Shipping Containers: dimensions & payload capacity
Internal dimensions and payload for every common ISO ocean container, from the 10ft box to the 45ft pallet-wide high cube, plus reefers, open tops, and flat racks.
Interior cargo dimensions in inches; payload is maximum cargo weight, not gross vehicle or gross container weight. Figures are the published specifications of the manufacturer, carrier, or standards body linked on each row, and vary by make, model, and year. Treat them as planning numbers and confirm the specific unit before you load it.
About these numbers
Ocean containers are the most standardised cargo space on earth, which is exactly why the numbers that matter are so easy to get wrong. Every spec sheet quotes an external size, because that is what the ISO 668 designation refers to, but you never load the outside of a box. The figures here are internal dimensions: the usable length, width, and height between the corrugations, which is what decides whether your pallets fit and how many rows you get down the floor. A 20ft box gives you about 232 x 92.6 x 94.2 in, a 40ft about 473.7 in of that same cross-section, and a high cube adds roughly a foot of height for the same footprint. That extra foot is the whole reason the 40ft HC has become the default for volumetric freight. Pallet-wide 45ft units widen the interior just enough to take two Euro pallets abreast, which is worth more than the extra length for European shippers. Payload figures are the container's rated cargo weight from its ISO plate, not a road-legal limit, so check your local axle rules before you fill one to the maximum. Freight forwarders, exporters, and project-cargo planners use these figures to decide between a 40ft and a 40ft HC, work out whether an out-of-gauge piece needs a flat rack, and lay out a stuffing plan before the box arrives at the dock.
Frequently asked questions
- How big is a 40ft shipping container?
- A standard 40ft container has internal dimensions of roughly 473.7 x 92.6 x 94.2 in (12.03 x 2.35 x 2.39 m), giving about 67 cubic metres of usable space and a rated payload of around 58,900 lb (26,700 kg). The 40ft is externally 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet 6 inches tall.
- How big is a 20ft shipping container?
- A 20ft container measures about 232.2 x 92.6 x 94.2 in internally (5.90 x 2.35 x 2.39 m), roughly 33 cubic metres, with a rated payload near 62,200 lb (28,200 kg). It is the original TEU and still the standard unit ocean freight capacity is counted in.
- What is the difference between a 40ft container and a 40ft high cube?
- Only the height. Both are 40 feet long and 8 feet wide externally, but a high cube is 9 feet 6 inches tall instead of 8 feet 6 inches, which gives about 106.2 in of internal height instead of 94.2 in. That extra foot is roughly 9 cubic metres of additional space for the same floor area, which is why the high cube has become the default for anything volume-limited rather than weight-limited.
- How much weight can a shipping container hold?
- A 20ft container is rated for about 28,200 kg (62,200 lb) of cargo and a 40ft for about 26,700 kg (58,900 lb), from a maximum gross weight of 30,480 kg in both cases. The 20ft carries more because it weighs less empty. These are the container's structural ratings; road weight limits at either end of the journey are usually the real constraint, and are often far lower.
- What size is a 45ft high cube container?
- A 45ft high cube gives about 533.7 x 92.6 x 106.2 in internally (13.56 x 2.35 x 2.70 m). Pallet-wide versions widen the interior to roughly 96.2 in so two 1200 x 800 mm Euro pallets fit side by side, which is the main reason European shippers choose them.
- When do I need a flat rack or open top container?
- When the cargo will not fit through the door. An open top has a removable tarpaulin roof so a crane can drop cargo in from above but keeps the side walls, and a flat rack drops the sides entirely for out-of-gauge and very heavy pieces. A 40ft flat rack is rated to about 45,000 kg, the highest of any common ocean container.
