TI/HI Calculator
Created by: James Porter
Last updated:
Find cartons per layer and complete layers per pallet using measured carton sizes, height limits and gross-weight constraints.
TI/HI Calculator
Packaging & Pallet PlanningUse measured inputs and review the assumptions before saving your plan.
Complete uniform layers only, with no overhang. TI/HI is a quantity pattern; confirm carton stacking strength, load stability and pallet ratings separately.
Starting carton sizes, costs and operating limits are illustrative. Container presets are editable Hapag-Lloyd equipment examples. Replace these with your measurements and applicable specifications.
What does this ti/hi calculator show?
A TI/HI calculator finds cartons per complete pallet layer, called TI, and the number of complete layers, called HI. Multiplying the two gives a standardized full-layer carton quantity. This tool tests allowed upright floor rotations and applies the pallet’s usable footprint, total loaded height, gross weight and your entered carton stacking limit.
TI describes a horizontal arrangement; HI describes how many times that arrangement is repeated vertically. Keeping them separate makes a packing specification easier to communicate. A pattern of eight cartons per layer and five layers high contains 40 cartons, but its actual dimensions and gross weight still depend on the carton and empty pallet used.
Standardized full layers are useful when every capacity pallet should have the same count. This calculator excludes partial layers from its reported capacity. If a gross-weight cap leaves room for a few extra cartons, they are not added to the TI/HI pattern. Use the separate Pallet Calculator to distribute a shipment quantity across pallets and inspect a final partial load.
Cartons stay upright throughout the comparison. Floor rotation swaps carton length and width while preserving carton height. The model compares a fixed uniform grid with its permitted ninety-degree rotation, rather than building a mixed or interlocked arrangement. The resulting pattern is easy to draw and count, and its limits remain visible in the comparison table and export.
A TI/HI result describes quantity geometry under supplied constraints. It cannot establish that cartons support the stack, that the pallet is suitable for a rack, or that the load will remain stable during handling. The maximum permitted carton-layer input is therefore a specification you must supply. Confirm it together with destination limits before treating a calculated pattern as a warehouse packing instruction.
Complete uniform layers only, with no overhang. TI/HI is a quantity pattern; confirm carton stacking strength, load stability and pallet ratings separately.
Method and calculation
The model calculates TI independently for each allowed uniform upright rotation. Only whole cartons that remain inside both deck boundaries count. The dimension drawing represents one full layer and preserves unused space. TI is determined by geometry; the maximum loaded height, carton-layer specification and gross-weight limit then determine how many full copies of that layer can be stacked.
For the height limit, subtract empty pallet height from the total loaded-height cap and divide by carton height, rounding downward. For the weight limit, subtract empty pallet tare from the maximum gross weight and divide by one complete layer’s packed mass. Round down again, because an incomplete layer would not belong to the standardized pattern. The entered permitted layer count provides an additional cap.
HI is the smallest of those layer counts. The calculator selects the tested orientation carrying the largest full-layer carton quantity, not simply the largest TI. A denser layer may lose a whole tier under a weight cap, so the comparison table includes both TI and HI. If no complete layer fits any permitted orientation, the tool requests revised inputs instead of displaying a usable pattern.
Formula or lookup rule
TI = floor(deck length / oriented carton length) × floor(deck width / oriented carton width); HI = min(floor((maximum height − pallet height) / carton height), permitted layers, floor((maximum gross − pallet weight) / (TI × carton weight))); standard pallet quantity = TI × HI.
- Measure the upright carton: Enter outside length, width, height and packed weight.
- Specify the pallet and constraints: Enter usable deck dimensions, empty pallet dimensions and weight, total loaded limits and permitted layers.
- Choose permitted floor rotation: Keep cartons upright and allow rotation only when the product and handling instructions permit it.
- Review the complete-layer pattern: Calculate TI and HI, inspect the drawing and gross load, and save the pattern with its limits.
Worked examples
Eight cartons across five layers
A 120 × 80-centimeter deck and 40 × 30-centimeter carton footprint permit two uniform upright patterns. One fits three cartons along and two across, giving TI 6. The rotated pattern fits four along and two across, giving TI 8. With carton height 25 centimeters, pallet height 14.4 centimeters and loaded limit 160 centimeters, five complete layers fit. Assuming the entered weight and stacking caps permit five layers, the selected pattern is TI 8 × HI 5, or 40 cartons at 139.4 centimeters loaded height.
Weight caps complete layers
Let each carton weigh 11 kilograms and the empty pallet weigh 25 kilograms. A 400-kilogram gross limit leaves 375 kilograms for cartons. The eight-carton tier weighs 88 kilograms, so four full tiers fit by weight: 32 cartons and 377 kilograms gross. Two additional cartons would fit the mass allowance, but they are excluded from a complete-layer specification. The six-carton alternative fits five layers, or 30 cartons. The eight-by-four pattern therefore carries the largest quantity among these tested complete-layer grids.
More cartons per layer is not always better
Keep these footprints but set maximum gross weight to 275 kilograms, leaving 250 kilograms for cartons. TI 8 permits only two complete 88-kilogram layers, for 16 cartons. TI 6 permits three complete 66-kilogram layers, for 18 cartons. The calculator selects TI 6 × HI 3 because it carries more cartons in complete tiers, despite its smaller horizontal count. Both patterns remain visible in the comparison. This demonstrates why selecting the largest TI first can give a weaker standardized pallet quantity.
Practical applications
- Prepare a repeatable case-count record: Save the layer count, tier count and total cartons together with measured sizes. This helps distinguish an agreed full-layer pattern from an order-specific pallet that includes a partly filled top tier.
- Compare receiving requirements: Apply a customer’s total loaded-height and gross-weight caps to your carton and pallet. Review the resulting pattern before supplying case counts, since different receiving locations may permit different standardized pallet quantities.
- Check carton floor orientation: Use the chart to compare the two permitted upright rotations. The best full-layer quantity may differ from the orientation with the highest TI when the weight cap removes a complete tier from the denser arrangement.
- Review a carton redesign: Calculate a new pattern from measured finished cartons and updated stacking specifications. Small dimension changes can change whole-carton footprint counts. Keep both layouts rather than inferring a continuous percentage gain from carton volume alone.
- Communicate the count at a packing station: The top-view drawing and visible TI × HI values provide a counting reference. Pair the exported record with separately approved placement, restraint and labeling instructions before using it as an operational build sheet.
- Separate full patterns from order remainders: Use this tool for the standardized full-layer pallet, then use Pallet Calculator for shipment distribution. That distinction keeps a remainder order quantity from silently changing the TI/HI specification used for routine receiving and inventory counts across your warehouse.
Tips for useful results
Confirm whether every entered limit includes the empty pallet. This tool uses total loaded height and total gross weight. Packed carton mass includes contents and packaging, and deck dimensions describe usable space without overhang. Use actual samples when nominal carton dimensions are close to a whole-carton boundary.
Do not infer stack strength from the calculated HI. Enter the permitted layer count from your carton or product specification and check storage and handling requirements independently. Compare complete carton quantities as well as TI values, because weight can make a lower-TI pattern more productive. When no complete tier fits but individual cartons do, use the shipment planner to inspect partial-load quantities instead.
Frequently asked questions
What do TI and HI mean?
TI is the number of cartons in a complete horizontal layer on a pallet. HI is the number of those complete layers stacked vertically. Their product is the standardized carton quantity. This calculator derives TI from a uniform rectangular footprint and limits HI by total loaded height, gross weight and an entered carton-layer specification, with the empty pallet included.
How does this differ from Pallet Calculator?
TI/HI Calculator returns a repeatable full-layer pattern and excludes partially filled tiers. Pallet Calculator uses the same geometry and constraints but permits a partial top layer and distributes an order quantity across pallets. Choose this tool to specify standard case counts. Choose the shipment planner when you need pallet totals and the height and weight of an order remainder.
Why can the selected pattern have a smaller TI?
Selection maximizes the full-layer carton total, TI multiplied by HI. Under a weight cap, a large TI can lose an entire layer while a smaller TI retains another complete layer. That can make the smaller-TI pattern carry more cartons overall. The comparison table shows every tested TI, HI and carton quantity so you can see the tradeoff directly.
Can I use mixed or interlocked layers?
This tool models one uniform upright orientation per layer, repeated through the stack. It does not search mixed, pinwheel, brick or interlocked arrangements. Those can change both footprint capacity and load behavior. If your existing specification uses such a pattern, use a planner that represents it explicitly and verify its stacking and restraint requirements separately rather than substituting this grid.
Why are extra weight-allowed cartons excluded?
A TI/HI specification requires complete tiers. If the weight cap permits four full layers and two extra cartons, the reported HI remains four and those extras are omitted. This preserves a repeatable case-count pattern. Pallet Calculator can include the partial tier for shipment planning, but the physical placement and restraint of that partial tier still need their own review.
What happens if no complete layer fits?
The calculator displays an input message instead of an apparently usable pattern. Check deck size, carton footprint, total height and weight limits, and the permitted layer count. A gross-weight allowance may fit individual cartons but not a whole tier. In that situation the partial-layer shipment planner can estimate quantities, while this tool remains limited to complete-layer patterns.
Sources and references
- Cargo-Planner: Ti-Hi and pallet stacking patterns. Updated September 29, 2026. Section: Uniform-grid cases per layer and constrained layer counts. Accessed 2026-10-14. Practitioner reference for rectangular layer arithmetic and TI/HI. This implementation tests uniform grids only; it does not reproduce mixed, brick or interlocked packing.
- NIST: Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8. SP 811 online conversion table. Section: Inch, foot and avoirdupois pound entries. Accessed 2026-10-14. Supports length and mass conversions. Unit changes preserve measurements; they do not select a carrier tariff.