Amazon palletization rules

Whether you must palletize for Amazon FBA depends on your final-mile method. For FCL you can either palletize or floor-load. For LTL (less-than-truckload) you must palletize — but you can choose to do it at origin or at our destination warehouse. Any pallets must meet Amazon's pallet specifications.

If you are delivering a Full Container Load to Amazon, you have a choice:

• Palletize the cargo, or

• Floor-load it (stacked loose on the container floor).

Floor-loading fits more cargo per container and avoids palletizing cost, but containers that arrive floor-loaded take much longer to unload, which can make delivery appointments harder to secure — especially in busy periods (see Planning around Prime Day and holidays).

If you use an Amazon-partnered LTL carrier or our own LTL service, the shipment must be palletized. You choose where:

• At origin — the pallet labels must be applied at origin too (see Amazon labeling and FNSKU requirements).

• At our destination warehouse — we palletize and apply the labels for you. This appears on your invoice as a Warehouse Value Add fee.

We generally recommend palletizing at origin only when your cargo is fragile. If you do not palletize at origin, we palletize at our destination warehouse before final delivery.

Amazon publishes pallet dimension and weight limits, and it enforces them:

• Use a standard 48" x 40" wooden pallet. Amazon does not accept plastic pallets.

• Observe Amazon's maximum pallet height and weight limits when estimating how many pallets your cargo makes (see Estimating Amazon final-mile charges for a rough method).

• For imports from China, your supplier must include a fumigation certificate for the wooden pallets.

Because Amazon updates its pallet specifications from time to time, confirm the current numbers in Seller Central's "Pallet details" before you build pallets at origin.

Tell us your final-mile method when you book and we will palletize accordingly. When we palletize at our warehouse, we also download and apply your Amazon pallet labels using limited access to your Seller Central account (see Why we need Seller Central access). For general pallet build and carton-marking guidance beyond Amazon, see Cartons: markings, pallets, and fitting.

• Shipping to Amazon FBA, end to end

• Amazon labeling and FNSKU requirements

• Estimating Amazon final-mile charges

• Cartons: markings, pallets, and fitting