Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
What Is a TEU?
TEU stands for twenty-foot equivalent unit: the volume of one standard 20 ft container, used as the universal unit of count in container shipping. A 40 ft container is 2 TEU; a ship rated at 24,000 TEU can carry the equivalent of 24,000 twenty-foot boxes.
The unit deliberately ignores height — a 40 ft high cube and a standard 40 ft are both 2 TEU — and weight. It is a slot count, not a cargo measure.
TEU values by container
FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit) also circulates in freight pricing: 1 FEU = 2 TEU. The 45 ft container is conventionally counted as 2.25 TEU in statistics, although on board it occupies a 40 ft slot with overhang.
| 20 ft container | 40 ft container | 45 ft high cube container | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO type code | 22G1 | 42G1 | L5G1 |
| External dimensions — Length | 6.058 m19′11″ | 12.192 m40′ | 13.716 m45′ |
| External dimensions — Width | 2.438 m8′ | 2.438 m8′ | 2.438 m8′ |
| External dimensions — Height | 2.591 m8′6″ | 2.591 m8′6″ | 2.896 m9′6″ |
| Internal dimensions — Length | 5.898 m19′4″ | 12.032 m39′6″ | 13.556 m44′6″ |
| Internal dimensions — Width | 2.352 m7′9″ | 2.352 m7′9″ | 2.352 m7′9″ |
| Internal dimensions — Height | 2.393 m7′10″ | 2.393 m7′10″ | 2.698 m8′10″ |
| Tare weight | 2,230 kg4,916 lb | 3,740 kg8,245 lb | 4,800 kg10,582 lb |
| Max gross weight | 30,480 kg67,197 lb | 30,480 kg67,197 lb | 32,500 kg71,650 lb |
| Max payload | 28,250 kg62,281 lb | 26,740 kg58,952 lb | 27,700 kg61,068 lb |
| Capacity (volume) | 33.2 m³1,172 ft³ | 67.7 m³2,391 ft³ | 86.0 m³3,037 ft³ |
| EUR pallets | 11 | 25 | 27 |
| TEU | 1 | 2 | 2.25 |
Where TEU shows up
Vessel capacity (the largest ships exceed 24,000 TEU), port throughput (Shanghai handles ~49 million TEU a year), fleet statistics and freight indices are all quoted in TEU. When a carrier quotes “per TEU” pricing, a 40 ft box simply costs twice the 20 ft rate.
| Container | TEU |
|---|---|
| 10 ft | 0.5 |
| 20 ft | 1 |
| 40 ft | 2 |
| 40 ft high cube | 2 |
| 45 ft high cube | 2.25 |
A short history of the TEU
In 1956 trucking entrepreneur Malcom McLean sailed the converted tanker Ideal X from Newark to Houston with 58 truck bodies on deck — the voyage conventionally counted as the birth of container shipping. His original boxes were 35 ft (the US highway trailer limit of the day), and competitors ran 24 ft and 17 ft units; nothing interlocked.
ISO standardisation between 1968 and 1970 settled the fleet on 10, 20 and 40 ft modules with common corner castings. The 20 ft box became the unit of count because it was the largest size every ship, crane and chassis of the era could handle — and because 40 ft slots divide into it cleanly. The name “twenty-foot equivalent unit” followed the standard, not the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
How many TEU is a 40 ft container?
Two. The 40 ft container — standard or high cube — equals 2 TEU. It is also called 1 FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit).
Is TEU a measure of weight?
No. TEU counts container slots by length only. Weight is limited separately by each container’s max gross rating and by ship, road and rail rules.
How much cargo is 1 TEU?
One TEU corresponds to a 20 ft container: about 33.2 m³ of volume and up to ~28 tonnes of payload.
Why is a 45 ft container 2.25 TEU?
By arithmetic: 45 ÷ 20 = 2.25. Statistics count it that way even though on board it physically occupies a 40 ft slot with a 2.5 ft overhang at each end, carried in dedicated positions.