2440 x 1220 plywood: exact size in mm and feet, thickness, weight and load

What size is 2440 x 1220 plywood?

2440 x 1220 plywood is a sheet 2440 mm long and 1220 mm wide, the metric version of the 8 × 4 ft sheet. Each sheet covers 2.9768 m². It is the default press size of mills in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Malaysia, and the sheet most buyers mean when they ask for “4 × 8 plywood” outside North America.

The exact feet and inch values use the NIST definition of 1 inch = 25.4 mm. Both orientations name the same sheet: 1220 × 2440 mm puts the width first, 2440 × 1220 mm the length. For other formats, see plywood sheet sizes.

Is 1220 x 2440 mm the same as 4 x 8 feet?

A 1220 × 2440 mm sheet is 0.8 mm wider and 1.6 mm longer than an exact 4 × 8 ft sheet, which measures 1219.2 × 2438.4 mm. For almost every use the two are interchangeable; both are sold as 4 × 8 plywood.

The difference matters in two cases:

• Framing at 16 or 24 inch centres: a metric sheet overhangs the last stud by 1.6 mm; trim it or keep the gap at the joint.
• Flat-pack parts nested to the exact sheet: CNC nests drawn for 1219 × 2438 mm fit a 1220 × 2440 mm sheet with room to spare, never the reverse.

Details on the inch sheet: 4x8 plywood actual size.

What thicknesses does 2440 x 1220 plywood come in?

2440 x 1220 plywood comes in every thickness from 3 to 40 mm at Minh Thanh. The common stock sizes are 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 25 mm, with inch-market equivalents beside them.

Thin panels of 3–5 mm are always five-ply. For the layers of other thicknesses, see layers of plywood.

How much does a 2440 x 1220 sheet of plywood weigh?

A 2440 x 1220 sheet weighs its volume times the panel density. At 18 mm the sheet holds 0.0536 m³: 26.8 kg on a white Styrax core at 500 kg/m³, 31.1 kg on Acacia at 580 kg/m³ and 34.8 kg on Eucalyptus at 650 kg/m³.

Densities are planning figures; Eucalyptus runs 650–750 kg/m³ in practice. Weigh a sample sheet before you fix a container payload. A lighter Styrax core is why many European furniture plants choose it for large parts that one person must handle.

What does a 2440 x 1220 sheet cost?

A 2440 x 1220 sheet costs about £24 ex VAT for 12 mm general-purpose plywood at a UK builders’ merchant, and the same volume of plywood bought FOB from Vietnam works out at roughly US$9 to US$13 before freight, duty and VAT. The two numbers measure different things, so read them side by side but do not subtract one from the other.

These are raw FOB examples, volume times the October 2026 starting price per cubic metre, not a sheet price: the real quote depends on face, core, glue and quantity, and the container is sold by the cubic metre. For comparison, Selco lists 2440 x 1220 x 12 mm general-purpose plywood at £24.29 ex VAT and £29.15 inc VAT, with CE2+ marking and E1 emission. Champion Timber gives two free cuts per sheet and charges 75p ex VAT for each extra cut.

Between the FOB figure and a merchant’s shelf price sit sea freight, import duty, VAT, inland delivery, cutting and the merchant’s margin; a trade buyer ordering a 40HC works from the per-m³ price and the sheets-per-container table below.

How many 2440 x 1220 sheets fit in a 40HC container?

A 40HC takes 18 packs of 1220 × 2440 mm plywood on a white Styrax core, 16 lying flat and 2 upright, with packs about 1,000 mm high. At 18 mm that is 990 sheets; on Acacia 880 and on Eucalyptus 795, because heavier cores reach the weight limit first.

Sheets per pack are 1,000 mm divided by the thickness, rounded down. Every row stays under the 28,000 kg planning payload with packing included. If your booking caps the payload lower, for example at 26,000 kg, the count drops to match. See how we load a 40HC.

Where is 2440x1220 plywood used?

2440x1220 plywood is used wherever parts, frames and machines are set up for the 8 × 4 sheet: furniture carcasses, kitchen cabinets, shopfitting, wall and floor sheathing, concrete formwork, crates and pallets. The one sheet size runs through every product line, so a buyer can mix uses in one container.

Furniture plants machine the full sheet on panel saws and CNC routers built around 1220 × 2440 mm, so the sheet arrives ready for the nesting program without re-trimming. Packing and formwork buyers value the same size for a different reason: it matches the frames, forms and pallets they already use.

What tolerances apply to a 2440 x 1220 plywood sheet?

A 2440 x 1220 plywood sheet from Minh Thanh is held to ±2 mm on length and width. Thickness tolerance depends on the product line:

A tight thickness matters on furniture lines where panels go straight into edge-banders and CNC routers without re-sanding. Furniture panels are pressed twice: the core board is pressed and calibrated to thickness, then the faces are pressed on, which is how the sanded panel reaches ±0.2 mm.

How do you check that a 2440 x 1220 sheet is square?

Measure both diagonals with a tape: on a square 2440 × 1220 mm sheet each diagonal is 2728 mm. Equal diagonals mean square corners; a difference tells you the sheet was trimmed out of square.

Four checks on arrival take ten minutes per pack:

1. Length and width at both ends, against 2440 × 1220 mm ±2 mm.
2. Diagonals, which should match each other.
3. Thickness with a caliper at the four corners and the centre.
4. Edges: straight, clean saw cut, no core gaps along the edge.

Record the readings with photos per pack; the same numbers settle any question with the supplier.

Is 2440 x 1220 or 1250 x 2500 plywood better for your parts?

Choose 2440 × 1220 mm when your parts are drawn in 4 × 8 ft modules or 1200 mm grids, and 1250 × 2500 mm when they are built around 1250 mm, as in many European kitchen and office lines. The 1250 × 2500 mm sheet has 3.125 m², 5% more area per sheet.

The right sheet is the one with the smallest offcut for your cutting list. Run both through your nesting software before you order. Worked yields: 1220x2440 vs 1250x2500 cutting yield.

Which faces and cores come in 2440 x 1220 mm?

Every face and core Minh Thanh makes comes in 1220 × 2440 mm. Furniture panels use white Styrax or Eucalyptus cores as standard; Acacia and Pine cores are made on order.

• Faces: engineered veneer (EV), poplar, birch, okoume and pine most often; also bintangor, eucalyptus, gurjan and sapele on request.
• Film-faced and anti-slip: on Acacia or Eucalyptus cores for formwork and flooring.
• Exterior: utility C/D faces with phenolic WBP bond.
• Glue: UF glue at E0 emission for furniture and interiors, with our emission certificate and chamber tests; MR or phenolic WBP for damp and outdoor use.

Birch faces are graded D+, D and E and quoted in pairs such as D+/D. See the furniture plywood range.

Which standards and certificates does a 2440 x 1220 sheet carry?

UK and EU merchants label a 2440 x 1220 sheet with a use class, a bond class, an emission class and a Declaration of Performance, and an importer should ask for the same four. This table sets what the UK pages print beside what we quote.

Write the use class and the emission class on the enquiry, and ask for the test reports before the container ships, not after it lands.

Can 2440 x 1220 plywood be cut to size before shipping?

Yes. Minh Thanh cuts one 1220 × 2440 mm sheet into 4, 6 or 8 pieces before packing, so you receive panels ready for your line. Cut-to-size orders ship regularly to Italy and other European markets.

Common splits of one sheet:

• 4 pieces: 610 × 1220 mm, before saw kerf.
• 6 pieces: 610 × 813 mm, before saw kerf.
• 8 pieces: 610 × 610 mm, before saw kerf.

Cutting at the mill saves freight on offcuts and handling at your end. Send the cutting list with the order; see cut-to-size plywood.

Is 2440 x 1220 the same as 2400 x 1200 plywood?

No. 2400 × 1200 mm is the standard sheet in Australia and New Zealand, 40 mm shorter and 20 mm narrower than 2440 × 1220 mm. A part drawn for 2440 × 1220 mm will not fit a 2400 × 1200 mm sheet.

Buyers in those markets who receive 1220 × 2440 mm panels get 0.10 m² more per sheet, which helps when parts are drawn for the larger sheet. Local sizes are covered in plywood sizes in Australia and New Zealand.

What this means for your order

Write the sheet as length × width × thickness in millimetres, then the build. A complete line removes every guess:

• Size: 1220 × 2440 mm, ±2 mm.
• Thickness and tolerance: for example 18 mm, ±0.2–0.3 mm sanded.
• Core and face: for example white Styrax core, birch D+/D faces.
• Glue and emission: UF glue at E0 emission.
• Packing: sheets per pack and packs per 40HC, or your booking’s payload cap.

Minh Thanh’s minimum order is one 40HC with mixed specifications by agreement; production takes 15–45 days after the 30% deposit, and free samples come with the quotation. Spec line: 1220 × 2440 × 18 mm furniture plywood, white Styrax core, birch D+/D, UF glue at E0 emission, 990 sheets per 40HC. Send it to contact@minhthanhplywood.com.