The supposed difference in weight holding capacity, and therefore less movements between bottom board US pallets and open bottom UK pallets is not a good argument. Weight on pallets has been getting significantly less over the last 10-20 years.When we used to have manufacturing pallets could be up to 3,500 lbs plus ea, Grocery pallets were generally 2,500 lbs except for Crisco cans at 2,700 lbs and general rule was 2,500 lbs per pallet. Today a more general real world rule is more like 1,500 lbs. Why the difference? No manufacturing, the rise of the internet, where we want one of each in our color delivered tomorrow, rise of packaged import goods, and finally the ubiquitos Blister pack. If you compare a tape measure in a small box you can pack thousands onto a pallet with the resultant heavy weight, but compare that to a tape measure in a large blister pack ready to be hung up at a retailer. Now we are talking less than a 1,000 lbs per pallet. Nobodys acknowledges it but if you go around a warehouse, and start handliftting pallets by the side, you will be able to do it today.
Again the plain fact is that in Europe land is much more expensive so people take advantage of the cube and go up. You need specialist equipment to do that, the same equipment will not offload the trucks so you have to buy a different style of truck to do that.
In the US most small to medium size business's use the same truck to offload and put away in the warehouse. Using 13' Aisles and of course they can only lift to 192" so racks aren't very high nor buildings at 20' to 22' high. Now the newer building @ Class A space are higher 25' to 28' and you would move into them knowing you are going to use a Crown or Raymond Hi Rise stacker type equipment. Also something else to offload the trucks. In a given area this is at best 25% of the space.