Volume · 20 ft
How many CBM is a 20 ft container?
Yuri Kan Checked against 32 of 88 published sheets Updated
A 20 ft container is 33.2 CBM (1,172 ft³) inside: 5.898 × 2.352 × 2.393 m (19′4″ × 7′8½″ × 7′10″). That volume is per all 18 sheets; the sheets print 32.9–33.2 m³. Cartons never fill a box solid, so plan on about 85 % of it, 28.2 m³: the site’s load planner puts 270 cartons of 60 × 40 × 40 cm into a 20 ft.
| Container | Inside | Volume | Usable, 85 % | Cartons 60 × 40 × 40 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft | 5.898 × 2.352 × 2.393 m | 33.2 m³ (1,172 ft³) | 28.2 m³ | 270 |
| 40 ft | 12.032 × 2.352 × 2.393 m | 67.7 m³ (2,391 ft³) | 57.5 m³ | 590 |
| 40 ft HC | 12.032 × 2.352 × 2.698 m | 76.4 m³ (2,698 ft³) | 64.9 m³ | 660 |
| 45 ft HC | 13.556 × 2.352 × 2.698 m | 86.0 m³ (3,037 ft³) | 73.1 m³ | 726 |
Checked : outside sizes set by ISO 668, read in IS 6566:2001, GOST R 51876-2008 and GOST R 53350-2009; every other figure against 32 published sheets of 20 lines, lessors and makers. 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: Hapag-Lloyd Container Specifications · Maersk Container Specifications · CMA CGM Equipment Guide
The numbers in this chart
| 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 |
Checked : the figures in this chart against 42 of 88 published sheets from 27 lines, lessors, makers and rail and road operators: those that print these figures. 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
What a CBM is, and what the 20 ft’s 33.2 m³ are
A CBM is one cubic metre of cargo, length × width × height in metres times the number of pieces: a carton of 60 × 40 × 40 cm is 0.096 m³, and the 20 ft’s 33.2 CBM are its geometric inside, 5.898 × 2.352 × 2.393 m, or 1,172 ft³ in the units a US warehouse uses. A forwarder charges LCL freight on the cargo’s CBM and quotes a 20 ft by its inside CBM, which is why the figure is worth knowing to one decimal.
How much of a 20 ft you can load
Volume alone promises 345 cartons of 60 × 40 × 40 cm in a 20 ft (33.2 ÷ 0.096 m³); the load planner, which has to stand every carton on something and keep the door clear, loads 270. That gap is why every calculator on this site plans a 20 ft against 85 % of the inside, 28.2 m³: a planning rule, not a standard, and mixed carton sizes usually fill less. For your own cartons the container load calculator draws the plan in a 20 ft.
The 20 ft against the other sizes
A 40 ft holds 67.7 m³, about twice the 20 ft, and a 40 ft high cube 76.4 m³ on the same floor with 305 mm more height. The 20 ft stays the right box for dense cargo: its 28,250 kg payload is almost the 40 ft’s in half the space. The 20 ft beside the other sizes, with the formula and the carton table, is the container CBM guide.
The 20 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
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Frequently asked questions
How many cubic feet is a 20 ft container?
1,172 ft³, which is 33.2 m³: the 20 ft’s inside is 19′4″ × 7′8½″ × 7′10″ (5.898 × 2.352 × 2.393 m), per 15 of 18 sheets.
How many CBM can I actually load in a 20 ft container?
About 28.2 m³, 85 % of the 20 ft’s 33.2 CBM, is the planning figure for cartons; one carton size packed by the planner fills a little less or a little more, and mixed sizes less.
How many cartons fit in a 20 ft container?
270 cartons of 60 × 40 × 40 cm in a 20 ft by the site’s load planner, against the 345 that dividing 33.2 m³ by 0.096 m³ promises; for your own carton size the container load calculator counts and draws the plan.