What is pallet overhang?

Pallet overhang is any part of the load that sticks out past the edge of the pallet deck. It is sometimes allowed on purpose, a centimetre or two, to fit one more row of cartons per layer. A 38 × 28 cm carton fits 8 to a layer on a Euro pallet flush to the edges and 9 with 2 cm of overhang: 48 cartons per pallet become 54.

What it costs. A carton that hangs over the edge loses the support under its corners and walls, which is where corrugated board carries most of its load. A study by Virginia Tech’s Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design for the Fibre Box Association tested single boxes with 0.25 to 3 inches of overhang (about 0.6 to 7.6 cm):

A full layer of boxes with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of overhang lost 14 to 28%. The loss grows with the overhang and is larger on the long side. Two adjacent sides cost more than the two single sides added together, because the box loses three corners of support instead of two.

In racking the word also means a pallet hanging over the front and back beams, which the rack maker sets in its load sign. That is a racking-safety question, not a carton one.

Pallet build allows 0 to 5 cm of overhang per side and redraws the layer. Related: What is TI-HI?, What is a Euro pallet?

Sources

• Horvath, L., & Molina, E. Effect of Pallet Overhang on Box Compression Strength, final report, Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design, Virginia Tech, for the Fibre Box Association and the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation. 32 ECT C-flute and 48 ECT BC-flute boxes, TAPPI T804. Executive summary, Table 1.
• Cartons per layer: the Pallet build engine, Euro pallet, 1.80 m cap.