North American Pallets The USA led the world in automated
materials handling with the original pallet concept in the
1920s, but the first time the pallet idea was exported in a big
way, was to Australia in 1942 when the US set up a Pacific base
when they entered World War II. This was the first time other
parts of the world had seen such vast amounts of materials moved
with such speed and efficiency. At the time the US military used
a 42 inch square, 2-way stringer pallet (bearer pallet in
Europe) but they had changed by the late 1940s to a 40 x 48
inch, 2-way stringer pallet. The change was not just the
military but the food industry also started to use the same
footprint, though reversed as 48 x 40 inch, 2-way, since it
fitted railcars and trucks more efficiently. (For the
significance of 48 x 40 or 40 x 48 see the BRITISH PALLETS
page). Since the USA (alongside their stringer pallet) also
adopted the European 9-block, 1200 x 1000 mm pallet design
during the 1990s, USA and Canadian pallet designs are not no