Overview
A mini excavator drives into a container on its own tracks. Cat gives its 305 CR with a cab and long stick as 5.34 m long, 1.98 m wide and 2.55 m high, and Kubota its U55-5 as 5.44 by 1.96 by 2.55 m: inside the 2.34 by 2.58 m door of a 40 ft high cube with the boom folded and the bucket on the floor.
Height decides the box. With a cab, the 3.5 to 8.5 t machines on our model pages stand 2.48 to 2.55 m, over the 2.28 m door of a 20 ft box, so they take a 40 ft high cube. A micro excavator such as Yanmar's SV08-1C, 2.20 m high to its folding ROPS, goes in a 20 ft box. In our loading records a CAT 308C went in one 40 ft high cube.
Width is rarely the problem: even the CAT 308 CR, the largest on our pages, is 2.30 m over its standard blade, inside the 2.34 m door. Spare buckets, a thumb or a breaker are crated in the same box and listed on the packing list.
Typical Specifications
| Height with the cab | 2.48 m (CAT 303.5 CR) - 2.55 m (CAT 305 CR, Kubota U55-5) |
|---|---|
| Width | 0.68 m (Yanmar SV08-1C, tracks retracted) - 2.30 m (CAT 308 CR) |
| Transport length | 2.60 m (Yanmar SV08-1C) - 6.57 m (CAT 308 CR) |
| Operating weight | 1,035 kg (Yanmar SV08-1C) - 8,505 kg (CAT 308 CR) |
Recommended Shipping Methods
Worked example
CAT 305 CR with cab and long stick: 17 ft 6 in / 5.34 m long, 6 ft 6 in / 1.98 m wide, 8 ft 4 in / 2.55 m high, 12,700 lb / 5,754 kg.
The ladder below is worked out from these figures. Larger or smaller units of the same type can land on a different rung.
Cheapest first: the shipping cost ladder
We price every machine from the bottom rung up. A machine only moves up a rung when a measurement rules out the cheaper method.
CAT 305 CR with cab and long stick fits a container in one piece, the cheapest way to ship it.
- Rung 1
Container
Lowest cost
Best fit for CAT 305 CR with cab and long stick
When: Fits through a 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.58 m door and under 59,500 lb / 27,000 kg, whole or after we take off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels.
- Rung 2
Flat rack
Mid cost
When: Too wide or tall for a container door, but within 14 ft 9 in / 4.5 m wide, 13 ft 1 in / 4 m tall and 86,000 lb / 39,000 kg on one rack.
- Rung 3
RoRo
Mid cost
When: Drives or tows aboard, under 19 ft 8 in / 6 m tall and 110 US tons / 100,000 kg, going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
- Rung 4
Breakbulk
Highest cost
When: Past flat-rack and roll-trailer limits, or shipped as modules lifted aboard piece by piece.
Container
RecommendedDriven into a 40 ft high cube on its tracks, or a 20 ft box for a machine under its 2.28 m door.
Flat Rack Container
Only for a machine with a fixed attachment that will not fold inside a box.
RoRo Shipping
On a roll trailer with other units where a RoRo line calls and no container suits.
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Handling & Preparation Requirements
- Boom and stick folded, the bucket set on the floor
- Blade lowered and the swing lock engaged
- Spare buckets, thumb and breaker crated and listed
- Tracks and undercarriage washed of soil
- Battery disconnected and fuel drawn down
- Chained through the tie-down points to the container floor
Mini Excavators we have loaded in containers
A spread of machines from our dismantling and loading records, with the boxes each one went in. Open a brand to see every model and its plan.
Excavator
CAT 308C
1 × 40 ft high cube
Caterpillar loading plans
Transport dimensions by model
Published dimensions, a scale drawing and every way to ship each one.
- CAT 308 CRMini excavator21 ft 7 in × 7 ft 7 in × 8 ft 4 in (6.57 × 2.3 × 2.54 m)18,800 lb (8,505 kg)
- CAT 305 CRMini excavator17 ft 6 in × 6 ft 6 in × 8 ft 4 in (5.34 × 1.98 × 2.55 m)12,700 lb (5,754 kg)
- Kubota U55-5Compact excavator17 ft 10 in × 6 ft 5 in × 8 ft 4 in (5.44 × 1.96 × 2.55 m)12,500 lb (5,650 kg)
- Kubota KX040-4Compact excavator16 ft 8 in × 5 ft 7 in × 8 ft 2 in (5.09 × 1.7 × 2.49 m)9,500 lb (4,310 kg)
- CAT 303.5 CRMini excavator15 ft 11 in × 5 ft 10 in × 8 ft 2 in (4.85 × 1.78 × 2.48 m)9,240 lb (4,190 kg)
- Yanmar SV08-1CMicro excavator8 ft 6 in × 2 ft 3 in × 7 ft 3 in (2.6 × 0.68 × 2.2 m)2,280 lb (1,035 kg)
Common Models We Ship
- CAT 303.5 CR, 305 CR, 308 CR
- Kubota KX040-4, U55-5, KX080-4
- Bobcat E35
- Yanmar SV08-1C
Manufacturers We Ship
Brands that build mini excavators, with model dimensions and the shipping method each one fits.
Where mini excavators shipments go wrong
Mistakes we see on mini excavators bookings, and what avoids them.
- Booking a 20 ft box for a cab machine: at 2.48 to 2.55 m high, most 3.5 to 8.5 t mini excavators are over its 2.28 m door and need a 40 ft high cube.
- Leaving a thumb, breaker or spare buckets off the packing list: customs counts what is in the box, so every attachment is crated and listed.
- Soil packed in the track frame fails biosecurity inspection in Australia and New Zealand even when the machine looks clean, so the undercarriage is washed separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a mini excavator fit in a 20 ft container?
Only the smallest. A 20 ft box's door is 2.28 m high, and with a cab most 3.5 to 8.5 t machines stand 2.48 to 2.55 m, so they take a 40 ft high cube. Yanmar's SV08-1C, 2.20 m high, goes in a 20 ft box.
Does the blade or the cab come off?
No. Even the CAT 308 CR is 2.30 m wide over its blade and 2.54 m high to the cab, inside a 40 ft high cube's 2.34 by 2.58 m door, so it drives in whole.
Can two mini excavators share a container?
Often. Two CAT 305 CRs at 5.34 m each take 10.68 m of a 40 ft high cube's 12.03 m floor and 11.5 t of its 26.5 t payload; the survey confirms there is room to lash both.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]Seaway Export loading records: machines dismantled and loaded at U.S. yards, checked July 2026
- [2]Caterpillar CAT 308 CR: manufacturer specification, checked October 2026
- [3]Seaway Project Cargo brand and model guides, checked October 22, 2026
Plan your shipment
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