Container Size

Container dimensions vary, with those used for bottles, food and other materials having unique heights, lengths and widths. The following is an overview of some container types.

Dry Container Sizes (mm and kg)

A 20 ft dry container measures L 5,900 x W 2,345 x H 2,380 mm. The door opening is 2,345 wide and 2,380 high. The capacity is 32.8 cubic meters. The maximum payload is 21,750 kilograms. The max gross weight is 24,000 kg.

A 40 ft dry container has the following specs. 12,000 x 12,000 x 2,380. The door opening is 2,338 mm wide and the height is 2,277. The capacity is 67.1 kg. 26,660 kg is the maximum payload and the gross weight is 30,480 kg.

Note: the measurements of the dry containers will change depending on the length (i.e. a 10 ft container will have smaller dimensions).

Open Top and Reefer Container Sizes

A 20 ft open top container measures 5,900 x 2,346 x 2,330 mm. The door width is 2,338 and the height is 2,277. The capacity is 32.0 and the maximum payload is 18,120. The gross weight is 20,320 kg.

A 40 ft open top container is 12,037 long, 2,345 wide and 2,330 high. The door width is 2,338 and the height is 2,277. The capacity is 65.5 kg. The maximum payload is 26,380 kg. The maximum gross
weight is 30,480 kg. The container tare is 4,100 kg.

A 20 ft reefer container measures 5,504 x 2,290 x 2,263. The door opening is 2,290 x 2,239 mm. The capacity is 28.5 and the payload is 27,420 kg. The maximum weight is 30,480 kg.

Ocean Container Sizes

The standard 20’ measures 19’4" on the inside, 7’8" long and the inside width is 7’10". The inside height is 7’10". The door height is 7’6" and the width is 7’8”. The capacity is 1,172 cubic ft. The maximum cargo weight is 47,999 lbs.

The standard 40’ has the following specs; inside length: 39’5"; inside width: 7’8"; inside height: 7’10"; door width: 7’8" and door height 7’6". The capacity is 2,390 cubic ft. The maximum cargo is 59,040 lbs.

A flat rack 20’ has an inside length of ‘18.5". The inside width is 7’3". The inside height is 7’4" The maximum cargo is 47,333 lbs.

Other Container Sizes (in m)

The 20’ container is 6.096 m long, 2.438 m wide and 2.591 m high. The door aperture is 2.343 m wide and 2.280 m high. The volume is 33.1 cubic meters. The maximum mass is 30,400 kg. The empty weight is 2,200 kg.

The 40’ container is 12.192 m long, 2.438 m wide and 2.591 m high. The door is 2.343 m wide and 2.280 m high. The volume is 67.5 cubic meters. The gross mass is 30,400 kg and the empty weight is 3,800 kg.

Note: the dimensions used by different manufacturers will result in slight measurement variations.

The container sizes can be either big or small. Although most are thought of as large boxes, containers can refer to any material used to store an object.