CONTSIZE

Free container pack

Every container, on one desk.

Sizes, doors, weights, pallets and codes for all 17 containers, set out by the job: choose the box, get it through the door, lay the pallets, stay under the road limit, read the number, buy a sound one. 37 pages to print once and keep.

Sizes, doors, pallets, weights and codes for all 17 containers, by the job. 37 pages, free.

Free. We email a confirm link first; the file follows within a minute of your click. How we handle your address.

  • PDF · 37 pages
  • A3 wall chart
  • Excel workbook
  • 4 languages
  • metric and imperial
  • dated October 29, 2026

Yuri Kan checks every figure against the documents it was read from — standards, laws, the lines’ and makers’ own sheets — and every table names its own.

37 pages · A3 · XLSX
The cover, the contents and one of 8 sections, as they arrive. Every page carries a QR code to its live page.

See a whole page before you sign up: the 20 ft sheet, as it arrives.

Open the 20 ft sheet

The 20 ft sheet: every dimension, the door, the weights and two pallet floors to scale

Made for your work

Four jobs, four starting points. The pack opens with this table too.

  • Forwarder, logistics coordinator

    +550 kg

    is all a 40 ft takes over a 20 ft, for twice the volume. Dense cargo books two 20 ft, not one 40 ft: the decision table says where the line falls.

    Start with

    • Choose a containerp. 3
    • Number and ownerp. 14
    • Free time and transitp. 19

  • Shipper, importer

    113 mm

    is lost at a 20 ft door. A crate that fits inside can still stop at the door: the door table gives every container’s.

    Start with

    • Choose a containerp. 3
    • Will it pass the doorp. 6
    • Weight and balancep. 12

  • Warehouse, load planner

    25 / 21

    EUR and US pallets on a 40 ft high cube floor. Four pallets, four boxes, drawn to scale, with the tiers each height allows.

    Start with

    • Palletsp. 7
    • Weight and balancep. 12
    • Will it pass the doorp. 6

  • Buyer for storage, a workshop or a home

    8 sellers

    US prices from 56 readings, an inspection checklist and what the delivery truck needs on site.

    Start with

    • Buying a containerp. 17
    • Container sheetsp. 21
    • Will it pass the doorp. 6

What is inside

8 sections by job, then a sheet for each of 17 containers. Open any page to read it at full size.

  1. Choose a container p. 3

    every container in two tables; which box for your cargo; 20 ft, 40 ft or high cube

  2. Will it pass the door p. 6

    every door opening and what it takes from the inside; reefer load lines; open tops and flat racks

  3. Pallets p. 7

    how many pallets of four kinds stand in each box, drawn to scale; tiers by cargo height

  4. Weight and balance p. 12

    road limits in the US and the EU; centre of gravity and floor load; a VGM worksheet

  5. Number and owner p. 14

    the door marking decoded; size and type codes; owner prefixes; the lines and what their trackers take

  6. Buying a container p. 17

    condition grades; an inspection checklist; prices, rent and delivery; the site

  7. Free time and transit p. 19

    a demurrage and detention worksheet; published transit times

  8. Conversions p. 20

    millimetres to feet and inches, kilograms to pounds, cubic metres to cubic feet

  9. Container sheets p. 21

    one page per container: every dimension, the door, weights and the floor to scale

  • A3 wall chart All 17 containers side on, to one scale, with the figures a loader asks for first.
  • Excel workbook Every figure in sortable columns, metric and imperial, and the 85 owner prefixes.

Will your crate get through the door?

Type its height and width. Nothing is sent: the check runs on this page.

End view of a 20 ft container to scale with a crate 2,320 mm tall, and the top of the opening magnified.End view of a 20 ft container to scale with a crate 2,320 mm tall, and the top of the opening magnified.
A crate that fits a 20 ft container and stops at its doorEnd view of a 20 ft container to scale with a crate 2,320 mm tall, and the top of the opening magnified: the inside is 2,393 mm high, the door 2,280 mm, so the crate fits inside and hits the door header.Open image: A crate that fits a 20 ft container and stops at its door
The numbers in this chart
A crate that fits a 20 ft container and stops at its door
Heightmmft-in
Inside2,3937′10″
Door opening2,2807′6″
Crate2,3207′7½″

In 4 containers it fits inside but stops at the door. 6 doors take it.

The door is one limit: the pack has the payload, the pallets and the road limits for the same containers.

Fits inside, stops at the door4too big by

  • 10 ft containerdoor 2,280 × 2,340 mm40 mm
  • 20 ft containerdoor 2,280 × 2,340 mm40 mm
  • 40 ft containerdoor 2,280 × 2,340 mm40 mm
  • 20 ft double door containerdoor 2,280 × 2,340 mm40 mm

Goes through the door6to spare

  • 40 ft high cube containerdoor 2,585 × 2,340 mm265 mm
  • 45 ft high cube containerdoor 2,585 × 2,340 mm265 mm
  • 48 ft containerdoor 2,585 × 2,491 mm265 mm
  • 53 ft containerdoor 2,718 × 2,489 mm398 mm
  • 40 ft high cube reeferdoor 2,567 × 2,290 mm247 mm
  • 40 ft HC double door containerdoor 2,585 × 2,340 mm265 mm

Too big for the container1too big by

  • 20 ft reeferdoor 2,264 × 2,290 mm53 mm

Open containers: no door in the way5

  • 20 ft open toploads from above: 40 mm too big for the door
  • 40 ft open toploads from above: 40 mm too big for the door
  • 20 ft flat rack87 mm beyond the walls: ships out of gauge
  • 40 ft flat rack365 mm beyond the walls: ships out of gauge
  • 20 ft open side containerloads from the side; its end door is not in our data

Every figure checked: ISO 668 + 83 published sheets · · Every figure and its sources

Five more traps the pack closes

Each costs a re-booking, a fine or a box that stays on the quay. Each has its page.

The bigger box carries no more

Above 425 kg/m³ a 40 ft runs out of weight before space; a 20 ft lasts to 851 kg/m³.

Choose a container · p. 3

Bar chart of the density threshold for the 20, 40, 40 HC and 45 HC containers.Bar chart of the density threshold for the 20, 40, 40 HC and 45 HC containers.
Weight or volume: the cargo density at which each container is full both waysBar chart of the density threshold for the 20, 40, 40 HC and 45 HC containers: cargo denser than 851 kg/m³ reaches a 20 ft's payload before filling it, and in a 40 ft that happens from 425 kg/m³.Open image: Weight or volume: the cargo density at which each container is full both ways
The numbers in this chart
Weight or volume: the cargo density at which each container is full both ways
Containerkg/m³
20 ft container851
40 ft container425
40 ft high cube container375
45 ft high cube container324

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

The owner is not the tracker

23 of 85 owner prefixes belong to leasing companies, which hold no shipment data.

Number and owner · p. 14

The container number CSZU 000132 3 split into its owner code, category letter, serial number and check digit.The container number CSZU 000132 3 split into its owner code, category letter, serial number and check digit.
A container number read for its owner, and where to track itThe container number CSZU 000132 3 split into its owner code, category letter, serial number and check digit, with the two cases that decide where to track it: an owner that is a shipping line, and one that is a leasing company.Open image: A container number read for its owner, and where to track it
The numbers in this chart
A container number read for its owner, and where to track it
PrefixOwnerWhere to track
MSKUMaerskTrack it on the line’s own tracker.
TRLUTriton InternationalA lessor holds no shipment data: track it with the line on your booking.

US pallets are not EUR pallets

A 40 ft high cube takes 25 EUR pallets on its floor but 21 US ones: plan with the pallet you have.

Pallets · p. 7

The road is stricter than the box

A 20 ft takes 28,250 kg of cargo; on a US road a standard chassis usually allows about 38,000 lb (17,200 kg), an estimate: the 80,000 lb federal limit less a typical tractor and chassis.

Weight and balance · p. 12

A reefer has a lower ceiling

A 40 ft high cube reefer is 2,545 mm high inside; load no higher than 2,394 mm or the air stops reaching the top.

Will it pass the door · p. 6

Better than what you already have

The free chart on this site and a line’s own PDF are good. This is what the pack adds.

Better than what you already have
The packThe chart on this siteA line’s own PDF
Every common container, from every lineyesyesno
Set out by job: which box, which door, how many palletsyesnono
Pallet floors to scale, four palletsyesnono
Road limits, balance, a VGM worksheetyesnono
Owner prefixes and what each tracker takesyesnono
A3 wall chart and an Excel workbookyesnono
Works offline, prints on A4yesprintyes
English, Spanish, Russian, Frenchyesyesrarely

Why the figures hold

Published payloads for the same 20 ft differ by 3,250 kg; the lines’ and makers’ own sheets print 21,640 to 30,250 kg

Container sites copy their tables from different sheets, and boxes are built to different ratings, so the figures disagree. We measured how far, read the sheets themselves, and the pack names whose figure is whose.

  • ContSize · ours28,250 kg
  • FreightTotals28,130 kg
  • DSV25,000 kg

Every figure checked: ISO 668 + 19 published sheets · · Every figure and its sources

Container spec variance index

  • 308 documents read. Among them 88 sheets from 30 lines, lessors and makers, and ISO 668 in IS 6566:2001 and ГОСТ Р 53350-2009. On the site each of the 191 container figures says how it stands: 44 set by the standard, 114 confirmed by sheets that agree, 21 given as the range the sheets print, 12 from one sheet. Last read 19 October 2026.
  • All 85 prefixes read in the BIC register. Each on the register’s own page for its code, on 18 October 2026; it names the owner or a company of its group, and 15 are also listed in the company’s own document.
  • Trackers opened by hand. A link carrying the number was tried on 7 lines’ trackers; it opens the result on 3. The pack says which.
  • Corrected in public. A wrong figure goes into an open log, old beside new: 162 entries so far.
  • Nothing to sell you. No ads; ContSize sells no containers or freight and is tied to no line.

From the corrections log · Shipping container weight

Three pages said ISO 668 sets the maximum gross weight of a container at 30,480 kg. That is what most boxes are plated for; since its 2016 amendment the standard allows a rating of up to 36,000 kg for every size but the 10 ft. The weight guide also gave road payloads of “19–21 t in the EU and 17–19 t in the US” with no source; it now states the legal vehicle limits and names where they come from.

Corrected 5 October 2026 · The whole log

Yuri Kan · Founder and editor

I built ContSize after one too many freight quotes that disagreed on figures that should be fixed. I write every letter and answer replies myself.

The monthly letter, if you want it

A printed page does not update itself. Tick the box and you get what changed — corrected figures, new owner prefixes, new tools — at most once a month, and no letter in a month with no news.

See the first letter

The first letter goes out on 31 October 2026. Here it is, as you would read it.

CONTSIZE

October at ContSize: a 3D load planner, VGM and demurrage

New this month

One figure

A 20 ft is 2,393 mm high inside, but its door is only 2,280 mm.

Try this

Open the planner on the example “Too tall for the door” and see why the crate stays on the quay.

Yuri Kan — reply and it reaches me

Questions

What exactly arrives?

Three files in one email: a PDF of 37 pages (8 sections by job and a sheet for each of 17 containers), an A3 wall chart and an Excel workbook, in your language.

How is it different from the chart on this site?

The chart’s table is one part of the pack’s 37 pages; the rest is decisions by job, the doors, pallet floors to scale, road limits and VGM, owner prefixes and a buyer’s checklist.

May I share it with my team and my clients?

Yes: print it, forward it, put it on the warehouse wall, as it is, with contsize.com named, which every page already does.

Metric or imperial? A4 or Letter?

Both units, side by side, on every page; the PDF is A4 and prints on Letter with "fit to page", and the wall chart is A3.

Is it really free?

Yes: the pack, the letter and all 7 calculators cost nothing, and none asks for a card or an account. A file you have stays yours.

How often will you write?

At most once a month, and only if you tick the box; without it you get the confirmation and the pack, and nothing else (one reminder if you have not confirmed within a day).

No email arrived — what now?

Most arrive within a minute: look in Spam, Promotions and your company’s quarantine, add hello@mail.contsize.com to your contacts and send again; the confirm link works 7 days.

Do you sell or share my address?

No: it is used only to send what you ask for, through the services that run the site — Resend sends the email, Cloudflare hosts the site.

How current is it, and how do I leave?

It is dated 29 October 2026 on every page, and the letter tells you when a figure changes. One click at the bottom of any letter takes you off the list; the files stay yours.

Get the pack before your next booking

A PDF of 37 pages, an A3 wall chart and an Excel workbook, in one email a minute after you click the link in the first. The letter only if you tick the box.

Free. We email a confirm link first; the file follows within a minute of your click. How we handle your address.

The tools need no address: the size chart, the 3D load planner, 7 calculators and the tracking guide all work without one. Size chart · 3D load planner · Calculators · Tracking guide

Corrected 3 times, last on   see the log