GMA
Also called: GMA pallet, Grocery Manufacturers Association, GMA-style pallet, 48x40 pallet
GMA stands for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (now the Consumer Brands Association), whose name became attached to the standard 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm) US grocery pallet: a partial four-way wood stringer pallet with three notched stringers, seven top and five bottom deckboards.
In depth: GMA pallet: 48 × 40 in dimensions, construction, weight and grades
"GMA pallet" is used loosely for any 48 × 40 in stringer pallet. Strictly, it means a pallet built to the grocery industry's 48 × 40 in stringer specification.
Typical GMA-style construction
| Feature | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Size | 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm), stringer length 48 in |
| Class and entry | Stringer, double-face, partial four-way (notched) |
| Stringers | 3, about 1-1/4 to 1-3/8 × 3-1/2 in (32 to 35 × 89 mm), notched |
| Top deck | 7 boards: 2 lead boards 5-1/2 in and 5 interior 3-1/2 in, about 5/8 in thick |
| Bottom deck | 5 boards: 2 lead boards 5-1/2 in and 3 interior 3-1/2 in |
| Height | About 4-3/4 in (121 mm) with 5/8 in decks and 3-1/2 in stringers |
In one published PDS example, the build uses 84 nails and 13.5 board feet of lumber.
Why it matters
The 48 × 40 in footprint is the most common US pallet size, and the ISO 6780 list includes it as 1219 × 1016 mm. Most recycled and white-wood pallets traded in the US are GMA-style, and used pallets are sold by grade.
Load ratings
Vendors quote very different load ratings for "GMA pallets" because designs, species and grades vary. Treat any single number as marketing unless it comes with a support condition and a design. The GMA template lets you check a specific build.
On a spec sheet or RFQ
"GMA" is not a full specification. Give board counts and sizes, species, grade, fasteners and treatment, or attach a drawing.
Common confusions
GMA pallets are stringer pallets. Pooled 48 × 40 in pallets (CHEP, PECO) are block pallets, not GMA-style.
Related
- TypesGMA pallet: 48 × 40 in dimensions, construction, weight and gradesA GMA pallet is a 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm) wooden stringer pallet built to the grocery industry's standard: three notched stringers for partial 4-way entry, seven top and five bottom deckboards, and an overall height of about 4-3/4 in (121 mm) in the standard build. It is the most common pallet in the United States.
- Sizes48 × 40 pallet (GMA): dimensions, weight and specsA 48 × 40 in pallet (1219 × 1016 mm) is the North American standard, also called the GMA pallet. The typical build is a partial 4-way stringer pallet about 4.75 in tall with 7 top and 5 bottom deckboards on 3 notched stringers. Pooled 48 × 40 block pallets (CHEP, PECO) share the same footprint.
- Sizes48 × 40 pallet (GMA): dimensions, weight and specsA 48 × 40 in pallet (1219 × 1016 mm) is the North American standard, also called the GMA pallet. The typical build is a partial 4-way stringer pallet about 4.75 in tall with 7 top and 5 bottom deckboards on 3 notched stringers. Pooled 48 × 40 block pallets (CHEP, PECO) share the same footprint.
- GlossaryPartial four-way entry (pallet)Partial four-way means forklifts can enter a pallet from all four sides but pallet jacks only from two. It is usually made by cutting notches in the stringers, as on the GMA 48 × 40 pallet.
- ComparisonsGMA vs Euro pallet: size, construction and useThe GMA pallet is 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm), traditionally a 3-stringer, partial 4-way pallet, and is the North American grocery standard. The Euro pallet (EPAL 1) is 1200 × 800 mm (47.2 × 31.5 in), a licensed 9-block, 4-way pallet. Use the one your destination's supply chain runs on.
- GlossaryWhite woodWhite wood (whitewood) is the pallet trade's name for generic, unpainted wood pallets, usually 48 × 40 in GMA-style stringer pallets, that users buy, own and trade, as opposed to painted pooled pallets. In lumber, whitewood also names a group of light-colored softwoods such as spruce and fir.
More in Standards and compliance
- GlossaryCP palletCP pallets (chemical pallets) are a family of nine standardized wood block pallets, CP1 to CP9, developed for the European chemical and plastics industries. Each type has a defined size and construction for loads such as bagged polymer, drums and bulk containers.
- GlossaryDebarked lumberDebarked lumber is wood from which the bark has been removed. ISPM 15 requires all treated wood packaging to be made of debarked wood, allowing only small pieces of bark: under 3 cm wide of any length, or wider pieces with a surface area under 50 cm² each.
- GlossaryDielectric heating (DH)Dielectric heating (DH) is an ISPM 15 treatment that heats wood packaging with microwaves or radio waves until the entire profile of the wood, including its surface, reaches at least 60 °C for 1 continuous minute. Treated wood is marked with the code DH.
- GlossaryEPALEPAL (European Pallet Association e.V.) is the organization that licenses manufacturers and repairers of EPAL Euro pallets and other EPAL load carriers and controls their quality. The EPAL 1 Euro pallet is a 1200 × 800 × 144 mm block pallet used in open pallet exchange across Europe.
- GlossaryFSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act)FSMA is the US Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011. Under its Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O), pallets are transportation equipment and must be designed and maintained so they are suitable and adequately cleanable, and do not make food unsafe.
- GlossaryGS1GS1 is a global, not-for-profit standards organization that issues company prefixes and maintains the identification and barcode standards used in supply chains, including GTINs for products, the SSCC for logistics units such as pallets, and the GS1-128 barcode.
Last reviewed 2026-09-24. 295 words.