How many pallets fit on a 53-foot trailer? Empty 48×40 wood pallets ship stacked, so a 53-foot trailer carries 520 of them. Loaded pallets are a different question: those take one floor spot each, 26 to a trailer, or 52 if they can be double-stacked.
Here's how many empty pallets of each size we load on one trailer, and what that does to the delivery cost of each pallet.
Empty pallets per 53-foot trailer
| Pallet | Per full trailer |
|---|---|
| 48×40 wood, new or recycled | 520 |
| 48×42 new wood | 520 |
| 36×36 recycled wood | 680 |
| 96×48 new wood | 260 |
| 48×40 plastic, nestable | 1,950 |
A 96×48 is twice the length of a 48×40, so half as many fit. Nestable plastic pallets sit inside one another, which is why a trailer holds so many more of them.
What delivery costs on a full trailer
We charge delivery once per truck, not per pallet: a set charge to send the truck plus a rate for each mile from our Lake Elmo yard. Fill the trailer and that charge is spread across every pallet on it.
| Delivered to | Miles from Lake Elmo | One truck | Per pallet, full trailer of 520 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury | 7 | $126 | 24¢ |
| St. Paul | 13 | $152 | 29¢ |
| Minneapolis | 22 | $199 | 38¢ |
| Bloomington | 29 | $256 | 49¢ |
| Lakeville | 41 | $343 | 66¢ |
The same $199 truck carrying 60 pallets works out to $3.32 a pallet. Checkout prices delivery for addresses within 50 miles of Lake Elmo; farther out, up to about 170 miles, we quote the truck. Collecting from our yard is free.
Buying a full trailer
A full trailer is the cheapest way to buy pallets. In our shop, 260 pallets or more earn the biggest online discount, 50% off, so a full trailer of recycled #1 48×40s is $12.50 a pallet online. For a full trailer we can also quote as low as $7 recycled or $11 new, depending on the mix and how often you order.
What to have ready for delivery
A 53-foot trailer needs a dock, or a safe spot with room for the trailer, and a forklift with an operator to unload it. If we arrive and can't unload, a return trip may be charged.
Buy a full trailer online or get a truckload quote. See today's prices for every pallet in our pallet pricing guide.