20ft Container Size

The 20 ft container may be considered small, but it continues to be used by some companies. The following are the specifications for some containers that use this measurement.

20 ft Container Size: High Cube and Standard Dry

The high cube interior dimensions are 19’5" x 7’8 1/16" x 7’6" (L x W x H). In metric terms this is 5.919 m x 2.340 m x 2.286 m. The door is 7’6" (2.286 m) wide and 7’4 9/16" (2.251 m) high. The tare weight is 4,189 lbs (equal to 1,900 kg). The payload is 54,673 lbs or 24,800 kg. The cubic capacity of the 20’ high cube dry container is 33.0 cbm or 1,179 cu.ft.

The 20’ standard dry container has interior dimensions of 5.440 m x 2.294 m x 2.237 m (17’10 3/16" x 7’6 1/4" x 7’4 1/16"; L x W x H). This 20 ft container size has a door 7’6" / 2.286 m wide and 7’4 1/16" / 2.238 m high. The tare weight is 6,062 lbs or 2,750 kg. The maximum payload is 53,460 lbs (equal to 24,250 kg). The capacity is 986 cu. ft. (27.9 cbm).

20 Ft Open Tops and Flat Rack

The 20’ open top has inner dimensions of 19’5" x 7’8 1/16" x 7’6" (5.919 m x 2.340 m x 2.286 m; L x W x H). The door measures 17’9 9/16" x 7’3 1/2" (5.425 m x 2.223 m; L x W). The tare weight is 4,799 lbs (equivalent to 2,177 kg).

The payload for this 20 ft container size is 48,110 lbs / 21,823 kg and the capacity is 1,143 cu. ft. or 32.0 cbm. The 20’ flat rack is 19’5 5/8" long, 7’10 3/8" wide and 7’7 9/16" high (5.935 m x 2.398 m x 2.327 m). 

The TEU

The 20 ft container is also the standard used for estimating shipping capacity (called TEU). It stands for twenty foot equivalent. 1 TEU is equal to a 20 ft (6.1 m) container that is 8 ft (2.4 m) wide and 8.5 ft (2.6 m) high. The volume is 1,360 cu ft. To compare the 20 ft container size with the others, here are the common measurements.

2 TEU is equal to 40 ft (12 m) with a width of 8 ft (2.4 m), 8.5 ft (2.6 m) height and volume of 2,720 cu ft. TEU 2.25 refers to a 45 ft / 14 m long container and the 2.4 TEU to a 48 ft (15 m) long container. The 2.65 TEU refers to a container 53 ft (16 m) long.

Bear in mind that the sizes are not exact. In some cases, a 35 ft container may still be referred to as 1 TEU. As a general rule, only the 8 ft width remains unchanged. The measurements for the high cube containers are also a bit different. For this reason, the 20 ft container remains relevant.

The 20 ft container size (dry cargo) has a mass limit of 24,000 kg. Its payload capacity is 21,600 kg. Due to the prevalence of bigger containers, the 20 footer may lose its appeal.