Sort/Merge preallocates space for the output file based on total input file allocation, thereby avoiding the overhead of extending the file every time another few blocks are written to it. However, if you know that the output file allocation will differ substantially from the total input file allocation (because you are reformatting data or omitting records), you can specify the number of blocks to be preallocated for the output file. The /ALLOCATION qualifier is required if the /CONTIGUOUS qualifier is used.