TEMU → Textainer · lessor prefix
TEMU Container Prefix — Textainer (Leasing)
Textainer, a Bermuda-based lessor managing about four million TEU, became part of Stonepeak in 2024 and absorbed the Seaco fleet at the end of 2025.
Its register footprint is the widest of any lessor — seven codes including two inherited from Seaco — which makes Textainer prefixes the ones most often misread as carrier codes.
TEMU predates the shopping app by decades — it is a Textainer leasing code, and it is also regularly misattributed to Triton.
4 letters + 7 digits, printed on the doors
TEMU check digit: worked example
T | E | M | U | 5 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 15 | 24 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| ×1 | ×2 | ×4 | ×8 | ×16 | ×32 | ×64 | ×128 | ×256 | ×512 |
| 31 | 30 | 96 | 256 | 80 | 64 | 320 | 1024 | 1536 | 4608 |
Sum 8045 → 8045 mod 11 = 4 → check digit 4 → TEMU 525869-4
Textainer prefix family
Owner vs operator: the Textainer case
Whatever Textainer code is on the door, the tracking answer lives with the line on your paperwork — Textainer only owns the asset.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the TEMU container prefix?
TEMU is registered to Textainer, a container leasing company (lessor) — the BIC register lists it together with TGHU, TEXU, TGBU, but the boxes sail in other lines' fleets.
Which line do I track a TEMU container with?
Not with Textainer — a TEMU box is leased, so the tracking data lives with the shipping line named on your booking confirmation or bill of lading; open that line's tracker and paste the TEMU number there.
Is TEMU 5258694 a valid container number?
Yes — TEMU 525869-4 passes ISO 6346 validation: the weighted letter-and-digit sum for TEMU525869 leaves remainder 4 mod 11, giving check digit 4. The worked table for this TEMU example is on this page.
Is TEMU a shipping line prefix or a leasing company prefix?
TEMU is a leasing-company (lessor) prefix — Textainer owns the steel box, while a shipping line operates it, which is why owner and tracker differ.
Is the TEMU container prefix related to the Temu shopping app?
No — TEMU has been Textainer’s BIC code since long before the app existed; a TEMU box is leased steel, not an e-commerce shipment marker.