Selling surplus 48x40 pallets starts with the grade you can see and the count you can stand behind. The 48 by 40 inch pallet is the most common size in North America, so a clean stack of them is the easiest surplus to place.
The 48 by 40 inch pallet, often called the GMA pallet, is the most common wood pallet size in North America and accounts for roughly 30 percent of all new wood pallets produced in the United States. Racking, trailers and conveyors in most warehouses are built around it. A shipper who needs pallets rarely has to be talked into the size.
A typical one weighs 33 to 48 pounds, stands 5.5 to 6 inches high and carries a static load of about three short tons. None of that matters to a seller unless the pallet is sound, which is why the sale turns on repairs, not size.
| Grade | Signs | Sale outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A | No repairs, original boards, no plugs | Places most readily; wanted by clean outbound loads |
| Grade B | Replaced deck boards, plates or plugs from 6 to 24 inches long | Places well for general freight |
| Grade C | Poor appearance, several repairs, boards that may not be fully intact | Usually handled as a core or cleared |
| Mixed | More than one grade or size together | Asked about as a mixed load first |
Look at the stringers, the three long timbers a stringer pallet is built on, before the deck boards. A cracked stringer decides whether a pallet is repairable at all. The Grade A vs Grade B guide has the full list of signs.
A stack of 12 on one footprint is about 6 feet tall, so 120 pallets are 10 stacks covering roughly 133 square feet. Count stacks, multiply by the pallets in each, and write the total. A fair estimate is more useful than a round number that proves wrong.
Say where the stacks stand. Inside by a dock door, outside on the apron, or in a back lot with a locked gate each change what a pickup needs, and the access question matters as much as the count.
Give the count, the grade you can see and how the stack is reached.
Yes, a repaired but sound pallet ships freight fine. It is simply not what a food or clean-room load usually wants.
Send the request as mixed and say roughly how many of each size. A pile with a clear majority of 48x40s places more easily.
Sources, last reviewed 12 November 2026