Sizes in print: 42 x 42
42 x 42 pallets: the square beverage size
A 42 x 42 pallet is square, 42 inches each way or about 1,067 by 1,067 mm, and it is common in the beverage industry.
Why square
A square footprint suits round-packed products: kegs, drums, cases of bottles stacked in a square pattern. With no long axis, a pallet can be turned either way on a truck or a line. It also means loads pack tightly, which is why the beverage trade adopted it.
Against 48 x 40
| 42 x 42 | 48 x 40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint, inches | 42 x 42 | 48 x 40 |
| Deck area | 12.3 sq ft (1,764 sq in) | 13.3 sq ft (1,920 sq in) |
| Share of the 48 x 40 | About 92 percent of the area | The reference |
| Typical use | Beverage | General freight |
Where it turns up near Orlando
Beverage bottling is one of the industries along the Turnpike corridor in Lake County, near Groveland, so 42 x 42 stock is most likely to pass through docks there. See the beverage page and the Groveland page.
Buying and selling
A dock that receives 42 x 42 pallets with product and ships them out empty will accumulate a pile of one odd size. That pile is worth more sorted. If you are selling, say so in the request; if you are buying, give the build as well as the size.
Two across, with room to spare
Two 42 x 42 pallets side by side use 84 inches of a 98-inch trailer, leaving 14 inches, and fifteen rows of 42 use 630 of the 636 inches of length. That makes 30 pallets in one layer, four more than a 48 x 40 with its long side along the trailer. The saving is real, but the freight on top of a square pallet must be packed square too, which is why the size sits with beverage, kegs and drums.
Why a square pallet reads differently in a stack
A pallet with equal sides has no weak direction for the forks. Both pairs of opening lie the same distance apart, so a truck can come at it from any side without checking the label. A rack with beams set for a 48-inch pallet may not seat it: a 42-inch pallet can fall short of one of the beams. A mixed pile of 42 x 42 and 48 x 40 stock is therefore sorted by hand, not by sight alone.
Corners and kegs
A square deck fits a square pattern of kegs or drums, but it also puts every corner at the same distance from the centre, so a load that overhangs does so evenly. A forklift that approaches at a slight angle meets the same board on any side. Damage tends to show on the corner blocks and the boards nearest them, which are the first places to check on a returned stack.
Second in production, first in a few trades
The Wikipedia pallet article ranks the 42 x 42 second in North American production and lists it among the six ISO sizes, naming telecommunications and paint as industries that use it, alongside the beverage trade. In a 40-foot container it leaves 11.5 percent of the floor unused, more than the 3.7 percent of a 48 x 40, a cost the shipper accepts because the square footprint suits the product.
Metric, rounded
Converted exactly, 42 inches is 1,066.8 millimetres, which standards round to 1,067. Anyone writing a spec in millimetres should quote 1,067 by 1,067; one writing it in inches should quote 42 by 42. Mixing the two, or writing 1,070, invites a quote for a different pallet.
Sources
Last reviewed 12 November 2026.