The three sizes you will run into
Three pallet standards coexist in Mexico, and picking the wrong one breaks nothing on day one — it simply means you pay for space you never use, every month, all year.
| Pallet | Dimensions | Where it dominates |
|---|---|---|
| Mexican standard | 1.20 × 1.00 m | Domestic operations, Mexican retail |
| American (GMA) | 48 × 40 in (1.219 × 1.016 m) | United States, export, distribution centers |
| European (EPAL) | 1.20 × 0.80 m | Imported European product |
The American and Mexican sizes are close enough that many people treat them as identical in practice — they differ by roughly two centimeters per side. The European one is what actually breaks your layout: 20 centimeters less width means dead space in every rack position designed for 1.00 m.
The international reference for these dimensions is ISO 3676, which is why the 48 × 40 format is recognized in almost any distribution center in the world.
How to choose: the question is where it's going, not where it came from
The practical rule is simple: choose the pallet based on the destination of the goods, not their origin.
- If your product sells in Mexico and ships from a Mexican warehouse, 1.20 × 1.00 makes the best use of the racking.
- If a meaningful share of your volume crosses into the United States, 48 × 40 saves you a full re-palletizing step at the border.
- If your product arrives from Europe on EPAL, it is almost always better to re-palletize on arrival than to drag that size through your entire operation.
Re-palletizing sounds like an added cost, and sometimes it is — but it should be weighed against months of poorly used rack positions. In warehousing you are not billed for the space you occupy; you are billed for the position you block.
Weight and load capacity
An empty wooden pallet weighs on the order of 25 kg, and a loaded one easily exceeds 500 kg. Specialized industry sources put the dynamic load capacity of a standard American pallet at roughly 900 to 1,270 kg — dynamic meaning while the pallet is in motion on a forklift; stacked and static, the number is different.
That figure matters for two reasons that are not obvious:
- The racking has its own limit. It is not enough for the pallet to hold; the position storing it also has a capacity, and the lower of the two governs.
- Nobody loads to the limit anyway. Stack height, stability, and what the bottom carton can bear usually cap the load well before the pallet's structural limit.
The part that stops shipments: wood treatment
If your pallet is wooden and crosses a border, it needs phytosanitary treatment and the stamp certifying it — the international requirement for wood packaging, designed to keep pests from traveling inside the packaging itself.
It is an administrative detail with wildly disproportionate operational consequences: an unstamped pallet can hold up an entire shipment at customs, and there is nothing wrong with the product. It is the packaging.
Two ways around it: use plastic pallets — which require no treatment, which is why they are common in recurring export operations — or confirm the stamp with your supplier before shipping, not once the cargo is already on hold. If you are putting together your first import, this belongs on the same checklist as the importer registry.
What actually moves the needle: how you build the pallet
Size is half the problem. The other half is how you load it:
- Cartons aligned to the edge, never overhanging. What sticks out gets hit, and what gets hit becomes damaged stock.
- Homogeneous stacking where possible: a single-SKU pallet is received and put away far faster than a mixed one.
- Label visible on the front face, not the one facing the rack — the same principle that applies to the master case barcode.
- Stretch wrap anchored to the pallet, not just around the cartons. If the wrap does not grip the base, the load shifts on the first hard brake.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard pallet size in Mexico? The Mexican standard is 1.20 × 1.00 m. The American or GMA pallet, also widely used in Mexico, is 48 × 40 inches (1.219 × 1.016 m).
Which one should I use if I export to the United States? The 48 × 40 American pallet, because it avoids re-handling the load at the crossing and is what distribution centers on the other side expect.
Wooden or plastic pallets? Wood is cheaper and repairable; plastic is lighter, more hygienic, and needs no phytosanitary treatment to cross borders. The decision depends on whether your operation is recurring export or domestic.
How many cartons fit on a pallet? It depends on your carton dimensions and the permitted stack height. This is worth calculating before you finalize packaging, because a carton two centimeters larger can cost you an entire row per layer.
Choosing the right pallet is a decision you make once and then pay for — or collect on — every month on your storage invoice. If you want someone to review how your loads are built and how many positions you are using more than you need, take a look at our warehousing service and how it connects to 3PL in Mexico.