Home » Supply Chain and Operations Management Glossary (P)

Pallet: Platform, usually of wood, about 6 inches high by 40 in. by 48 in. on which goods are placed, so they can be picked up by a forklift to be placed in storage or on a truck. These dimensions allow two pallets to be placed side by side in a standard U.S. truck trailer. In Europe, a pallet size of approximately 48 in. by 32 in. is sometimes used. More recently, plastic based pallets have been introduced. Although more expensive, they last longer and have less danger of carrying dangerous insects from one part of the world to another. In…