Will my cargo fit?
Enter your total volume and gross weight — take them straight from the CBM calculator — to see utilisation against each container type.
| Container | Volume used | Weight used | Fits? |
|---|
Dry containers
The standard workhorses. Suitable for any general cargo that does not need temperature control and can be loaded through the rear doors.
| Type | Internal L × W × H (m) | Door W × H (m) | Capacity | Tare | Max payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 5.90 × 2.35 × 2.39 | 2.34 × 2.28 | 33.2 CBM | 2,250 kg | 28,230 kg |
| 40ft standard | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.39 | 2.34 × 2.28 | 67.7 CBM | 3,750 kg | 26,730 kg |
| 40ft high cube | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.69 | 2.34 × 2.58 | 76.3 CBM | 3,940 kg | 26,540 kg |
| 45ft high cube | 13.56 × 2.35 × 2.69 | 2.34 × 2.58 | 86.1 CBM | 4,800 kg | 25,680 kg |
Maximum gross weight for both 20ft and 40ft units is normally 30,480 kg. The 20ft therefore carries more payload than the 40ft despite being half the size, which is why dense cargo such as tiles, marble, machinery and chemicals almost always ships in 20ft boxes.
Specialised containers
| Type | Internal L × W × H (m) | Capacity | Tare | Max payload | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft reefer | 5.44 × 2.29 × 2.27 | 28.3 CBM | 3,000 kg | 27,400 kg | Chilled and frozen goods, pharmaceuticals |
| 40ft high cube reefer | 11.58 × 2.29 × 2.50 | 66.3 CBM | 4,200 kg | 26,280 kg | Fruit, meat, seafood, temperature-sensitive cargo |
| 20ft open top | 5.89 × 2.34 × 2.35 | 32.4 CBM | 2,350 kg | 28,130 kg | Over-height cargo loaded by crane |
| 40ft open top | 12.03 × 2.34 × 2.35 | 66.2 CBM | 3,850 kg | 26,630 kg | Long over-height items, machinery |
| 20ft flat rack | 5.94 × 2.35 × 2.35 | — | 2,750 kg | 27,730 kg | Out-of-gauge, heavy or awkward loads |
| 40ft flat rack | 12.13 × 2.40 × 2.14 | — | 5,000 kg | 40,000 kg | Very heavy project cargo, vehicles, plant |
| 20ft tank | — | 21,000 – 26,000 L | 3,600 kg | 26,880 kg | Bulk liquids and hazardous chemicals |
Specialised equipment is not always available at short notice, particularly reefers and flat racks out of Karachi. Book earlier than you would for a dry box, and expect a positioning charge if the unit has to be repositioned from another depot.
Pallet loading
Pallet counts assume single-tier loading. Whether you can double stack depends on the crush resistance of your own packaging, not on the container.
| Container | Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) | Standard pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) | Double stacked (Euro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 10 – 11 | 9 – 10 | 20 – 22 |
| 40ft standard | 23 – 25 | 20 – 21 | 46 – 50 |
| 40ft high cube | 23 – 25 | 20 – 21 | 46 – 50 |
| 45ft high cube | 27 – 28 | 24 – 25 | 54 – 56 |
A 40ft high cube takes the same number of pallets as a 40ft standard on the floor, but the extra 30 cm of height often allows a second tier where a standard would not. If your palletised load is between 1.2 m and 1.35 m tall, the high cube is worth asking for specifically.
LCL or FCL?
There is no universal crossover point, but the decision usually turns on four things:
- Volume. Somewhere between 13 and 18 CBM, a 20ft container typically becomes cheaper than the equivalent LCL charge. Below 10 CBM, LCL is almost always right; above 20 CBM, FCL almost always is.
- Time. LCL adds consolidation at origin and destuffing at destination — commonly a week at each end. If the timeline is tight, FCL buys back days that no amount of expediting will recover from a consolidator.
- Risk. In LCL your cargo shares a container with other shippers' goods and is handled several extra times. Fragile, high-value or contamination-sensitive cargo is safer in its own box.
- Destination charges. LCL destination handling is charged per CBM and can be surprisingly high. Compare landed cost using the cost estimator, not freight alone.
Practical loading limits
The published capacity of a container and the amount of cargo you can actually put in it are different numbers. Plan on 75 to 85 percent of the internal cubic capacity.
- Carton geometry. Cartons rarely tile perfectly into a 2.35 m width. Every partial row leaves an air gap.
- Pallet bases. A 150 mm pallet base under a 1.2 m load consumes 11 percent of the available height before any product is loaded.
- Dunnage and bracing. Cargo must be secured. Airbags, strapping and timber bracing take space.
- Road weight limits. Many countries cap the gross combination weight of the truck below what the container can legally hold. In practice this often limits a 20ft to 20 to 24 tonnes on the road even though the box is rated for 28.
- VGM. Under SOLAS you must declare a Verified Gross Mass before loading. Overstating capacity at the planning stage becomes a documented problem at the terminal gate.