Container sizes and limits
| Figure | 20' standard container[1] | 40' standard container[1] | 40' high cube container[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO size-type code | 22G1 | 42G1 | 45G1 |
| Inside length | 19 ft 4 in (5.9 m) | 39 ft 6 in (12.03 m) | 39 ft 6 in (12.03 m) |
| Inside width (flat racks: floor) | 7 ft 9 in (2.35 m) | 7 ft 9 in (2.35 m) | 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) |
| Inside height (flat racks: floor to top of end walls) | 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) | 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m) | 8 ft 10 in (2.7 m) |
| Door opening, width × height | 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 7 ft 6 in / 2.29 m | 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 7 ft 6 in / 2.29 m | 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.6 m |
| Maximum gross weight | 71,700 lb (32,500 kg) | 71,700 lb (32,500 kg) | 71,700 lb (32,500 kg) |
| Tare weight | 5,070 lb (2,300 kg) | 8,160 lb (3,700 kg) | 8,490 lb (3,850 kg) |
| Maximum payload | 66,600 lb (30,200 kg) | 63,500 lb (28,800 kg) | 63,200 lb (28,650 kg) |
| Volume | 33.2 m³ | 67.7 m³ | 76.3 m³ |
| Rating per lashing point | 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) | 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) | 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) |
- 20' standard container: Wooden floor series. Some 20′ series are rated 67,200 lb (30,480 kg) gross, which lowers the payload to 62,100 lb (28,180 kg).[1]
- 40' standard container: Wooden floor series; every Hapag-Lloyd 40′ box has a gooseneck tunnel.[1]
- 40' high cube container: The door opening, not the interior, decides what drives in: 8 ft 6 in (2.60 m) high.[1]
How a machine is held in a box
Weight is spread along the floor. A heavy load on a short length, or far from the middle, overloads the floor and the box; the carrier’s guideline sets how much may sit on a given length[2].
Because the floor and wall points are light, machines are held by timber blocking against the floor and walls, with lashings as backup. Shared practice for packing is set out in the CTU Code[4]. All wood is ISPM 15 treated[5].
Container or another method
| Method | Use it when | Avoid it when |
|---|---|---|
| 20′ standard | Compact machines up to 19 ft 4 in (5.9 m) long; the highest payload of the standard sizes[1]. | The machine is longer than the box or taller than 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) at the door. |
| 40′ high cube | Longer or taller machines, up to 8 ft 6 in (2.60 m) at the door[1]. | The machine is heavy on a short length: check the floor loading first[2]. |
| Flat rack | The machine is wider than the 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) door[1]. | It fits a box: a flat rack costs more. |
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
We quote in this order because it is usually cheapest first. Most machines that look too big for a box fit once our crew takes off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels; larger ones are taken further apart across several containers, and pieces too big or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer go 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.
Rules that apply
- SOLAS verified gross mass (VGM)IMO
Since 1 July 2016 the shipper must give a signed verified gross mass for each packed container, found by weighing the packed unit or by adding the weighed cargo, lashing and dunnage to the container tare. The carrier needs it before the stowage plan is drawn up; without it the container is not loaded.[3]
Applies to: Every packed container, flat rack and open top
- ISPM 15 wood packagingIPPC, administered in the U.S. by USDA APHIS
Wood packaging and dunnage must be heat-treated to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, or fumigated, and carry the IPPC mark with the US country code, the facility number and HT or MB. Marked wood can be reused; repaired or remanufactured wood must be treated and marked again.[5]
Applies to: Crates, skids, blocking and dunnage
- Engines, vehicles and machinery as hazardous materials (49 CFR 173.220)PHMSA
A machine is regulated as a hazardous material when it carries fuel, a wet, sodium or lithium battery, or other hazardous materials. A tank of flammable liquid fuel such as gasoline is drained to 500 mL or less and closed; a self-propelled machine on diesel may keep its fuel if the tank has room for expansion and the cap is closed. Batteries stay installed and secured, wet batteries upright, with the terminals protected against short circuits.[6]
Applies to: Machines with fuel, batteries or other hazardous materials, by road, vessel or air
Questions about container loading
How heavy can a machine in a 20 ft container be?
In one carrier’s fleet the payload is 66,600 lb (30,200 kg), but only if the weight is spread along the floor. A heavy machine on a short footprint is allowed less.
Can a machine be chained to the container floor rings?
The rings are rated only 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) each, so they back up blocking and bracing rather than carry the load.
Who is responsible for the VGM?
The shipper named on the bill of lading. When we load the box we weigh it or calculate it from the weighed contents and the tare.
Extra services at our yards
Auction machines rarely arrive ready to load. These are the jobs our crews handle on site before a unit goes into the box or onto the ship. Each one is quoted with your shipment, so ask for any you need.
- Non-running units
- Machines that will not start are winched, pulled or lifted into the box, and loaded with the same blocking and lashing.
- Receiving non-running units
- We accept dead machines at the yard and unload them by forklift, crane or pulling.
- Jump starts
- 12V and 24V systems, so a machine with a flat battery can drive into the container.
- Battery replacement
- New batteries fitted when the old ones will not hold a charge.
- Locked wheels and brakes
- Seized brakes and locked wheels released so the unit can be moved and loaded.
- Mobile tire service
- Flat or damaged tires repaired or replaced on site.
- Cleaning
- Washing for dirty or cement-covered units, to meet the destination country’s agricultural and soil rules.
- Two machines in one box
- Two compact units loaded into one 40 or 45 ft high cube.
- A smaller second box
- One 40 ft high cube plus one 20 ft in place of two high cubes, when the parts fit.
- Photos and video for resale
- Condition photos and walk-around video taken at the yard, for buyers reselling the machine.
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]Hapag-Lloyd, Container Specification (2024 update), checked October 18, 2026
- [2]Hapag-Lloyd, Weight distribution in containers for safe transport (guideline), checked October 18, 2026
- [3]IMO, SOLAS verified gross mass requirement enters into force (1 July 2016), checked October 18, 2026
- [4]IMO, IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), checked October 18, 2026
- [5]USDA APHIS, Export ISPM 15-compliant wood packaging material, checked October 18, 2026
- [6]eCFR, 49 CFR 173.220 Internal combustion engines, vehicles and machinery (hazardous materials), checked October 18, 2026
Send us the machine and the destination
Give us the model or the measured dimensions and weight. We come back with the method, the sailing and a price, and the figures behind them.