Shipping Container Dimensions: Complete Size Reference for Freight Forwarders | GoFreight

Standard shipping container sizes and dimensions follow ISO 668. The six sizes freight forwarders load 95 percent of the time are the 20ft Standard, 40ft Standard, 40ft High Cube, 45ft High Cube, 20ft Reefer, and 40ft Reefer. A 20ft Standard is 6.06 m (606 cm) long, a 40ft Standard is 12.19 m (1,219 cm) long, and every ISO container shares the same 2.44 m (8 ft, or 244 cm) external width. High Cube variants add 30 cm (1 ft) of internal height, and door openings, not internal volume, are the loading constraint that catches most forwarders off guard.

This guide is the complete size reference for freight forwarders and NVOCCs. It covers external and internal dimensions, door openings, tare and payload weight, cubic capacity, and load planning across every ISO container type. Every measurement is in both metric and imperial so ops teams in the United States, Europe, and Asia can quote from one source.

Comprehensive Container Size Reference

Use this single table as the master reference across dry, refrigerated, and specialty ISO containers. Every row lists external and internal dimensions, door opening, tare weight, maximum payload, maximum gross weight, and cubic capacity in both metric and imperial. Typical use in the last column matches the container type to the cargo profile it is built for.

Values above reflect ISO 668 nominal specifications. Actual tare and payload vary by manufacturer and container generation, so always cross check the CSC plate on the specific unit before booking the cargo weight.

Standard Shipping Container Dimensions

External Dimensions

Internal Dimensions

Internal dimensions are smaller than external because of wall thickness. Buyers often confuse the two, which distorts cargo planning and leaves 5 to 10 percent of expected capacity unused.

How Wide Is a Shipping Container?

All standard ISO shipping containers are 2.44 meters (8 feet, or 96 inches) wide externally. This width is consistent across 20ft, 40ft, 45ft, High Cube, Reefer, Open Top, and Flat Rack variants.

Internal width is approximately 2.35 meters (7 feet 8 inches, or 92.5 inches). The difference between external and internal width is the wall thickness on both sides.

This width is fixed by ISO 668 specification because it must fit the standard container infrastructure at ports, ships, trucks, and rail. Wider containers exist (like US domestic 53ft units, which are 2.59 m / 8'6" wide), but they are not ISO standard for international shipping. Forwarders moving FCL and LCL volume internationally typically work in Ocean Freight Management Software built around the ISO 20ft and 40ft footprint.

How Long Is a Shipping Container?

Standard ISO container lengths:

• 20ft: 6.06 meters (19 feet 10 inches)
• 40ft: 12.19 meters (40 feet 0 inches)
• 45ft: 13.72 meters (45 feet 0 inches)
• Less common: 10ft (2.99 m), 48ft, 53ft (US domestic only, not ISO international)

The 20ft and 40ft sizes represent the vast majority of international ocean containers in circulation.

High Cube vs Standard Height Comparison

The height difference between a Standard and a High Cube is 30 cm (1 foot) externally and 31 cm internally. That extra headroom translates into an 8.7 m³ volume gain on a 40ft footprint. Two comparisons matter for load planning.

The High Cube trades a small payload allowance for meaningful extra volume. It is the right choice for cargo where volume runs out before weight, which covers most retail and consumer goods lanes.

Shipping Container Wall Thickness

Shipping container walls are made of corrugated steel. Standard wall thickness:

• Side walls: 1.6 mm (0.063 inches) for standard dry containers
• Roof: 1.6 mm to 2 mm
• Floor: 28 mm plywood on 4.5 mm steel cross members
• Doors: 2 mm steel
• Corner castings: 12 mm steel (structural load bearing points)

The thickness is calibrated for structural strength while minimizing tare weight. Containers are designed to stack 9 high when loaded, though they are typically stacked 6 to 7 high on ships in practice.

Shipping Container Steel Thickness

The corrugated steel gauge varies slightly by manufacturer, but common industry standard is 14 gauge to 16 gauge steel (approximately 1.6 mm to 2 mm). Roof and walls are lighter gauge; doors and corner posts are heavier.

Shipping Container Capacity

Cubic Capacity Explained

Cubic capacity is the internal volume of a container, measured in cubic meters (m³) or cubic feet (ft³). It is the theoretical maximum volume of cargo that could fit if the container were a perfect rectangular prism with zero packing waste.

Actual usable cargo volume is 85 to 90 percent of cubic capacity. The 10 to 15 percent gap comes from:

• Space between pallets and side walls
• Space between stacked cartons
• Dunnage, air bags, and load restraints
• Cargo footprint that does not tile perfectly to the container floor

A well loaded 40ft Standard fits about 57 to 61 m³ of cargo out of 67.7 m³ of cubic capacity. Chargeable weight for LCL follows a similar logic. Volume based charging uses 1 m³ equals 1,000 kg for ocean and 1 m³ equals 167 kg for air.

How Many Pallets Fit in a Container?

How Much Cargo Fits in a Container?

• 20ft: about 33 cubic meters / 1,170 cubic feet. Max payload 28,200 kg.
• 40ft: about 67 cubic meters / 2,390 cubic feet. Max payload 28,800 kg.
• 40ft HC: about 76 cubic meters / 2,700 cubic feet. Max payload 28,560 kg.

Heavy cargo hits the weight limit before filling the volume; light cargo fills the volume before hitting the weight limit. Understanding which constraint bites first for a given SKU set is the core of load planning.

Container Weight Limits

Tare Weight, Payload, and Max Gross

Three weight terms show up on the CSC plate of every ISO container. Confusing them is a common cause of overweight declarations that trigger VGM rejections at the port.

• Tare weight: the empty container. About 2,300 kg for a 20ft Standard, 3,750 kg for a 40ft Standard, and 3,900 kg for a 40ft High Cube.
• Max payload: the maximum cargo weight the container is rated to carry. About 28,200 kg for a 20ft Standard and 28,800 kg for a 40ft Standard.
• Max gross weight: tare plus payload. Usually 30,480 kg for a 20ft Standard and 32,500 kg for a 40ft Standard.

Under SOLAS rules, the shipper must submit a Verified Gross Mass (VGM) for every container before it is loaded onto a vessel. See our VGM guide for the two allowed calculation methods.

Container Weight for Road Transport (Per Country Limits)

The container itself is rated to 30,480 or 32,500 kg gross, but road regulations on the inland leg almost always bring the ceiling lower. Booking cargo up to the container payload without checking the destination road limit is one of the most common overweight surprises.

The takeaway: the container is rarely the weight bottleneck once the box is on wheels. Confirm the destination road limit and back off cargo weight before booking heavy shipments to the United States or single container hauls anywhere in Europe.

Container Types and Specifications

Standard Dry Container

General purpose container for dry cargo. Fully enclosed, weatherproof steel construction. The most common container type in circulation, used for everything from consumer electronics to industrial parts.

High Cube Container

Same external length and width as a standard container but 30 cm (1 foot) taller. Provides 13 percent more volume. Common for lightweight, high volume cargo such as apparel, plastics, and furniture.

Refrigerated Container (Reefer)

Temperature controlled container with a built in refrigeration unit. Requires electrical power at port, on ship, and during trucking. Internal volume is slightly smaller than a dry container of the same length because of the insulation layer.

Open Top Container

Removable roof for loading oversize cargo from above with a crane. Secured with a tarpaulin and roof bows after loading. Used for cargo that is too tall or awkward to pass through standard container doors.

Flat Rack Container

Platform with corner posts but no side walls or roof. For oversize or heavy cargo like machinery, vehicles, boats, or construction equipment. Some variants have collapsible end walls that fold flat for empty repositioning.

Tank Container

Cylindrical stainless steel tank fixed inside a standard 20ft ISO frame. For liquids, gases, and hazardous chemicals. ISO frame keeps it compatible with the same container handling equipment as a dry box.

Shipping Container Specifications and Standards

International shipping containers are governed by several ISO standards:

• ISO 668: Container dimensions and ratings
• ISO 1496: Container testing requirements
• ISO 6346: Container identification and marking codes
• CSC (Convention for Safe Containers): Structural integrity and safety certification

Every compliant container has a CSC plate with certification details. TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit) is the standard measurement of container capacity: one 20ft equals 1 TEU, one 40ft equals 2 TEU. FEU (Forty foot Equivalent Unit) is the paired term used for 40ft counts: one 40ft equals 1 FEU, so a 10,000 TEU vessel is also a 5,000 FEU vessel.

Container Size Chart

Quick scan reference in TEU terms, useful when tallying vessel capacity or a booking manifest.

Shipping Container Opening and Frame Dimensions

Door Opening Size

Standard shipping container door opening (width × height):

• 20ft / 40ft Standard: 2.34 m × 2.28 m (7'8" × 7'6")
• 40ft / 45ft High Cube: 2.34 m × 2.58 m (7'8" × 8'6")

The door opening height is 5 to 10 cm shorter than the internal ceiling because of the door frame. Any cargo taller than 2.28 m (Standard) or 2.58 m (High Cube) has to be loaded through an Open Top from above.

Frame Dimensions

The steel frame sits on corner castings at each corner. Corner casting positions are standardized across all ISO containers so they fit the same handling equipment regardless of length. This is why a 45ft High Cube can share a chassis, a crane spreader, and a stack cell with a 40ft Standard.

20ft vs 40ft: Cost and Break Even

A 40ft Standard is not double the price of a 20ft even though it carries roughly double the volume. That is why most FCL shipments over 15 m³ of cargo default to a 40ft: the per m³ economics favor the larger box.

Break even math: a 40ft becomes cheaper than a 20ft on a per m³ basis at roughly 22 to 25 m³ of cargo. Below that, use LCL or a 20ft. Above that, a 40ft or 40ft High Cube is almost always the right call. Weight rules invert this only when cargo density exceeds 850 kg per m³, because a 40ft cannot carry proportionally more weight than a 20ft.

Load Planning Tips

Practical rules operators use to hit 90 percent utilization instead of the industry average 75 percent:

1. Model cargo in both dimensions. Every SKU has a weight and a volume; plan against whichever ceiling arrives first. A container full of heavy castings hits 28,000 kg before it fills; a container full of pillows fills before it hits 8,000 kg.
2. Stack against the internal height, not the door height. The last row before the doors can only be as tall as the door opening (2.28 m Standard, 2.58 m High Cube). Load taller pallets deeper in the container.
3. Match pallet footprint to container width. Two US pallets (48 in) side by side fit exactly across the 2.35 m internal width with a small gap. Two EU pallets (1200 mm) side by side also fit, with slightly more space.
4. Distribute weight along the floor. Concentrated weight over one axle triggers overweight axle alarms at road weigh stations even when the total is under the payload limit.
5. Reserve 10 to 15 cm at the doors. Cargo pressed against the doors can shift in transit and blow the doors open at destination unload.
6. Track container level detail on every shipment. Modern Shipment Tracking & Operations Software for Forwarders captures container type, dimensions, VGM, and weight automatically alongside the shipment record so the ops team never has to re enter data.

Choosing the Right Container Size

Frequently Asked Questions

How wide is a shipping container?

Standard ISO shipping containers are 2.44 meters (8 feet, or 96 inches) wide externally. Internal width is approximately 2.35 meters (7 feet 8 inches, or 92.5 inches), and the door opening is 2.34 meters wide. This width is consistent across 20ft, 40ft, 45ft, High Cube, Reefer, Open Top, and Flat Rack variants. US domestic 53ft trailers are wider at 2.59 meters but they are not ISO standard for international ocean shipping.

How long is a shipping container?

Standard ISO container lengths are 20 feet (6.06 meters) and 40 feet (12.19 meters). Less common sizes include 10ft (2.99 meters), 45ft (13.72 meters), 48ft, and 53ft (US domestic only). The 20ft and 40ft sizes represent the vast majority of international ocean containers in circulation.

How tall is a shipping container?

Standard 20ft and 40ft containers are 2.59 meters (8 feet 6 inches) tall externally, with an internal height of 2.39 meters (7 feet 10 inches). High Cube containers are 2.90 meters (9 feet 6 inches) tall externally and 2.70 meters (8 feet 10 inches) internally, giving roughly 30 cm (1 foot) of extra headroom for taller cargo.

How big is a shipping container?

A 20ft container is 6.06 m long by 2.44 m wide by 2.59 m tall externally, with 33.2 m³ (1,172 cu ft) of internal volume. A 40ft container is 12.19 m long by 2.44 m wide by 2.59 m tall externally, with 67.7 m³ (2,389 cu ft) of internal volume. A 40ft High Cube is the same length and width but 2.90 m tall, with 76.4 m³ (2,696 cu ft) of volume.

What is the internal width of a shipping container?

Internal width of all standard ISO shipping containers is approximately 2.35 meters (7 feet 8 inches, or 92.5 inches). This is consistent across 20ft, 40ft, 45ft, and High Cube variants. The difference between external width (2.44 m) and internal width comes from the corrugated steel wall on each side.

How thick are shipping container walls?

Shipping container walls are corrugated steel, typically 1.6 mm (0.063 inches) thick for side walls and 1.6 to 2 mm for the roof. Doors are 2 mm steel. Corner castings are 12 mm steel for structural load bearing. The floor is 28 mm plywood on 4.5 mm steel cross members. Steel gauge is roughly 14 to 16 gauge across most major manufacturers.

What are the standard shipping container dimensions?

The three most common standard dimensions are 20ft Standard (6.06 by 2.44 by 2.59 m), 40ft Standard (12.19 by 2.44 by 2.59 m), and 40ft High Cube (12.19 by 2.44 by 2.90 m). Additional ISO sizes include 10ft, 45ft High Cube, and specialty variants such as Reefer, Open Top, Flat Rack, and Tank. US domestic 53ft trailers are not ISO standard.

What is the square footage of a shipping container?

Internal floor area of a 20ft Standard container is approximately 13.86 square meters (149 square feet), based on 5.90 m by 2.35 m. A 40ft Standard container has roughly 28.27 square meters (304 square feet), based on 12.03 m by 2.35 m. A 40ft High Cube has the same floor area as the 40ft Standard but greater volume due to the extra height.

What is the weight of a shipping container?

Empty (tare) weight is roughly 2,300 kg (5,070 lb) for a 20ft Standard, 3,750 kg (8,270 lb) for a 40ft Standard, and 3,900 kg (8,600 lb) for a 40ft High Cube. Maximum payload (cargo weight) is 28,200 kg for 20ft, 28,800 kg for 40ft Standard, and 28,560 kg for 40ft High Cube. Maximum gross weight (tare plus payload) is around 30,480 kg for a 20ft Standard and 32,500 kg for a 40ft Standard.

What is a high cube container?

A High Cube container is the same external length and width as a standard container but 30 cm (1 foot) taller. The 40ft HC has 76.4 m³ of internal volume vs 67.7 m³ for the 40ft Standard, providing roughly 13 percent more volume. High Cube containers are commonly used for lightweight, high volume cargo like clothing, plastics, and furniture.

What is the difference between a 20ft and 40ft container?

A 40ft container has roughly double the internal volume of a 20ft (67.7 m³ vs 33.2 m³) but almost the same maximum payload (28,800 kg vs 28,200 kg). Ocean freight rates for a 40ft typically run only 30 to 40 percent higher than a 20ft, so cost per cubic meter is about 35 to 40 percent lower on a 40ft. Choose a 20ft when cargo is heavy and dense (weight limit hits first), a 40ft when cargo is medium density, and a 40ft High Cube when cargo is light and voluminous.

How much weight can a shipping container hold on the road?

The container itself is rated to 30,480 kg gross (20ft) or 32,500 kg gross (40ft), but road regulations on the inland leg are almost always the binding limit. In the United States, the federal 80,000 lb (36,287 kg) gross combination weight limit caps effective container payload at about 19,000 to 20,000 kg after tractor and chassis weight. In the European Union, standard combinations allow 40,000 kg gross, or 44,000 kg for intermodal container hauls. Confirm the destination country road limit before booking heavy shipments.

What are the dimensions of a 20ft shipping container's doors?

The rear door opening on a 20ft Standard shipping container is 2.34 m wide by 2.28 m tall (7 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 6 inches), or roughly 234 cm by 228 cm. The pair of swing doors together provides this full clear opening. Cargo taller than 2.28 m has to be loaded through an Open Top from above, because the door opening height is 5 to 10 cm shorter than the internal ceiling due to the door frame.

What are the dimensions of a 40ft High Cube container in cm?

A 40ft High Cube shipping container measures 1,219 cm long by 244 cm wide by 290 cm tall externally (12.19 m by 2.44 m by 2.90 m). Internal dimensions are 1,203 cm long by 235 cm wide by 270 cm tall (12.03 m by 2.35 m by 2.70 m). The door opening is 234 cm wide by 258 cm tall. Cubic capacity is 76.4 m³ or 2,696 ft³.

Conclusion

Shipping container dimensions follow ISO 668 standards that have been stable for decades. The 20ft Standard, 40ft Standard, and 40ft High Cube move the vast majority of international ocean containers, with Reefer, Open Top, Flat Rack, and ISO Tank covering specialty cargo. Understanding external and internal dimensions, door openings, tare, payload, and road weight limits helps forwarders plan cargo loading and avoid surprises between the port and the delivery yard.

Ready to see container level detail captured automatically inside a freight forwarding platform? Request a GoFreight Demo.

Keep Reading

• VGM (Verified Gross Mass): SOLAS Container Weight Rules Explained
• What Is Sea Freight? Ocean Freight Costs, Transit and FCL vs LCL
• FCL (Full Container Load): Definition and When to Use It