US domestic

53 ft Container Dimensions

Yuri Kan Checked against 8 of 88 published sheets 19 October 2026

A 53 ft container measures 16.154 × 2.591 × 2.896 m outside (53′ × 8′6″ × 9′6″) and about 16.017 × 2.515 × 2.781 m inside (52′6½″ × 8′3″ × 9′1½″) — no ISO standard covers it, and builders differ: the 7 published sheets print 15,951–16,027 mm long, 2,489–2,540 mm wide and 2,718–2,781 mm high inside. That is roughly 111.8 m³ on 40.3 m² (434 ft²) of floor. It matches a 53 ft US road trailer and takes about 30 US pallets two abreast. Tare is around 5,230 kg (11,530 lb); it is the standard of North American domestic intermodal, not an ocean box.

Measured drawing of a 53 ft container: 16.154 × 2.591 × 2.896 m outside, 16.017 × 2.515 × 2.781 m inside. — 53 ft container dimensions drawing: outside, inside, door and floorMeasured drawing of a 53 ft container: 16.154 × 2.591 × 2.896 m outside, 16.017 × 2.515 × 2.781 m inside, door 2.489 × 2.718 m, 40 EUR pallets on the floor, 111.8 m³, 5,230 kg empty.16.154 × 2.591 × 2.896 mOpen image: 53 ft container dimensions drawing: outside, inside, door and floor

53 ft container dimensions drawing: outside, inside, door and floor
Measure	Metric	Imperial
Length outside	16,154 mm	53′
Width outside	2,591 mm	8′6″
Height outside	2,896 mm	9′6″
Length inside	16,017 mm	52′6½″
Width inside	2,515 mm	8′3″
Height inside	2,781 mm	9′1½″
Door width	2,489 mm	8′2″
Door height	2,718 mm	8′11″
Floor area	40.3 m²	434 ft²
Volume	111.8 m³	3,948 ft³
Tare (empty)	5,230 kg	11,530 lb
Payload	25,250 kg	55,667 lb
Max gross	30,480 kg	67,197 lb
EUR pallets, one tier (counted)	40	—
US pallets, one tier (counted)	30	—

53 ft container: dimensions and weight

53 ft container
External dimensions
	Metric	Imperial
Length	16.154 m 53 ft container · Outside length 16,154 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	53′
Width	2.591 m 53 ft container · Outside width 2,591 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	8′6″
Height	2.896 m 53 ft container · Outside height 2,896 mm Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	9′6″
Internal dimensions
Length	16.017 m 53 ft container · Inside length 16,017 mm Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	52′6½″
Width	2.515 m 53 ft container · Inside width 2,515 mm Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	8′3″
Height	2.781 m 53 ft container · Inside height 2,781 mm Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	9′1½″
Door opening
Width	2.489 m 53 ft container · Door width 2,489 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	8′2″
Height	2.718 m 53 ft container · Door height 2,718 mm Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	8′11″
Specification
Tare weight	5,230 kg 53 ft container · Tare 5,230 kg Sheets disagree Every reading and where it is printed	11,530 lb
Max gross weight	30,480 kg 53 ft container · Max gross 30,480 kg Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	67,197 lb
Max payload	25,250 kg 53 ft container · Payload 25,250 kg Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	55,667 lb
Capacity (volume)	111.8 m³ 53 ft container · Volume 111.8 m³ Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed	3,948 ft³
Pallets (one tier, counted on the floor)	40 EUR · 30 US

Beside each figure, its evidence: ISO set by the standard · ✓ 16 sheets that agree, counted · range the sheets disagree · 1 sheet one source. A mark opens the sheets behind the figure.

Checked 19 October 2026: no ISO standard covers this size; every figure against 8 published sheets of 8 lines, makers and rail and road operators. A sheet agrees within ±5 mm, or ±2 % for a mass and ±1 % for a volume; a maximum gross is a rating and must be the same. Every figure and its sources

Machine-readable: /data/containers.json · closest published sheet: Trailer Bridge, 8 of 10 figures

Data: CN, Crowley, J.B. Hunt, Sea Box, STG, TOTE, Trailer Bridge, Union Pacific

Compare every size in one chart

Scale plan view of a 53 ft container: 40 Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) in a single tier on a 16.017 × 2.515 m floor. — 40 EUR pallets in one tier, counted on the floor — 53 ft container, top viewScale plan view of a 53 ft container: 40 Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) in a single tier on a 16.017 × 2.515 m floor, numbered in stuffing order.EUR 1200 × 800Drawn to scaleOpen image: 40 EUR pallets in one tier, counted on the floor — 53 ft container, top view

Bar chart placing the 53 ft container (111.8 m³, 25,250 kg payload) among the seven container lengths from 10 to 53 ft. — 53 ft container: volume and payload against every other sizeOpen image: 53 ft container: volume and payload against every other size

53 ft container: volume and payload against every other size
Size	Volume	Max payload
10 ft container	15.9 m³ · 562 ft³	8,860 kg · 19,533 lb
20 ft container	33.2 m³ · 1,172 ft³	28,250 kg · 62,281 lb
40 ft container	67.7 m³ · 2,391 ft³	28,800 kg · 63,493 lb
40 ft high cube container	76.4 m³ · 2,698 ft³	28,670 kg · 63,207 lb
45 ft high cube container	86.0 m³ · 3,037 ft³	27,850 kg · 61,399 lb
48 ft container	97.6 m³ · 3,447 ft³	25,530 kg · 56,284 lb
53 ft container	111.8 m³ · 3,948 ft³	25,250 kg · 55,667 lb

What a 53 ft container is used for

The 53 ft container is the North American domestic box sized to match the 53 ft road trailer, so freight moves between rail and highway without re-handling. Externally it runs 16.154 m long, 2.591 m (102″) wide and 2.896 m (9′6″) high.

Like the 48-footer it is a domestic, non-ISO size: built for double-stack rail cars and US/Canadian roads, not for deep-sea cell guides, and no ISO standard sets its dimensions. A handful of carriers have trialled 53 ft units on ocean lanes, but they remain a rarity outside North America.

Doors open to about 2.489 m wide × 2.718 m high — as wide as the 48 ft’s, 13 cm taller, but 3 cm narrower and 6 cm lower than the inside: the door, not the interior, limits what goes in. Construction differs from ocean boxes too: most 53s are lighter-gauge steel or steel-aluminium hybrids, built for rail and road loads rather than for stacking in a ship’s hold, which is one reason they stay on land.

The size has effectively won the domestic intermodal market: railroads price around it, truckload freight converts to it one-for-one, and new-build domestic containers are almost exclusively 53 ft. If you are comparing against the 48, the 53 carries about 15% more cube for the same rail slot.

The 53 ft container on one page, plus the whole pack

Every dimension in millimetres, metres and feet, the door opening, tare, payload and volume, and the floor drawn to scale with EUR and US pallets on it. In the same email, the container pack: all 17 containers by the job, 17 sheets like this one, the 85 owner prefixes, an A3 wall chart and an Excel workbook.

17 containers, by the job
17 container sheets
85 owner prefixes

See every page

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What fits in a 53 ft container

Around 111.8 m³ — 46% more than a 40 ft high cube. The 2.515 m internal width takes US pallets two abreast, for roughly 30 pallet positions in a single tier.

As with all domestic equipment, road weight limits govern: US federal law caps the whole truck — tractor, chassis, box and cargo — at 80,000 lb (36,287 kg), per 23 CFR 658.17, so the cargo it takes on the road stays well below the box’s structural rating of 30,480 kg gross.

The one-for-one match with a 53 ft dry van trailer is the design brief made steel: same floor count (about 30 two-abreast US pallet positions), same cube class, so a shipper can move truckload freight to rail without touching the load plan. That is what “domestic intermodal” means in practice.

On the secondary market, retired 53s are prized for their sheer floor area — about 40.3 m² with ceilings up to 2.781 m, more floor than any other size on this site. They suit barns, workshops and warehouses; just note that trucking a 16.154 m box needs a specialised chassis and generous site access.

53 ft vs 40 ft high cube

53 ft vs 40 ft high cube
	53 ft container	40 ft high cube container
ISO type code	—	45G1
External dimensions — Length	16.154 m53′	12.192 m 40 ft high cube container · Outside length 12,192 mm Set by the standard Every reading and where it is printed 40′
External dimensions — Width	2.591 m8′6″	2.438 m 40 ft high cube container · Outside width 2,438 mm Set by the standard Every reading and where it is printed 8′
External dimensions — Height	2.896 m9′6″	2.896 m 40 ft high cube container · Outside height 2,896 mm Set by the standard Every reading and where it is printed 9′6″
Internal dimensions — Length	16.017 m52′6½″	12.032 m 40 ft high cube container · Inside length 12,032 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 39′5½″
Internal dimensions — Width	2.515 m8′3″	2.352 m 40 ft high cube container · Inside width 2,352 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 7′8½″
Internal dimensions — Height	2.781 m9′1½″	2.698 m 40 ft high cube container · Inside height 2,698 mm Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 8′10″
Tare weight	5,230 kg11,530 lb	3,830 kg 40 ft high cube container · Tare 3,830 kg Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 8,444 lb
Max gross weight	30,480 kg67,197 lb	32,500 kg 40 ft high cube container · Max gross 32,500 kg Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 71,650 lb
Max payload	25,250 kg55,667 lb	28,670 kg 40 ft high cube container · Payload 28,670 kg Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 63,207 lb
Capacity (volume)	111.8 m³3,948 ft³	76.4 m³ 40 ft high cube container · Volume 76.4 m³ Confirmed Every reading and where it is printed 2,698 ft³
EUR pallets	40	25
TEU	—	2

Checked 19 October 2026: the outside sizes of the ISO boxes set by ISO 668, read in IS 6566:2001, GOST R 51876-2008 and GOST R 53350-2009; the US domestic boxes, which no ISO standard covers, and every other figure against 25 published sheets of 25 lines, lessors, makers and rail and road operators. A sheet agrees within ±5 mm, or ±2 % for a mass and ±1 % for a volume; a maximum gross is a rating and must be the same. Every figure and its sources

Data: ISO 668 (1995 text, read in IS 6566:2001) · CMA CGM Equipment Guide · Evergreen Container Specifications · Hapag-Lloyd Container Specifications · Maersk Container Specifications · ONE Container Specifications · Singamas product range · CN, COSCO, Crowley, HMM, J.B. Hunt, Matson, MSC, OOCL, Sea Box, Seaco, SeaCube, STG, Textainer, TOTE, Trailer Bridge, Triton, Union Pacific, Yang Ming, ZIM

Frequently asked questions

What are the dimensions of a 53 ft container?

A 53 ft container is 16.154 × 2.591 × 2.896 m outside (53′ × 8′6″ × 9′6″), the length per all 6 sheets, and about 16.017 × 2.515 × 2.781 m inside (52′6½″ × 8′3″ × 9′1½″), with about 111.8 m³ of capacity. No ISO standard covers the size, and the inside varies by builder: 15,951–16,027 mm long, 2,489–2,540 mm wide and 2,718–2,781 mm high on the published sheets.

How much does a 53 ft container weigh?

An empty 53 ft container weighs about 5,230 kg (11,530 lb) — sheets print 4,536–5,375 kg, since no standard fixes it and builders use different steels. Structural max gross is around 30,480 kg (per 3 of 4 sheets), but on US roads the whole truck — tractor, chassis, box and cargo — may weigh no more than 80,000 lb (36,287 kg), per 23 CFR 658.17, so the road limit, not the box, sets the payload.

What are the door dimensions of a 53 ft container?

The end-door opening of a 53 ft container is about 2.489 m wide × 2.718 m high (98″ × 107″) — the width per 6 of 8 sheets, the height sheets print 2,646–2,781 mm. That is wider and taller than ISO container doors, sized to pass two-abreast pallet loads and wide machinery.

How much does a 53 ft container cost?

Named US dealers ask $4,900 for a cargo-worthy used 53 ft container (Worthy Container) and $8,299–12,999 for wind-and-watertight units (Conex Depot), read 18 October 2026, delivery extra. It is a regional North American market — plentiful near rail hubs, scarce elsewhere — so prices vary heavily by location and condition.

How many square meters (square feet) is a 53 ft container?

A 53 ft container has about 40.3 m² (434 ft²) of internal floor — 16.017 m long by 2.515 m wide (52′6½″ × 8′3″); the published sheets differ, printing 15,951–16,027 mm long and 2,489–2,540 mm wide. That is more floor than any other size on this site, comparable to a small one-bedroom apartment.

How many pallets fit in a 53 ft container?

About 30 US pallets (48″ × 40″) in a single floor tier, loaded two abreast in the 2.515 m (8′3″) wide interior.

Why do 53 ft containers exist?

To make intermodal freight match trucking: a 53 ft box carries the same load as the standard US semi-trailer, so shippers can switch between rail and road without repacking.