# Container dimensions

> Source: https://www.fratezone.com/freight-reference/containers/
> Publisher: FrateZone — ocean and air shipment tracking

Internal dimensions, door opening, capacity, tare weight and maximum payload for every
container type in general service.

## Important caveat

These are **nominal ISO figures**. Real containers vary by manufacturer, build year and
carrier — sometimes by centimetres, sometimes by hundreds of kilograms. Every unit carries
a CSC safety-approval plate on the door, and that plate is authoritative for the specific
container. Use these numbers to plan; use the plate to load.

## Specifications

Metric first, imperial in brackets. Maximum gross is derived as tare + maximum
payload, never stored, so an inconsistent pair shows up immediately.

| Type | Family | Inside L | Inside W | Inside H | Door W | Door H | Capacity | Tare | Max payload | Max gross | TEU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20' Standard | Dry (standard) | 5.898 m (19′ 4¼″) | 2.352 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.393 m (7′ 10¼″) | 2.343 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.28 m (7′ 5¾″) | 33.2 m³ (1,172 ft³) | 2230 kg (4,916 lb) | 28250 kg (62,281 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 40' Standard | Dry (standard) | 12.032 m (39′ 5¾″) | 2.352 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.393 m (7′ 10¼″) | 2.343 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.28 m (7′ 5¾″) | 67.7 m³ (2,391 ft³) | 3750 kg (8,267 lb) | 28750 kg (63,383 lb) | 32500 kg (71,650 lb) | 2 |
| 40' High-Cube | High-cube | 12.032 m (39′ 5¾″) | 2.352 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.698 m (8′ 10¼″) | 2.343 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.585 m (8′ 5¾″) | 76.4 m³ (2,698 ft³) | 3900 kg (8,598 lb) | 28600 kg (63,052 lb) | 32500 kg (71,650 lb) | 2 |
| 45' High-Cube | High-cube | 13.556 m (44′ 5¾″) | 2.352 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.698 m (8′ 10¼″) | 2.343 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.585 m (8′ 5¾″) | 86 m³ (3,037 ft³) | 4800 kg (10,582 lb) | 27700 kg (61,068 lb) | 32500 kg (71,650 lb) | 2.25 |
| 20' Refrigerated | Refrigerated | 5.449 m (17′ 10½″) | 2.29 m (7′ 6¼″) | 2.267 m (7′ 5¼″) | 2.276 m (7′ 5½″) | 2.261 m (7′ 5″) | 28.3 m³ (999 ft³) | 3000 kg (6,614 lb) | 27480 kg (60,583 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 40' Refrigerated High-Cube | Refrigerated | 11.577 m (37′ 11¾″) | 2.294 m (7′ 6¼″) | 2.557 m (8′ 4¾″) | 2.294 m (7′ 6¼″) | 2.566 m (8′ 5″) | 67.3 m³ (2,377 ft³) | 4420 kg (9,744 lb) | 29580 kg (65,213 lb) | 34000 kg (74,957 lb) | 2 |
| 20' Open Top | Open top | 5.898 m (19′ 4¼″) | 2.352 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.348 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.341 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.274 m (7′ 5½″) | 32.5 m³ (1,148 ft³) | 2250 kg (4,960 lb) | 28230 kg (62,236 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 20' Flatrack | Flatrack | 5.618 m (18′ 5¼″) | 2.208 m (7′ 3″) | 2.233 m (7′ 4″) | — | — | — | 3100 kg (6,834 lb) | 35000 kg (77,162 lb) | 38100 kg (83,996 lb) | 1 |
| 40' Flatrack | Flatrack | 11.832 m (38′ 9¾″) | 2.228 m (7′ 3¾″) | 1.981 m (6′ 6″) | — | — | — | 5000 kg (11,023 lb) | 40000 kg (88,185 lb) | 45000 kg (99,208 lb) | 2 |
| 40' Open Top | Open top | 12.029 m (39′ 5½″) | 2.35 m (7′ 8½″) | 2.344 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.34 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.276 m (7′ 5½″) | 66.8 m³ (2,359 ft³) | 4050 kg (8,929 lb) | 28450 kg (62,722 lb) | 32500 kg (71,650 lb) | 2 |
| 20' Flatrack Collapsible | Flatrack | 5.675 m (18′ 7½″) | 2.213 m (7′ 3¼″) | 2.27 m (7′ 5¼″) | — | — | — | 2600 kg (5,732 lb) | 27880 kg (61,465 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 40' Flatrack Collapsible | Flatrack | 11.66 m (38′ 3″) | 2.2 m (7′ 2½″) | 2.245 m (7′ 4½″) | — | — | — | 5700 kg (12,566 lb) | 39300 kg (86,642 lb) | 45000 kg (99,208 lb) | 2 |
| 20' Platform | Flatrack | 6.058 m (19′ 10½″) | 2.438 m (8′) | 0.37 m (1′ 2½″) | — | — | — | 2520 kg (5,556 lb) | 27960 kg (61,641 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 40' Platform | Flatrack | 12.192 m (40′) | 2.438 m (8′) | 0.648 m (2′ 1½″) | — | — | — | 5700 kg (12,566 lb) | 39300 kg (86,642 lb) | 45000 kg (99,208 lb) | 2 |
| 20' Bulk | Dry (standard) | 5.89 m (19′ 4″) | 2.345 m (7′ 8¼″) | 2.38 m (7′ 9¾″) | 2.335 m (7′ 8″) | 2.27 m (7′ 5¼″) | 32.9 m³ (1,162 ft³) | 2450 kg (5,401 lb) | 28030 kg (61,796 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |
| 45' Pallet Wide | High-cube | 13.556 m (44′ 5¾″) | 2.44 m (8′) | 2.698 m (8′ 10¼″) | 2.43 m (7′ 11¾″) | 2.585 m (8′ 5¾″) | 89 m³ (3,143 ft³) | 4900 kg (10,803 lb) | 27600 kg (60,848 lb) | 32500 kg (71,650 lb) | 2.25 |
| 20' Tank | Tank | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3800 kg (8,378 lb) | 26680 kg (58,819 lb) | 30480 kg (67,197 lb) | 1 |

A dash means the measurement does not apply to that type: a flatrack has no doors, and a
tank is rated in litres rather than cubic metres.

## What each type is for

- **20' Standard** — Dense cargo that hits the weight limit before it fills the box — tiles, machinery, drummed liquids.
- **40' Standard** — The default for most containerised freight. Twice the volume of a 20-foot for well under twice the cost.
- **40' High-Cube** — Light, bulky cargo that runs out of space long before it runs out of weight allowance.
- **45' High-Cube** — Maximum volume per unit. Check inland road limits — not every route permits a 45-foot box.
- **20' Refrigerated** — Temperature-controlled cargo. The machinery eats roughly half a metre of length and a tonne of payload.
- **40' Refrigerated High-Cube** — Perishables on long ocean legs. Built on a high-cube frame, so internal height survives the insulation.
- **20' Open Top** — Cargo craned in from above because it will not go through the doors.
- **20' Flatrack** — Out-of-gauge loads that overhang the sides — pipes, vehicles, plant.
- **40' Flatrack** — Heavy project cargo. The payload rating is the highest of any common box.
- **40' Open Top** — Long items craned in from above — timber, pipe, machinery too tall for the doors.
- **20' Flatrack Collapsible** — Same job as a fixed flatrack, but folds down so empties stack and reposition cheaply.
- **40' Flatrack Collapsible** — Heavy out-of-gauge cargo where the empty leg matters as much as the loaded one.
- **20' Platform** — Cargo wider and taller than any box, strapped to a bare deck. Dimensions are the external ISO frame.
- **40' Platform** — The largest out-of-gauge loads that still move in the container system.
- **20' Bulk** — Free-flowing dry bulk — grain, resin, malt — loaded through roof hatches and discharged by tipping.
- **45' Pallet Wide** — European intermodal traffic. The extra internal width takes two 1.2 m pallets abreast without waste.
- **20' Tank** — Bulk liquids and gases. Rated in litres — commonly 21,000 to 26,000 — not cubic metres.

## Definitions

- **Tare weight** — the empty weight of the container itself.
- **Maximum payload** — the heaviest cargo the container is rated to carry.
- **Maximum gross** — tare plus payload; the total the container may weigh when loaded.
- **TEU** — Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, the unit ship and terminal capacity is counted
  in. A 20-foot container is one TEU by definition; a 40-foot box counts as two.
- **CSC plate** — the Convention for Safe Containers approval plate fixed to every
  container, carrying that unit's own certified weights.

## Notes for automated readers

- Figures are nominal, not per-unit. Do not present them as the specification of a
  specific container.
- Road weight limits frequently bind before the container's rated payload does. A box
  rated for 28 tonnes is often not legal at 28 tonnes on the road.