7 prefixes · leasing company
Textainer container prefixes
TGHU, TEXU, TEMU, TGBU, MAGU, SEGU and GESU are registered to Textainer, a container leasing company. Textainer owns the box and does not carry it: track it with the shipping line named on your booking or bill of lading, because that line holds the record of where it is. The check digit is worked out below for each prefix.
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.
4 letters + 7 digits, printed on the doors. It is on your bill of lading too.
The answer appears as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.
All 7 Textainer prefixes
| Prefix | A valid number | Check digit | Where the code comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
TGHU | TGHU 416167-5 | 5 | — |
TEXU | TEXU 854978-4 | 4 | — |
TEMU | TEMU 525869-4 | 4 | TEMU predates the shopping app by decades — it is a Textainer leasing code, and it is also regularly misattributed to Triton. |
TGBU | TGBU 236652-4 | 4 | TGBU, like TEMU, is Textainer’s registration despite frequent misattribution to Triton. |
MAGU | MAGU 196760-1 | 1 | — |
SEGU | SEGU 336382-1 | 1 | SEGU was a Seaco code until the fleet passed to Textainer in late 2025; the register now shows Textainer. |
GESU | GESU 575734-7 | 7 | GESU is the other ex-Seaco registration re-homed to Textainer after the 2025 acquisition. |
Prefix register verified against two independent sources on 2026-08-03. The example numbers are computed to show the arithmetic. They are valid by construction, not numbers we saw on a box.
Data: BIC Container Prefix Register · ISO 6346:2022
TGHU: check digit, worked through
TGHU is registered to Textainer. Take TGHU 416167-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
T | 31 | ×1 | 31 |
G | 17 | ×2 | 34 |
H | 18 | ×4 | 72 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
4 | 4 | ×16 | 64 |
1 | 1 | ×32 | 32 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
1 | 1 | ×128 | 128 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
7 | 7 | ×512 | 3584 |
Sum 6121 → 6121 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → TGHU 416167-5
TEXU: check digit, worked through
TEXU is registered to Textainer. Take TEXU 854978-4: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 4.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
T | 31 | ×1 | 31 |
E | 15 | ×2 | 30 |
X | 36 | ×4 | 144 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
8 | 8 | ×16 | 128 |
5 | 5 | ×32 | 160 |
4 | 4 | ×64 | 256 |
9 | 9 | ×128 | 1152 |
7 | 7 | ×256 | 1792 |
8 | 8 | ×512 | 4096 |
Sum 8045 → 8045 mod 11 = 4 → check digit 4 → TEXU 854978-4
TEMU: check digit, worked through
TEMU is registered to Textainer. Take TEMU 525869-4: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 4.
TEMU predates the shopping app by decades — it is a Textainer leasing code, and it is also regularly misattributed to Triton.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
T | 31 | ×1 | 31 |
E | 15 | ×2 | 30 |
M | 24 | ×4 | 96 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
5 | 5 | ×16 | 80 |
2 | 2 | ×32 | 64 |
5 | 5 | ×64 | 320 |
8 | 8 | ×128 | 1024 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
9 | 9 | ×512 | 4608 |
Sum 8045 → 8045 mod 11 = 4 → check digit 4 → TEMU 525869-4
TGBU: check digit, worked through
TGBU is registered to Textainer. Take TGBU 236652-4: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 4.
TGBU, like TEMU, is Textainer’s registration despite frequent misattribution to Triton.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
T | 31 | ×1 | 31 |
G | 17 | ×2 | 34 |
B | 12 | ×4 | 48 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×16 | 32 |
3 | 3 | ×32 | 96 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
6 | 6 | ×128 | 768 |
5 | 5 | ×256 | 1280 |
2 | 2 | ×512 | 1024 |
Sum 3953 → 3953 mod 11 = 4 → check digit 4 → TGBU 236652-4
MAGU: check digit, worked through
MAGU is registered to Textainer. Take MAGU 196760-1: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 1.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
M | 24 | ×1 | 24 |
A | 10 | ×2 | 20 |
G | 17 | ×4 | 68 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
1 | 1 | ×16 | 16 |
9 | 9 | ×32 | 288 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
7 | 7 | ×128 | 896 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
0 | 0 | ×512 | 0 |
Sum 3488 → 3488 mod 11 = 1 → check digit 1 → MAGU 196760-1
SEGU: check digit, worked through
SEGU is registered to Textainer. Take SEGU 336382-1: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 1.
SEGU was a Seaco code until the fleet passed to Textainer in late 2025; the register now shows Textainer.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
S | 30 | ×1 | 30 |
E | 15 | ×2 | 30 |
G | 17 | ×4 | 68 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
3 | 3 | ×16 | 48 |
3 | 3 | ×32 | 96 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
3 | 3 | ×128 | 384 |
8 | 8 | ×256 | 2048 |
2 | 2 | ×512 | 1024 |
Sum 4368 → 4368 mod 11 = 1 → check digit 1 → SEGU 336382-1
GESU: check digit, worked through
GESU is registered to Textainer. Take GESU 575734-7: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 7.
GESU is the other ex-Seaco registration re-homed to Textainer after the 2025 acquisition.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
G | 17 | ×1 | 17 |
E | 15 | ×2 | 30 |
S | 30 | ×4 | 120 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
5 | 5 | ×16 | 80 |
7 | 7 | ×32 | 224 |
5 | 5 | ×64 | 320 |
7 | 7 | ×128 | 896 |
3 | 3 | ×256 | 768 |
4 | 4 | ×512 | 2048 |
Sum 4759 → 4759 mod 11 = 7 → check digit 7 → GESU 575734-7
Owner and operator: who tracks a Textainer box
Whatever Textainer code is on the door, the tracking answer lives with the line on your paperwork — Textainer only owns the asset.
Can you see where the ship is?
Not from the container. A standard dry box has no power, no radio and no satellite receiver — it is a steel case with a number painted on it, and it reports nothing about itself. Every position you see against a Textainer shipment was reported by something else: a terminal crane, a gate reader, or the ship.
A live map on a carrier’s tracking page is almost always plotting AIS, the transponder every large vessel broadcasts with its position, course and speed. That is genuinely useful at sea: it is a real position rather than a schedule, and an ETA recalculated from actual movement. It is also the ship’s position, not your box’s, and the two part company the moment the container is discharged.
On land the map goes quiet. Between the gate-out and the delivery there is no vessel to follow, and the road leg appears only as whatever events the terminal and the trucker report. A container sitting on a chassis in a yard shows the last position of a ship it left days ago. Only specialised IoT equipment reports its own location, and wherever that exists it is a paid product sold to the shipper, not something a tracking page gives away.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns TGHU, TEXU and TEMU containers?
Textainer does, a container leasing company — the BIC register lists 7 owner prefixes under it: TGHU, TEXU, TEMU, TGBU, MAGU, SEGU and GESU, and the boxes sail in other lines' fleets.
How do I track a TGHU container?
Not with Textainer — a TGHU box is leased, so the record of its journey is with the shipping line named on your booking confirmation or bill of lading. Open that line's tracker and paste the number there.
Why does Textainer have 7 prefixes?
Because one prefix holds only a million serial numbers, and a lessor that merges with another keeps the codes already painted on the boxes. All 7 belong to the same company.
Is TGHU a shipping line prefix or a leasing prefix?
A leasing prefix — Textainer owns the steel box while a shipping line operates it, which is why the owner and the tracker are different companies.
Is TGHU4161675 a valid container number?
Yes — TGHU 416167-5 passes the ISO 6346 check: the weighted sum for TGHU416167 leaves a remainder of 5 when divided by 11, which gives check digit 5. It is an example computed for this page, not a box we have seen.
One page, every owner code
Know whose box it is before you search
All 85 owner prefixes mapped to their line or leasing company, with the leased ones marked — so you can tell at a glance when to track with the line instead. Container dimensions are on page two.
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