8x4 plywood sheets: what is the actual size, weight and container load?

What size is a 4x8 sheet of plywood?

A 4x8 sheet of plywood is 4 feet wide and 8 feet long: 1219.2 × 2438.4 mm in exact metric. Mills in Vietnam, China and most of Asia press the same sheet as 1220 × 2440 mm, and that is the size on most export quotes and packing lists.

The inch is defined as exactly 25.4 mm (NIST). Subtracting the converted dimensions from the metric sheet gives a nominal difference of 0.8 mm in width and 1.6 mm in length. Our length and width tolerance is ±2 mm; use the measured sheet dimensions and allow for edge trimming when checking a 4x8 cutting plan.

Thickness is a separate choice. At Minh Thanh Plywood we press 8x4 plywood sheets from 3 to 40 mm.

Is 8x4 the same as 4x8 plywood?

Yes: 8x4 and 4x8 name the same sheet. The UK, Ireland, India and much of Asia say “8x4”, while North America says “4x8”; both mean 1220 × 2440 mm in export terms.

The order of the numbers matters in one place: the grain. On most plywood the face grain runs along the 2440 mm length. Some birch and specialty panels are made with the grain across the sheet, and their sellers write the grain direction first, as in 2440 × 1220. On a purchase order, write width × length in millimetres and add “face grain along the length” if your parts need it.

Plywood sheet 8 x 4 in mm, cm and inches

The 8 x 4 plywood sheet has close cousins in other markets. The table lists the common full-sheet formats so you can match a drawing to the sheet you order.

We press 1220 × 2440 and 1250 × 2500 mm as standard, plus custom sizes such as 1220 × 2500 and 1220 × 2280 mm. A buyer whose drawings use 1200 × 2400 can cut from 1220 × 2440 by trimming 10 mm from each long edge and 20 mm from each end.

Why is a 1220 × 2440 mm sheet slightly bigger than 4 ft × 8 ft?

Metric mills round the imperial sheet up to whole millimetres: 1219.2 becomes 1220 and 2438.4 becomes 2440. The extra 0.8 mm and 1.6 mm sit well inside the ±2 mm length and width tolerance, so the sheet fits racks, saws and frames built for 4x8.

For trimmed parts, check the measured sheet dimensions and the allowance needed to square all four edges. Enter those dimensions and the required edge trim into the CNC nesting program before confirming the finished part sizes.

4 x 8 ft plywood thickness: nominal and actual

On 4 x 8 ft plywood sold in North America, the thickness is often a nominal fraction and the real panel is thinner. On metric export plywood, the thickness is stated in millimetres with a tolerance.

Our sanded furniture panels hold ±0.2–0.3 mm, down to ±0.2 mm, and commercial and film-faced panels ±0.5 mm. Write the thickness and its tolerance on the order; “3/4” on its own leaves the real thickness open. Our guide to plywood thickness covers the conversions in depth.

How much does a 4x8 sheet of plywood weigh?

A 4x8 sheet weighs its volume times the panel density. An 18 mm sheet of 1220 × 2440 mm holds 0.0536 m³, so it weighs about 26.8 kg on a Styrax core, 31.1 kg on acacia and 34.8 kg on eucalyptus.

The densities are reference values for planning; eucalyptus panels can run up to 750 kg/m³. Weigh a real sheet before you fix a truck or container load. Our plywood weight calculator runs the same sum for other sizes.

How much area does one 8x4 sheet cover?

One 8x4 sheet covers 32 sq ft, or 2.98 m² for a 1220 × 2440 mm sheet. To cover 100 m² you need about 33.6 sheets before cutting waste.

Add waste by use. Wall lining and flooring with few cuts lose little; furniture parts cut from the sheet lose more, and the loss depends on how the parts nest. A cutting plan drawn on the real sheet size gives the true count. If the parts are always the same, order them as cut-to-size pieces and the waste stays at the mill.

How many 8x4 sheets are in a pack?

A pack holds about 1,000 mm of sheets, so the count is 1,000 divided by the thickness, rounded down. At 18 mm that is 55 sheets per pack; at 12 mm, 83.

On heavier acacia and eucalyptus cores, the container weight limit can lower the count per pack: at 18 mm a eucalyptus pack holds 53 sheets. Thin panels fill a pack with many sheets, thick ones with few, but every pack weighs close to 1.5 tonnes on a Styrax core.

How many 8x4 plywood sheets fit in a 40HC container?

A 40HC carries 990 sheets of 18 mm 8x4 plywood on a Styrax core: 18 packs of 55 sheets, about 53 m³. On acacia it carries 880 sheets in 16 packs, on eucalyptus 795 in 15 packs, because the heavier cores reach the weight limit sooner.

These counts use packs about 1,000 mm high and a planning payload of 28,000 kg. If your booking allows less, for example 26,000 kg, the counts drop with it. Every shipment is photographed and filmed before loading, and you receive the photos and video.

Which faces and grades come on 8x4 plywood sheets?

Every type below comes on the 8x4 sheet: furniture plywood with a birch, poplar, EV, okoume or pine face, exterior and CDX-type sheathing, film-faced shuttering and anti-slip floor sheets. We press more than ten face veneers; the most produced are EV (engineered veneer), poplar, birch, okoume and pine, with bintangor, eucalyptus, gurjan and others on order.

• Birch-faced: grades D+, D and E, quoted as pairs such as D+/D or D/E; D+/D compares with B/BB on the European ladder.
• Poplar, eucalyptus and pine faces: A/A, A/B and B/B, matched to the approved sample.
• Softwood sheathing and anti-slip floors: see our exterior plywood, film-faced plywood and anti-slip plywood pages for the builds.

Marine plywood in 8x4 is a separate product, built to a marine standard such as BS 1088:2018 for boats and permanently wet use. Fire-retardant 8x4 boards are a treated product with their own test class; send the class your market asks for with the enquiry and we confirm what we can press. Separately, BS EN 636:2012+A1:2015 covers plywood for structural and general-purpose applications in dry, humid and exterior conditions. For outdoor parts such as stair treads and wall sheathing, our exterior panels with phenolic (WBP) glue are the 8x4 choice.

Furniture panels use UF glue at E0 emission as standard, are pressed twice and are sanded on both faces, UV-ready; our quality and certificates page lists the certificates and test reports behind them. Our furniture plywood page lists the builds.

What does a 4x8 sheet of plywood cost?

An 8x4 sheet costs the price per cubic metre times its volume. At our starting prices of US$350/m³ for furniture plywood and US$250/m³ for commercial plywood (FOB Hai Phong, October 2026), a 6 mm sheet costs about US$6.25 or US$4.47 of panel and a 25 mm sheet about US$26.05 or US$18.61.

These are raw FOB panel values per sheet. The final price depends on the face, core, glue, thickness, size, quantity and delivery term. Freight, duty and inland transport come on top, spread over the sheets in the container.

A retail price per sheet from a local yard includes all of that plus stock and margin: in the US, a 3/4 in. sanded 4 x 8 ft sheet lists at about US$63 to US$69 at The Home Depot (read 21 October 2026), against US$18.75 of furniture-grade panel at our FOB for the 18 mm equivalent. Compare a yard price with your landed cost, not with the FOB figure. Our guide to plywood price by thickness shows how the sheet price changes from 6 to 25 mm.

Can 8x4 sheets be cut to size before shipping?

Yes. We cut one 8x4 panel into 4, 6 or 8 pieces to order and pack the pieces as their own packs. Cut-to-size orders ship regularly to Italy and other European markets.

Each piece’s finished dimensions follow the cutting layout after allowing for saw kerf and edge trimming; send your exact part sizes and we cut to them. See our cut-to-size plywood page for the service.

What should you write on an order for 8x4 plywood?

Write the size in millimetres, the thickness with its tolerance and the build, so every mill quotes the same panel. “One container of 4x8 plywood” leaves too much open.

For example:

Plywood 1220 × 2440 mm (8x4), 18 mm ±0.2 mm, face grain along the length, Styrax core stitched, double pressed, UF glue at E0 emission, poplar face A/B sanded both sides, 55 sheets per pack, 18 packs per 40HC, FOB Hai Phong.

Add the destination port and the documents your market needs. Send it through the cut-to-size plywood page or to [email protected]; replies come within hours and samples are free. Our plywood sheet sizes guide helps if you are still choosing between 1220 × 2440 and 1250 × 2500 mm.