20ft vs 40ft Container Capacity
Compare 20ft, 40ft and 40ft high-cube capacity and how many of each your cargo needs.
Inputs
m³
kg
%
Typically 80–90% for mixed cartons
Results
- 20ft standard: usable volume
- 28.2 m³
- 20ft standard: containers needed
- 2
- 40ft standard: usable volume
- 57.6 m³
- 40ft standard: containers needed
- 1
- 40ft high cube: usable volume
- 64.9 m³
- 40ft high cube: containers needed
- 1
Formula
Usable volume = L × W × H × loading efficiency
Containers = max(⌈cargo m³ ÷ usable⌉, ⌈cargo kg ÷ payload⌉)
Assumptions & limits
- Internal volumes ≈ 33.2 m³ (20GP), 67.7 m³ (40GP), 76.4 m³ (40HC); payloads 28.2 t, 26.7 t, 26.5 t.
- Road weight limits in your country may be lower than container payload.
Worked example
40HC usable ≈ 76.4 × 0.85 = 64.9 m³ → 1 container; 20GP usable ≈ 28.2 m³ → 2 containers.