What Is a GMA Pallet? The 48 × 40 Standard, Grades & Pricing

A GMA pallet is the 48″ × 40″wooden stringer pallet that the Grocery Manufacturers Association standardized in the 1960s. It’s the single most common pallet in North America — roughly 30% of all new palletsproduced in the U.S. each year are GMA pallets, and they account for the majority of pallets in active circulation. If someone says “a standard pallet” without qualifying it, they almost always mean a 48 × 40 GMA.

This guide covers exactly what makes a pallet a GMA pallet: its dimensions and construction, the Grade A / Grade B / recycled grading system that determines what you pay, its weight and load capacity, and current truckload pricing. If you just need the full size chart across every pallet footprint, start with our complete guide to standard pallet sizes and dimensions.

What does GMA stand for?

GMA stands for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the trade group (now the Consumer Brands Association) that standardized the 48 × 40 footprint in the 1960s to streamline grocery distribution. The goal was simple: if every manufacturer, broker, distributor, and retailer used the same pallet, freight could move through the supply chain without re-palletizing at each handoff. It worked — six decades later, the entire U.S. logistics network (truck trailers, warehouse racking, retail backrooms, pallet pools) is built around the 48 × 40 footprint.

You’ll hear the same pallet called a GMA pallet, grocery pallet, stringer pallet, or just standard pallet. They all refer to the same 48 × 40 design.

GMA pallet dimensions and specifications

A true GMA pallet follows a recognizable spec. Sizes are written stringer length first, deckboard length second— so “48 × 40” means 48-inch stringers and 40-inch top deckboards.

GMA pallet grades — and what changes the price

“GMA” describes the size and design. The grade describes the condition— and grade is what actually drives the price. Here’s the standard grading ladder used across the recycled-pallet industry:

The practical decision for most buyers is Grade A vs. Grade B. Grade A pallets have all original unrepaired stringers and present cleanly, so they’re used wherever the load is seen by a customer or has to pass a retailer’s receiving spec. Grade B pallets are structurally sound but show repairs — a plugged stringer or a companion board nailed alongside a cracked one — and cost meaningfully less for freight nobody outside your dock will ever see. For a deeper breakdown of how grading is assessed, see our guide to choosing the right pallet type.

GMA pallet weight and load capacity

Capacity depends on how the load sits. The three numbers that matter:

Static capacity is the most forgiving (the floor supports the whole pallet); racked is the most demanding (only the ends are supported, so the deck flexes). Always spec to the racked number if your pallets go into beam racking. An empty 48 × 40 GMA weighs 30–48 lbs depending on grade, wood species (southern yellow pine, oak, mixed hardwood), and moisture content.

How much does a GMA pallet cost?

Pricing moves with lumber markets, region, and how far the pallet has to be trucked, but these are realistic 2026 ranges for full-truckload quantities (a truckload is typically 520–660 pallets):

GMA pallets and export: the ISPM-15 question

A GMA pallet built from raw wood cannot cross most bordersunless it’s been heat-treated and stamped to the ISPM-15 standard (look for the IPPC “wheat stamp” with a heat-treatment HT mark). Domestic GMA pallets are frequently nottreated, so if you’re shipping internationally, confirm the stamp before you load. Full detail in our heat-treated pallets & ISPM-15 guide.

When you don’t want a GMA pallet

The 48 × 40 GMA is the default, but it’s not always the right call:

• Drums & chemicals: a 48 × 48 holds exactly four 55-gallon drums; a GMA leaves them overhanging.
• Beverage: 48 × 36 or 36 × 36 matches case dimensions and fits more per trailer.
• Europe: the EUR / EPAL block pallet (800 × 1200 mm) is expected; a GMA will draw buyer pushback.
• Pharma / sterile:a 44 × 44 block pallet or a plastic pallet is usually spec’d over a recycled GMA.

Bottom line

A GMA pallet is the 48 × 40 wooden stringer pallet that runs the American supply chain. The size is fixed; the gradeis what you actually shop on. Match the grade to the job — Grade A where it shows, Grade B where it doesn’t — and buy from the closest supplier to keep landed cost down.