Container Loading Calculator
Plan how many pallets fit in a 20ft, 40ft or 40ft High Cube container, and see whether volume, weight or floor space limits your shipment.
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How this was calculated
Printed from warehousecalc.com. Results are planning estimates; confirm them before you rely on them.
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The same pallets, stacking and weight in every container below, worked out with the same method as the result above.
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Inside sizes, door heights and payloads are typical published figures; your container may differ. Reefer figures are cautious values (the lowest of the published examples of CMA CGM, DSV and Hapag-Lloyd), and the reefer height shown is the height usable for cargo under the red load line: the cooling unit and the T-floor take space and air must flow around the load, so confirm with your shipping line. A standard-height 40ft reefer is uncommon and not listed.
How this works
Choose a container size and pallet type, then tell it how your cargo is loaded: whether it overhangs the pallet, whether it can be stacked, and its weight. The calculator tries two loading layouts – all pallets in one orientation, and a mixed layout that turns pallets 90 degrees in any leftover space – and uses whichever fits more, then checks that against the container’s weight limit and volume.
This calculator plans one pallet size at a time. For loose cartons without pallets, or a shipment of several products with different carton sizes, use the CBM Calculator.
How many pallets fit in a 20ft or 40ft container?
These figures come from the calculator above, for one layer of pallets on the container floor with no overhang. The first number is with every pallet facing the same way. The second is the best layout found by this calculator when some pallets are turned 90 degrees to fill the leftover space. The calculator checks the layouts it supports, not every possible arrangement, so another arrangement may fit more.
| Container | Standard pallet 1200 × 1000 mm | Euro pallet 1200 × 800 mm | US pallet 48 × 40 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft Standard | 8 / up to 9 | 8 / up to 11 | 8 / up to 9 |
| 40ft Standard | 20 / up to 22 | 20 / up to 25 | 18 / up to 20 |
| 40ft High Cube | 20 / up to 22 | 20 / up to 25 | 18 / up to 20 |
Based on typical internal floor sizes of 5,898 × 2,352 mm for a 20ft container and 12,032 × 2,352 mm for a 40ft. The turned layouts leave very little room to spare (in a 40ft container, about 32 mm of length), so treat the higher number as a tight fit, not a guarantee, and check it with whoever loads the container.
For your own pallet size, load height and weight, use the calculator above. The guide to standard pallet sizes lists the common pallet dimensions. The guide How many pallets fit in a 20ft or 40ft container? explains the layouts behind these figures, including a four-block layout that fits one more pallet in some cases.
How to use the container loading calculator
- Choose the container: 20ft Standard, 40ft Standard or 40ft High Cube.
- Choose the pallet type, or enter your own pallet size.
- Say whether the cargo overhangs the pallet and by how much. Even a small overhang can cost a whole row.
- Enter the pallet height and the cargo height per layer, and choose how many pallets high they are stacked (1 to 4). The calculator checks that the stack fits under the roof.
- Enter the weight of one loaded pallet. The calculator then checks the result against the container payload as well as the floor space.
Container sizes and payload used by the calculator
| Container | Internal size (L × W × H) | Internal volume | Payload used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft Standard | 5,898 × 2,352 × 2,393 mm | 33.2 m³ (1,172 ft³) | 28,200 kg |
| 40ft Standard | 12,032 × 2,352 × 2,393 mm | 67.7 m³ (2,392 ft³) | 26,500 kg |
| 40ft High Cube | 12,032 × 2,352 × 2,698 mm | 76.4 m³ (2,696 ft³) | 26,300 kg |
These are typical values, not one shipping line’s certified figures. Sizes differ by a few millimetres and payloads by a few hundred kilograms between lines and individual containers, so check your booking when the load is close to a limit.
When does weight decide instead of floor space?
When the pallets are heavy. Example: 1200 × 1000 mm pallets weighing 1,400 kg each in a 40ft Standard container. The floor takes 20 pallets, but 20 × 1,400 kg is 28,000 kg, more than the 26,500 kg payload. Only 18 pallets stay within the limit (18 × 1,400 = 25,200 kg). The calculator shows this when you enter a weight per pallet, and says whether space or weight is the limit. Road weight limits at either end of the journey can be lower than the container payload, so check those with your forwarder too.
Does a 40ft High Cube hold more pallets?
Not on the floor. It has the same length and width as a standard 40ft container, so the count per layer is the same. The extra height (about 2,698 mm inside, against 2,393 mm) only helps if it lets you stack a second layer. Before any top clearance, two layers fit when each loaded pallet is no taller than about 1,349 mm in a High Cube, against about 1,196 mm in a standard 40ft.
Can pallets be double stacked in a container?
Only if the goods and pallets can carry the weight on top, both layers fit under the roof, and the total stays within the container payload. Heavy goods often reach the weight limit before the floor is full, so enter a weight per pallet in the calculator to check.
Is the CBM enough to know if my cargo fits?
No. A 40ft container has about 67.7 m³ of space and a 20ft about 33.2 m³, but pallets and cartons cannot fill every gap. The volume gives you an upper limit. The real count depends on the footprint of each pallet or carton, whether it can be stacked, and the weight. The guide to CBM in shipping explains the formula and the common mistakes, and the guide to how many CBM fit in a container shows how much six common carton sizes really load.
Shipping loose cartons, or building the pallets first?
This calculator plans whole pallets of one size. For loose cartons, or several products with different carton sizes, use the CBM Calculator. To work out how many cartons go on each pallet before you plan the container, use the Pallet Calculator.
Loading a road trailer instead of a container? Use the Trailer Loading Calculator, or see how many pallets fit on a 53 ft or 13.6 m trailer. Results are planning estimates; the methodology explains how the tools work and their limits.