Container sizes & types
Shipping Container Sizes and Types — Dimensions, Capacity and Pallet Counts
Everything you need to work out what will fit, what it will weigh, and whether you should be booking a 20ft, a 40ft high cube or a flat rack.
Standard dry containers
Dimensions and capacity
Figures below are typical. Actual dimensions and tare weights vary slightly between manufacturers and carriers, so always confirm against the specific container before finalising a loading plan.
| Container | Internal L × W × H | Door W × H | Capacity | Tare | Max payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 5.90 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 2.34 × 2.28 m | ~33 cbm | ~2,200 kg | ~28,000 kg |
| 40ft standard | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 2.34 × 2.28 m | ~67 cbm | ~3,800 kg | ~26,500 kg |
| 40ft high cube | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.70 m | 2.34 × 2.58 m | ~76 cbm | ~3,900 kg | ~26,400 kg |
| 45ft high cube | 13.56 × 2.35 × 2.70 m | 2.34 × 2.58 m | ~86 cbm | ~4,800 kg | ~25,600 kg |
Specialised containers
| Container | Capacity | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 20ft reefer | ~28 cbm | Temperature-controlled food, beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals. |
| 40ft high cube reefer | ~67 cbm | Larger volumes of temperature-controlled cargo. |
| 20ft flat rack | 5.90 × 2.40 m deck | Machinery, boats, steel, cargo exceeding container width or height. |
| 40ft flat rack | 12.10 × 2.40 m deck | Long or heavy out-of-gauge pieces. |
| 20ft / 40ft open top | As standard, tarpaulin roof | Cargo loaded by crane from above, or exceeding door height. |
| Platform / bolster | Deck only | Very long or very heavy single pieces. |
| 20ft / 40ft ventilated | As standard | Cargo requiring airflow, such as certain agricultural products. |
Cargo that will not fit any of the above moves as breakbulk or RORO — see project cargo and oversized freight.
Pallet planning
How many pallets fit in a container?
Pallet counts depend on the pallet footprint and whether the load can be double-stacked. Australian standard pallets are 1165 × 1165 mm; Euro pallets are 1200 × 800 mm.
| Container | Australian standard (1165 × 1165) | Euro pallets (1200 × 800) | Double-stacked (if height allows) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 10 | 11 | up to 20–22 |
| 40ft standard | 20 | 23–24 | up to 40–48 |
| 40ft high cube | 20 | 23–24 | up to 40–48 |
Volume and chargeable weight formulas
- Cubic metres (CBM) = length × width × height in metres. For 1.2 × 1.0 × 1.4 m, that is 1.68 cbm per pallet.
- LCL sea freight is charged on the greater of cubic metres or tonnes.
- Air freight volumetric weight = length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6,000. One cbm equates to roughly 167 kg.
- Container utilisation = your total cbm ÷ container capacity. Below 80 per cent, look at packaging or consolidation.
Not sure which container to book? Send us your carton or pallet dimensions and we will calculate it and quote both LCL and FCL.
Practical advice
Choosing the right container
Work out whether you are cube-limited or weight-limited
Light bulky goods fill the cube first; dense goods hit the weight limit first. Tiles, stone and packaged liquids are usually weight-limited, furniture and packaging are cube-limited.
If you are cube-limited, consider high cube
The extra 300 millimetres of internal height on a 40ft high cube adds roughly nine cubic metres for a small rate premium — almost always worth it.
If you are weight-limited, consider two 20ft containers
A 20ft carries nearly as much weight as a 40ft in a much smaller box. Two 20ft containers are often cheaper and safer than one overloaded 40ft that cannot be legally trucked.
Check the Australian road limit, not just the container limit
A container that is legal at sea can be illegal on the road. Weight distribution inside the box matters as much as total weight.
Design the carton around the pallet, and the pallet around the container
This is where the real savings are. A small change to carton dimensions can add an entire pallet row to every container you ship.
FAQ
Container questions
What is the difference between a 40ft and a 40ft high cube?
A high cube is about 300 millimetres taller internally, giving roughly nine additional cubic metres. For light, bulky cargo it is nearly always worth the small rate premium.
How much weight can a 20ft container carry?
Around 28 tonnes of payload in theory, but Australian road transport rules commonly limit what can actually be moved. We check the legal road position, not just the container rating.
What is a tare weight?
The weight of the empty container. Gross weight equals tare plus cargo, and it is the gross figure that matters for carrier limits and road permits.
Can I ship a car or boat in a container?
Yes — cars in standard containers with proper securing, boats usually on flat racks. Both attract biosecurity cleaning requirements in Australia.
What is a shipper-owned container?
A container owned by the shipper rather than leased from the carrier. Occasionally useful for very long dwell times or unusual cargo, but unnecessary for most importers.
How do I know if my cargo is out of gauge?
If any single piece exceeds the internal or door dimensions above, it is out of gauge, and you need a flat rack, open top or breakbulk solution. See oversized freight.
Loading and limits
Payload, weight limits and how much you can actually load
Internal dimensions tell you what fits. Payload, road mass limits and weight distribution tell you what you can legally move. Importers who plan on volume alone regularly end up with a container that cannot be delivered on a standard trailer.
Cubic capacity versus usable capacity
Published cubic capacity assumes a perfect fill to the roof, which real cargo never achieves. Palletised goods typically use a meaningful share less because of pallet footprint, stacking limits and the space lost around the door. Plan on usable capacity, not the brochure figure.
Pallet fit is the practical constraint
Whether your cartons fit neatly onto standard or Australian pallets, and whether those pallets fit the container floor without wasted lanes, usually decides your real capacity. Adjusting carton dimensions slightly at the supplier can add a full pallet row per container — a permanent saving on every future shipment.
Gross mass, VGM and the road limit
Under international rules the verified gross mass of a packed container must be declared before loading, and an incorrect declaration can prevent shipment. Separately, Australian road law limits what a truck and trailer combination may weigh in total, so a heavily loaded twenty-foot container can be legal at sea and problematic on the road without specialised equipment.
Why heavy cargo goes in a 20ft, not a 40ft
A forty-foot container has roughly double the volume but not double the payload. Dense goods — tiles, stone, machinery, liquids, paper — will reach the weight limit long before the space runs out, which is why heavy cargo ships in twenty-foot boxes. Getting this wrong means paying for space you cannot use.
Weight distribution inside the box
Load concentrated at one end creates axle-mass problems even when the total is legal, and can also cause damage in transit. Heavy items belong low and centred, with the load braced so it cannot shift. See our packing guidance on the LCL shipping and FCL shipping pages.
Special equipment at a glance
- High cube — extra internal height, the default for most light, bulky cargo
- Open top — over-height cargo craned in from above, tarpaulin cover
- Flat rack — over-width or over-length cargo within line acceptance limits
- Reefer — temperature-controlled, requires power at every stage including on the road
- Tank container — bulk liquids
- Ventilated and liner bag — commodity-specific applications
Related: container shipping, freight costs explained, oversized freight, international logistics management.
Read next
More on containers and loading
Related guides and services covering the questions importers and exporters usually ask next.
- Container shipping — FCL and LCL compared, plus weight limits on dense cargo
- Oversized freight — when your cargo will not fit inside a container
- Construction freight — container weight planning for tiles, stone and fixings
- Retail freight — carton design and container utilisation modelling
Not sure what will fit?
Send us your carton or pallet dimensions and quantities. We will work out the container, the utilisation and the cost.