Thursday, January 06, 2005

How Much Stuff Can I Put into a Container?

This question (as compared to the last topic) is very easy to answer - both because it is quantitative and because others have answered it well before. There is a wonderful page published by Export 911 here that gives all manner of detail on containers, dimensions, etc. They are a great resource and I encourage you to explore their site.

For those of you that just need some quick information...first you have to know the packing details of your product. Is it palletized? What are the pallet dimensions? If non palletized is it stackable, and if so how many boxes high can it be stacked? After you gather this information, you have to decide whether you will be purchasing LCL (less than a container load) or FCL (a full container load).

If LCL you will be paying by the cubic meter, and all you will need to get a quote from your logistics provider is the volume and weight of your product. Of course, if it is hazardous this will change things as well. If FCL, you will need to figure out what kind of container you need. The basic types are 20' and 40'. Either size may be normal height, hicube, or half height. By far the most common are normal height. All sizes are 8' wide externally, and heights vary from 4'3" (half height) to 9'6" (hicube). Normal sized containers are 8' 6". Please see the Export 911 page for more detailed information including internal dimensions, volume, and load capacity.

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