Procedure

Five minutes with a tape measure beats five weeks of wrong boxes

This page is not in the main menu. It lives inside the size guide because it is a procedure, not a product — and because the people who need it usually arrive from a chart.

At a glance

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Fulfilled by: Partner suppliers
Requests from: Across the US
Pricing: By written quote

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Send your four measurements

Put the numbers from the procedure below into the message field. A partner supplier in our network can quote footprint, height, wall count and flute from them.

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Measurement one — clear rack height

Measure from the top surface of the rack beam you will set the pallet on, to the underside of the beam above it. Then subtract the pallet height — five and a half inches for a standard GMA — and subtract two more inches for handling clearance. That number is your maximum container height.

Measurement two — reach height

If anyone loads the container by hand, measure from the floor to the comfortable reach of your shortest regular loader, then subtract the pallet height. A 44-inch container on a pallet is a 50-inch lip, which is above the comfortable loading height for a large share of people. Taller is not automatically better.

Measurement three — settled product height

Fill a container you already own to your target weight, let it sit a shift, then measure the settled product surface. Free-flowing material settles between three and eight percent. Specifying to the unsettled height means buying cube you will never fill.

Measurement four — inside footprint needed

If anything rigid goes inside — a pallet, a crate, a drum, a tote — measure its footprint and add half an inch of clearance on each side. Then compare against inside dimensions, not outside. Triple-wall board takes roughly 7/16 of an inch off each pair of walls.

Measuring an existing container

Measure outside dimensions at the base, not at the lip — a used container's lip is often slightly flared. For height, measure the vertical wall from the bottom score to the top edge. For wall thickness, use a caliper on a cut edge if you have one; a folded flap gives a usefully close reading if you do not.

After you measure

Match the numbers against the tables

Height against cube, construction against weight, conversions for anyone working in millimetres.

Height selection on a 48 × 40 footprint
Height	Cube	Fits	Best for	Watch for
28"	25.9 ft³	Low-clearance racking, pick faces	Dense product, ergonomic sorting	Doubles your container count on light goods
36"	33.3 ft³	Most standard racking	The default — best price and availability	Check reach height if hand-loaded
40"	37.0 ft³	Cooler racks, harvest lines	Produce, bakery, mixed DC	Top-edge wear climbs with reach
44"	40.7 ft³	Tall bays, textile sorting	Light bulky goods — foam, film, apparel	Hand-loading above 44" is uncomfortable
48"	44.4 ft³	Dedicated tall programs	Very light, very bulky loads	Triple wall only; never stack loaded

Construction, thickness and typical working capacity
Construction	Thickness	Typical max weight	Stacking	Typical use
Single wall C	5/32" (4.0 mm)	65 lb	Not for bulk	Lids, layer pads, dividers
Double wall BC	9/32" (7.1 mm)	900 – 1,200 lb	1 high loaded	General bulk under 1,200 lb
Double wall CC	5/16" (7.9 mm)	1,000 – 1,300 lb	1 high loaded	Slightly better cushioning than BC
Triple wall BCC	7/16" (11.1 mm)	2,200 – 2,500 lb	2 high loaded	The bulk workhorse
Triple wall ACC	1/2" (12.7 mm)	2,400 – 2,700 lb	2 high loaded	Dense product with cushioning need
Five wall AAC	5/8" (15.9 mm)	3,000 lb+	3 high, matched pallets	Castings, stampings, export

Quick conversions for bulk packaging
Measure	Imperial	Metric	Notes
Standard footprint	48 × 40 in	1,219 × 1,016 mm	The GMA pallet that standardised US distribution.
Triple wall thickness	7/16 in	11.1 mm	Takes about 7/8 in off interior width across both walls.
Typical capacity	2,200 lb	998 kg	Triple wall BCC, evenly distributed, matched pallet.
Container cube at 36"	33.3 ft³	0.943 m³	Outside dimensions, before board thickness.
OCC bale	1,000 – 1,400 lb	454 – 635 kg	Typical bale from a horizontal baler.
Trailer capacity, knocked down	400 – 600 units	—	53-foot dry van; cube limited, never weight limited.
Moisture ceiling for OCC	12%	12%	Above this you are selling water at a penalty.

Quality control

The twelve-point inspection, in order

What a careful supplier checks on every used unit, and what you can check at receiving. The cheapest rejection happens first, which is why odor and moisture come before anything cosmetic.

Odor

Thirty seconds in open air, nose at the opening.

Any persistent smell — instant rejection.

Moisture

Hand and meter at the bottom score line where it hides.

Staining above the bottom score, or any delamination.

Vertical corners

Thumb pressure at knee, waist and shoulder height.

Hollow give, shear, or crush longer than four inches.

Bottom flaps

Fold test on each flap; the score must hold.

Two or more dead scores sends the unit to cutting.

Squareness

Diagonal measurement across the open top.

Over 3/8 inch of rack drops the grade.

Interior cleanliness

Visual plus a wipe for residue and dust film.

Grease strike-through, product residue, staining.

Keep reading

Four numbers is a complete specification brief

Clear rack height, reach height, settled product height, inside footprint. Send those with a free, no-obligation quote request.

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FAQ

Measuring questions, answered

What do I need to measure a gaylord box?

A tape measure and four numbers: clear rack height, reach height, settled product height and the inside footprint your contents need. The whole procedure takes about five minutes.

How do I work out the maximum container height?

Measure from the top of the rack beam the pallet sits on to the underside of the beam above. Subtract the pallet height, 5-1/2 inches for a standard GMA pallet, and subtract two more inches for handling clearance.

How much does product settle inside the box?

Free-flowing material settles after filling, so measure it once it has settled. Specifying to the unsettled height means paying for cube you will never fill.

Should I use inside or outside dimensions?

Use inside dimensions for anything rigid that goes in the box. Triple wall board takes roughly 7/16 of an inch off each pair of walls, so outside dimensions overstate usable space.

Where do I measure an existing container?

Measure outside dimensions at the base, not the lip, because a used container's lip is often slightly flared. Measure height along the vertical wall from the bottom score to the top edge.