Europallet: Definition, Dimensions and Uses

A Euro pallet (also europallet, EPAL or EUR pallet) is, by definition, the standardised wooden pallet measuring 1,200 × 800 mm that serves as the default load carrier in European road freight. It is reusable within the open exchange pool: carriers, shippers and consignees swap them one for one instead of buying new pallets per shipment. For dispatchers, the Euro pallet is the unit behind floor space, weight and loading metres.

On This Page

1. Euro pallet dimensions and weight
2. EPAL marking and quality
3. Exchanging Euro pallets: the pallet pool
4. How many Euro pallets fit in a truck?
5. Euro pallets in transport planning

Euro pallet dimensions and weight

The Euro pallet is strictly standardised (EPAL, DIN EN 13698-1). Its key figures:

EPAL marking and quality

A genuine Euro pallet carries fixed marks in set places: the oval EPAL brand on the corner blocks (on all four since 1 August 2013) and, on the centre blocks of the long sides, the IPPC brand showing the wood was treated to ISPM 15, the maker's licence number with the year and month of production and, on one of them, the control staple. On the EPAL Euro pallet QR, available since 2024, the right-hand corner blocks carry a QR code instead of the EPAL oval. Those markings are what support exchange today. Since 2017, EPAL no longer accepts pallets that carry only the EUR mark (UIC pallets) in its exchange pool; older EPAL pallets that carry both marks remain exchangeable. Damaged or unmarked pallets are usually refused in exchange.

Exchanging Euro pallets: the pallet pool

The Euro pallet works in an open exchange system (the EPAL pool): instead of buying pallets per shipment, you swap the same quantity and quality one for one. That cuts cost and waste compared with one-way pallets. The condition is exchange-ready quality, meaning undamaged and correctly marked.

How many Euro pallets fit in a truck?

A standard semi-trailer (13.6 m loading length) holds 33 Euro pallets on the floor in 11 rows of three; in a mixed layout, with some pallets lengthwise and some crosswise, a 13.62 × 2.48 m body takes up to 34. Each Euro pallet takes up roughly 0.4 loading metres (LDM). If the goods are stackable, capacity rises accordingly.

For how to calculate loading metres and pallet counts, see our guide What is LDM? Loading metre meaning and calculator.

Euro pallets in transport planning

Whether exchanged or bought, what matters in tour planning is how many Euro pallets fit on the truck and what they cost. The Planner Module from IMPARGO records loading units per stop and shows loading metres, weight and route cost before the truck rolls. For an overview of all pallet types, see our entry Pallet: Meaning, Types and Uses in Logistics.