Most cargo coming into Libya travels in one of three boxes: the 20 ft, the 40 ft and the 40 ft high cube. Picking between them comes down to two numbers: how much space your cargo takes up and how much it weighs. Whichever limit you reach first decides the box.
The standard boxes
These are typical inside measurements and payloads for steel dry containers, and they're the figures our cargo planner uses. Every shipping line's boxes differ by a few centimetres and a few hundred kilos, so check the numbers on your booking.
| Container | Inside length | Inside width | Inside height | Volume | Max payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft | 5.90 m | 2.35 m | 2.39 m | 33.1 m³ | 21,770 kg |
| 40 ft | 12.03 m | 2.35 m | 2.39 m | 67.6 m³ | 26,700 kg |
| 40 ft high cube | 12.03 m | 2.35 m | 2.70 m | 76.3 m³ | 26,580 kg |
| 45 ft high cube | 13.58 m | 2.35 m | 2.70 m | 86.2 m³ | 27,910 kg |
The door is a little smaller than the inside: about 2.34 m wide, and about 2.28 m high on a standard box or 2.58 m on a high cube. Measure your tallest item against the door, not the ceiling.
Twice the floor, a fifth more weight
A 40 ft container has twice the floor of a 20 ft, but it can only carry about a fifth more weight. Dense cargo like tiles, steel or machinery hits a 40 ft's weight limit long before it fills the space. Two 20 ft containers carry nearly twice as much as one 40 ft, so for heavy goods the 20 ft is usually the right box.
The payload isn't the only limit, either. The truck that takes the container to and from the port has its own legal maximum, which can be lower. If you're planning to load a box anywhere near its rated payload, talk to us first.
Light, bulky cargo: the high cube
Furniture, textiles, cartons of household goods and other light cargo run out of space first. A 40 ft high cube is 31 cm taller than a standard 40 ft on the same footprint, which gives you about 13 percent more room.
You won't fill every centimetre
Gaps between packages, pallets that don't divide the floor evenly, and the room you leave for bracing all cost space. As a rough guide, plan on using about 85 percent of the inside volume. That's around 28 m³ in a 20 ft, 57 m³ in a 40 ft and 65 m³ in a high cube.
Less than a container: LCL
If your cargo only fills part of a box, you don't have to pay for all of it. With LCL, or less than container load, your cargo shares a container with other shippers' and you pay for the space it takes up. Below roughly 13 to 15 cubic metres, LCL usually works out cheaper; above that, a 20 ft of your own often does. It depends on the route and the season, so ask us to price both.
Try it with your own cargo
The cargo planner packs your own items into a 20 ft, 40 ft, high cube or 45 ft container in 3D and keeps count of the payload as it goes. Our guide to planning a container load walks you through it.
