What is cantilever racking used for?

Long or irregular goods that don't fit on a pallet or between standard rack uprights — timber, structural steel, pipe, tube and similar linear stock.

Is cantilever racking better than pallet racking?

Neither — they solve different problems. Cantilever handles length; pallet racking systems handle unitised pallet loads. Most warehouses that need both run cantilever as a separate zone rather than a replacement.

What's the difference between single-sided and double-sided cantilever racking?

Single-sided has arms facing one direction, often against a wall. Double-sided has arms on both sides of a central column, giving more storage per column run in a freestanding aisle.

Does cantilever racking need inspection like pallet racking?

Yes — it's still steel storage racking and falls under the same AS 4084 standard, with arm and column condition checked the same way frame and beam condition are checked on beam-style pallet racking.

Cantilever racking

Cantilever racking swaps front-facing uprights for open arms projecting off a central column, because the whole point of the design is storing goods too long to fit between conventional frames. It doesn't sit on the pallet-racking density axis at all — it's a different problem: length, not pallets.

Last updated 2026-08-23

Why it doesn't compare on density the way the rest of this silo does

Every other article in this silo compares systems on how many pallets fit per aisle. Cantilever racking isn't answering that question — it's answering the question of how you store an 8-metre length of timber, pipe or structural steel when there's no front upright in the way to load it against. The arms extend out from a single line of columns with nothing blocking the front, so long, awkward or irregular items can be loaded from the side with a forklift, a crane, or by hand, without threading them between uprights the way pallet racking would require.

The stock profile it suits

Cantilever is the answer for goods defined by length rather than pallet count: structural steel, timber and lumber, pipe and conduit, extrusions, sheet stock on edge, furniture components. None of that stacks sensibly onto a standard pallet, and none of it fits the bay widths a beam-and-frame system is built around.

Long or irregular goods that don't sit on a standard pallet
Timber, steel, pipe, tube and similar linear stock
Loaded by forklift, side-loader or crane, often from the side rather than the front

Single-sided versus double-sided

Cantilever comes in single-sided arms — one column line, arms facing one direction, often used against a wall — or double-sided, with arms projecting both ways off a central column for freestanding aisles. Double-sided gets more storage out of the same footprint, the same basic logic as any of the deeper pallet systems in this silo trading a bit of simplicity for more capacity per column run, just applied to length instead of depth.

Arm levels are also independently adjustable up the column, the same way beam levels are on a beam-and-frame bay, so a single upright can carry different lengths and diameters at different heights rather than forcing one product profile down the whole run.

What it costs you

Cantilever isn't naturally suited to high-density stacking of pallets — that's not its job, and trying to force pallet stock onto cantilever arms wastes the design. It also puts more load on fewer contact points than beam-style racking: a long piece resting across two or three arms concentrates weight differently, and uneven loading — heavier at one end, hanging past the last arm — is a real risk specific to this system. Arm spacing has to be planned against the actual length and rigidity of what's stored, not just against a generic bay size.

Standards and inspection still apply

Cantilever racking is still steel storage racking and still falls under AS 4084 the same as beam-and-frame systems — arm damage, column deflection and anchor condition all matter, and get checked the same way frame and beam damage does on a pallet system during a racking inspection. The load pattern is different, but the underlying structural risk of a damaged, overloaded or poorly maintained steel storage structure is the same conversation as anywhere else in the silo.

Common questions

What is cantilever racking used for?: Long or irregular goods that don't fit on a pallet or between standard rack uprights — timber, structural steel, pipe, tube and similar linear stock.
Is cantilever racking better than pallet racking?: Neither — they solve different problems. Cantilever handles length; pallet racking systems handle unitised pallet loads. Most warehouses that need both run cantilever as a separate zone rather than a replacement.
What's the difference between single-sided and double-sided cantilever racking?: Single-sided has arms facing one direction, often against a wall. Double-sided has arms on both sides of a central column, giving more storage per column run in a freestanding aisle.
Does cantilever racking need inspection like pallet racking?: Yes — it's still steel storage racking and falls under the same AS 4084 standard, with arm and column condition checked the same way frame and beam condition are checked on beam-style pallet racking.

Part of our guide to pallet racking types.