The Australian Standard Pallet (1165 x 1165 mm): Origin and Use

The Australian standard pallet measures 1165 × 1165 mm (45.9 × 45.9 in) and is defined in Australian Standard AS 4068, Flat pallets for materials handling. It is a square pallet that grew out of mid-20th-century railway logistics, and it still carries most palletized freight inside Australia, but it fits poorly in the 20 ft and 40 ft ISO containers used for international trade.

Origin: a pallet sized for railway containers

The 1165 mm square is a nominal 46 × 46 in pallet, a size set in imperial units before Australia converted to metric in the 1970s. Its dimensions come from the Railways of Australia Container Express (RACE) container. A RACE container was sized so that two pallets sat side by side across its width, and 20 pallets fitted per container in two rows and two layers. A standard railway wagon carried three of these containers, or 60 pallets, which made the pallet size a design constant for the rail network.

Sources differ on which agency drew up the pallet itself. Wikipedia credits a state public transport commission, while industry commentary stresses the wartime and postwar railway containers. What the sources agree on is that the size was set by the container, not by trucks or warehouses.

After World War II the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool (CHEP) was formed by the Australian government to make use of American materials-handling equipment left in the country, and it put the 1165 pallet into pooled circulation. The government sold CHEP's assets in the 1950s, and the Brambles group acquired the trading name; see CHEP blue pallets for the later global history. When Australia metricated, the pallet size was kept, simply restated as 1165 mm.

Dimensions and construction

The pallet was originally made from Australian hardwood. Softwood, mostly plantation pine, now supplies most of the market, with the grade selected by load. A widely cited rule of thumb is that a softwood pallet with 19 mm boards suits loads up to about 1 tonne, one with 25 mm boards up to about 2 tonnes, and hardwood pallets heavier loads. Treat these as indicative: the actual rating depends on span, board width, wood species, moisture and how the load sits. Load classes and test methods are explained in pallet load capacity.

PHOTO 1A square 1165 x 1165 mm Australian standard pallet loaded with cartons in a distribution warehouseassets/img/rehber/australian-pallet-1165-1.jpg

Where it is used

Roughly two-thirds of palletized transport inside Australia uses the 1165 standard, according to figures summarized by Wikipedia. It dominates grocery, beverage, building-material and general freight, and racking, forklifts, trailers and shelving have been built around it for decades. The 1165 footprint also uses road trailers efficiently: an industry commentator reports about 8.1% wasted floor space on the Australian pallet against 15.2% for a European ISO pallet. These figures are a single source's calculation, so verify them for your own load before relying on them.

Pooling is a major feature of the market. Pallet pooling companies, including CHEP with its blue pallets and Loscam with its red ones, rent standard pallets that move through the supply chain and are returned for inspection and repair. How that model works is covered in pallet pooling explained.

The export problem

The weakness of the 1165 size appears at the port. ISO containers are about 2.35 m wide and 12.03 m (40 ft) or 5.90 m (20 ft) long inside. Two 1165 mm pallets across the width leave only about 20 mm of clearance, which makes loading slow and leaves no room for pallet overhang or container tolerances. Along a 40 ft container only ten rows fit, leaving about 380 mm of floor unused, so a container holds 20 pallets per layer. The RACE container that justified the size has been obsolete for years, and the pallet is used almost exclusively within Australia.

For export, shippers normally switch to one of the footprints listed in ISO 6780: 1100 × 1100 mm, 1200 × 1000 mm or 1200 × 800 mm, depending on destination. Pallets used for export also have to meet the wood-packaging rules in ISPM 15 if they are made of solid wood. A 2002 economic study, as reported on Wikipedia, estimated that moving Australia to the ISO 1200 × 1000 mm size would generate a net present value of AUD 2.5 to 5.1 billion, against transition costs of roughly AUD 600 million over ten years. No national switch has happened, because the cost would fall on every racking system and conveyor in the country.

PHOTO 2Forklift loading 1165 mm square pallets into a rail container or trailer, showing the tight fitassets/img/rehber/australian-pallet-1165-2.jpg

Practical points for buyers and producers

• Check the footprint tolerance. Australian racking and automated systems are tight on a 1165 mm module; a few millimeters of overhang can block a conveyor.
• Do not assume that a 1200 × 1000 mm pallet is interchangeable. It is 35 mm longer in one direction and 165 mm shorter in the other.
• Plan separate export pallets. Many Australian exporters use a one-way pallet in an ISO size for each shipment.
• Specify the timber. Hardwood gives stiffness but adds weight; see pallet wood species for the trade-offs.

The same pattern appears in other regions. Pallet sizes by country shows how North America, Europe and Asia each settled on a size shaped by its own rail, road or container history.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Australian standard pallet — Wikipedia
2. The Australian pallet story — Toyota Material Handling Australia
3. AS 4068-1993 Flat pallets for materials handling — Standards Australia
4. Pallet — Wikipedia
5. Australian Pallet Dimensions — Containit