated dynamically, not statically.
Capacity, answered.
Does a recycled pallet carry less than a new one?
Not inherently. A correctly repaired platform of the same construction has the same rated capacity. What changes is variance across a load — new stock is more uniform, which matters if you are running close to the limit.
Can you certify a capacity figure?
We can specify a build against your load case and state the design basis. Formal third-party certification for a published rating is a laboratory exercise; if your application needs it, we will tell you so rather than issue a number.
What is a safe working margin?
Common practice is to keep the working load at or below about two-thirds of the relevant rating for the actual support condition. For racked loads, be more conservative — a bending failure in racking is not a gentle event.
Does heat treatment weaken the wood?
Not meaningfully at ISPM-15 temperatures. Prolonged high-temperature exposure well above 56 °C can reduce strength, which is why chamber cycles are controlled and logged rather than guessed.
Support condition, species and footprint.
Three tables that between them explain why one platform carries four thousand pounds on a floor and sags under twelve hundred in a rack.
| Support condition | What governs | Share of static rating | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor, full contact | Crushing | 1.00 | The largest published figure and the least useful one. |
| Fork tines, in motion | Bending + dynamic shock | 0.35–0.45 | The dynamic rating. What matters for nearly every operation. |
| Racked across stringers | Stringer bending | 0.30–0.40 | Stringers span the beams. The stronger racking orientation. |
| Racked along stringers | Deck board bending | 0.15–0.25 | Deck boards span unsupported. Frequently halves usable capacity. |
| Racked, sustained months | Creep | 0.12–0.20 | Progressive, non-recovering deflection. Floor storage never reveals this. |
| Double stacked | Lower platform crushing | Static rating of lower unit | Do not apply a dynamic rating to a platform carrying another platform. |
Factors are indicative multipliers against the floor-supported static figure, for a standard recycled 48 × 40 GMA stringer platform. Racking orientation alone can halve the usable number.
| Species | Group | Specific gravity | Stiffness | Nail holding | Weight | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern yellow pine | Softwood | 0.51 (oven-dry sg) | Moderate | Moderate | Light | $ | Plantation-grown, abundant, dimensionally stable once dried. The default for new builds. |
| Appalachian red oak | Hardwood | 0.63 | High | Excellent | Heavy | $$$ | Stiffest common option. Best for racked spans and high-cycle closed loops. |
| Poplar / tulipwood | Hardwood | 0.42 | Moderate | Good | Light-medium | $$ | Light for a hardwood, clean-looking, favoured on the millwork bench. |
| Maple (soft) | Hardwood | 0.54 | High | Very good | Medium-heavy | $$ | Common in mixed Appalachian loads; good all-rounder. |
| Sweetgum | Hardwood | 0.52 | Moderate | Good | Medium | $ | Prone to warping if dried badly. Fine in a repaired platform, awkward in millwork. |
| Mixed Appalachian | Hardwood | 0.42–0.63 | Variable | Good–excellent | Medium-heavy | $$ | What a recycled hardwood load actually is. Strong, heavy, and genuinely inconsistent. |
A recycled load is a mix by definition, because the recovered pool is a mix. We sort to a single species group on request, which costs more and takes longer.
| Footprint | Inches | Millimetres | Construction | Top / btm boards | Weight lb | Dynamic load | Racked load | Board feet | Positions per 53′ van |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 GMA | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 heavy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, thicker | 7 / 7 | 46–58 | 3,000–4,000 lb | 2,200–3,000 lb | 44 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 economy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer | 5 / 3 | 28–34 | 1,200–1,800 lb | Not recommended | 27 | 30 |
| 48 × 48 | 48 × 48 | 1219 × 1219 | 4-stringer or block | 7 / 5 + perimeter | 52–68 | 3,000–4,500 lb | 2,000–3,000 lb | 46 | 26 |
| 42 × 42 | 42 × 42 | 1067 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 32–44 | 2,000–2,600 lb | 1,400–2,200 lb | 34 | 30 |
| 40 × 48 | 40 × 48 | 1016 × 1219 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,400–2,300 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 42 | 48 × 42 | 1219 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 35–50 | 2,200–2,900 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 39 | 30 |
| 40 × 40 | 40 × 40 | 1016 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 6 / 4 | 28–40 | 1,800–2,400 lb | 1,200–2,000 lb | 31 | 30 |
| 48 × 36 | 48 × 36 | 1219 × 914 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 30–42 | 1,900–2,500 lb | 1,300–2,100 lb | 33 | 34 |
| Euro / EPAL 1 | 47.2 × 31.5 | 1200 × 800 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 50–57 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 33 | 40 |
| Euro 2 / industrial | 47.2 × 39.4 | 1200 × 1000 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 60–70 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 41 | 30 |
| Euro 3 / half | 31.5 × 23.6 | 800 × 600 | Block | Varies | 20–26 | 1,100 lb | Not rated | 17 | 80 |
| Quarter / display | 23.6 × 15.7 | 600 × 400 | Block or moulded | Varies | 9–14 | 550 lb | Not rated | 9 | 160 |
| Asia standard | 43.3 × 43.3 | 1100 × 1100 | 9-block | Varies | 48–60 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 36 | 28 |
| Australia standard | 45.9 × 45.9 | 1165 × 1165 | Block | Varies | 55–66 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 40 | 26 |
Capacities are indicative ranges for recycled stock, not certifications — see load capacity for how the three ratings differ. Trailer positions assume the better of the two orientations on a 630″ × 98″ floor. Usable floor of a 53-foot dry van. Reefers and curtainsides run shorter and narrower.