Steel Shipping Container Sizes

Measurements are nice, but what do they hold?  If you are looking to store household goods, a 20’ can hold a standard 3-bedroom home.  Do you plan on trucking the container a lot, the 20’ and 40’ standards are easier to fit on a standard flatbed since they generally are not overheight.  If you are building a house, you’ll probably want to look to the 40’ high cube since the interior height is 8’10” instead of the standard 7’10”.  Look at what you are planning to store and see if you have any height or width requirements you need to accommodate.

If we will bring the container out to you and set it on the ground, keep in mind that we will need enough space for the container and the truck since the truck pulls out from under the container.  For a 20’ container, that means about 110’ and for a 40’, 130’.  That spot needs to be firm ground and relatively flat.

If you are debating between the standard steel containers and refrigerator containers, here are some general rules of thumb that might be helpful.  Refrigerator containers are ideal when you need to store items at a particular temperature year round and you have a power source to run the container.  If you are storing general items or plan to modify the container, the standard containers are great.  Standard containers are used around the world, year round for transporting the vast majority goods manufactured around the world.  If you are modifying the container, standard containers are much preferred to refrigerator containers.  Refrigerator containers have loose insulation, which makes modifications a huge headache.  However, standard containers are easy to modify.

If you have more questions about what size is idea for you, comment below or give us a call!

Standard containers come in 3 standard sizes: 20’ standard, 40’ standard and 40’ high cube.  These 3 sizes make of the vast majority of containers moved internationally each year. We are going to focus on those today.

Here are the basic specs on all three of them:

                                            Exterior Size                           Interior Size

                                 Length     Width     Height   Length     Width     Height

20′ container                 20'            8'            8.5′          19' 4.5"    7' 8.5"    7' 9.75"

40′ container                 40’            8’           8.5’          39’ 4.5”    7' 8.5"    7' 9.75"

40′ high cube container 40'            8'            9.5′         39’ 4.5”     7' 8.5"   8' 9.75"

                                             Weight (pounds)                          Door Size

                                 Max. Gross     Tare      Net                Width       Height

20′ container                  52,190         5,140    47,770                 7' 8.25"      7' 5.75"

40′ container                   67,200        8,820   58,380                 7' 8.25"      7' 5.75"

40′ high cube container   67,200        9,260    57,940                7' 8.25"      8' 5.75"