Drive-in pallet racking is a high-density storage system where forklifts drive directly into the racking structure to place and retrieve pallets stored on internal rails. With no aisles between bays, it stores significantly more pallets in the same floor area than selective racking.
It operates on a Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) basis, making it best suited to bulk storage of the same product line, cold storage environments, or any operation where storage density matters more than access to individual pallets. Absolute Storage Systems designs and installs drive-in racking across Victoria, configured to your floor dimensions and forklift type.
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Drive-in racking consists of a series of upright frames connected by horizontal rails. Pallets sit on those rails and forklifts drive into the lane to load or retrieve them, working from one end only. Because lanes replace aisles, a drive-in system can store far more pallets per square metre than selective racking.
The trade-off is access: all pallets in a lane share the same entry point, so LIFO rotation is the only practical retrieval method. Drive-in racking suits high-volume, single-SKU storage well – businesses storing a wide variety of products at low volumes generally find selective racking a better fit.
Drive-in racking needs to be engineered around your lane depth, forklift clearances and load weights before anything else. Get those wrong and the system either underperforms or creates safety risks. Absolute Storage Systems has been specifying and installing high-density racking systems since 1991.
We assess your product profile, pallet specifications, forklift type and floor dimensions to confirm drive-in racking is the right fit.
We design lane depth, rail configuration and load ratings around your specific stock and site layout.
Professionally installed in line with AS4084:2023, including column guards and load notices.
We check rail alignment, frame stability and load signage before handover.
We provide racking audits, maintenance and reconfiguration as your storage needs change.
When floor space is the constraint and you’re storing large volumes of the same product, drive-in racking gives you the highest storage density of any standard racking system. It removes the aisle space that selective racking requires and replaces it with usable pallet positions.
If you’re storing bulk stock and floor space is at a premium, drive-in racking is worth considering. Our team can assess your warehouse and confirm whether it suits your product mix and forklift setup, contact us to get started.
Drive-in racking is open at one end only, so pallets are loaded and retrieved from the same side and rotate last in, first out. Drive-through racking is open at both ends, so pallets are loaded from one side and retrieved from the other, which gives first in, first out rotation. Drive-through needs aisle access on both sides of the block, so it uses more floor space than drive-in
Drive-in lanes commonly run from two to around ten pallets deep. Deeper lanes give better density but slow retrieval, because the forklift has to travel further into the structure for each pallet, and they increase the impact of a partly emptied lane. Lane depth is set against your stock volume per product and how quickly it turns over
Lane depth should be based on the number of pallets you typically hold per product or SKU at any one time. Matching lane depth to your actual stock profile maximises both space utilisation and operational efficiency. Under-specifying lane depth wastes potential storage; over-specifying it means lanes are rarely full and the density benefit is reduced.
It’s best suited to high-volume, single-SKU storage where LIFO rotation is acceptable. It’s not the right fit for operations needing direct access to a wide range of individual pallets.
Counterbalance forklifts are typically used. Forklift clearances within the lane need to be confirmed at the design stage to ensure safe operation.
The three real trade-offs are rotation, selectivity and damage risk. Stock rotates last in, first out, which rules it out for date sensitive product. Each lane holds one product line, so a partly emptied lane cannot be refilled with something else and the remaining space sits idle. And because forklifts drive inside the structure, drive-in racking takes more impact damage than systems loaded from an aisle, which makes regular inspection more important. A viable option when considering Drive in is using a semi-automated solution such as our AutoSAT shuttles. They offer the same high density option without the 3 main dis-advantages of Drive In
Drive-in racking stores significantly more pallets in the same floor area, because the aisles between every run are removed and replaced with lanes several pallets deep. The actual gain depends on lane depth and how consistently lanes are kept full, so it is worked out against your specific stock profile rather than quoted as a fixed percentage. Drive in and other high density storage systems offer the most effective use of space out of all pallet racking options.
Yes, and it is one of the more common cold storage applications. Removing aisles reduces the total refrigerated volume needed for the same number of pallets, which directly lowers running costs. It suits cold storage operations holding high volumes of a small number of products, where last in, first out rotation is acceptable.
As per the Australian Standard (AS4084:2023), pallet racking audits are now mandatory and must be completed every 12 months.
Ensure your facility is safe and fully compliant with a free onsite audit from our expert team.
