How Many Australian Pallets Fit in a 20ft Container?
A 20ft container takes 10 Australian pallets on the floor in a single layer, 5 down the length by 2 across. The count uses the 5898 x 2352 mm usable interior with no overhang and no stacking.
By pallet type
Other pallets in a 20ft container
Australian 1165 x 1165 pallets in other containers
The short answer
10 Australian pallets on the floor of a 20ft container, 5 down by 2 across, single tier, no overhang. Floor area used: 97.8%.
The 1165 mm Australian pallet predates the ISO container and fits a 20ft with almost nothing to spare: two abreast use 2330 mm of the 2352 mm width, a 22 mm margin in total. Ten pallets is the count and you will feel every millimetre of that width at the doors.
Internal dimensions used
- 20 ft Standard Dry: 5898 x 2352 x 2393 mm usable interior (232 x 93 x 94 in), 28,200 kg payload.
- Australian standard pallet (1165 x 1165 mm): 1165 x 1165 mm footprint (45.9 x 45.9 in), 150 mm deck, 2,000 kg dynamic rating.
Usable figures sit a little under nominal to allow for corrugation, posts and the door frame; the count is a plain grid with no overhang.
Long side or short side down the container
A 1165 x 1165 mm pallet has one footprint, so there is no long side to choose. Down the 5898 mm length you fit 5 pallets (73 mm left over at the doors) and across the 2352 mm width 2 (22 mm left over). That is 5 x 2 = 10 on the floor, using 97.8% of the floor area. Turning a square pallet changes nothing: the leftover length is either enough for another full row or it is wasted.
What changes with double stacking
Two tiers need every loaded pallet, deck included, at or under 1196 mm in the 2393 mm interior: goods no higher than 1046 mm on a 150 mm deck. The 1500 mm load preset here (1650 mm with the deck) is one tier only. Under 1046 mm the floor count doubles to 20, if the bottom tier can carry the top.
Weight is worth a check too: 10 pallets at the 2,000 kg dynamic rating comes to 20,000 kg against a 28,200 kg payload, so a second tier at full weight would not clear it.
The same Australian pallet in the other three
| Container | Interior L x W (mm) | Longways | Turned | Best floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft Container (this page) | 5898 x 2352 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 40ft Container | 12032 x 2352 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 40ft High Cube | 12032 x 2352 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 53ft Trailer | 16002 x 2591 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
Check it with the calculators
The calculator above is preset to this pallet and container; change the load height or add a pallet weight to see tiers and payload. For other pallet sizes in the same box, use pallets in a 20ft container or the 20ft container load calculator; for any pairing, the pallets per container calculator. To plan the pallet itself, see the Australian pallet calculator.