Containers and shipping
Pallet dimensions and how many fit a container
Independent site, not a government service. General information, not customs advice.
Enter your pallet size and loaded height. The tool counts how many fit on a container floor, with one orientation, and checks the door.
Pallets on a container floor
Pallets on the floor
8
| Inside floor | 5,900 × 2,352 mm |
| Fits under the door | Yes |
| Door height | 2,292 mm |
One orientation only. Mixed patterns can gain a pallet: measure before you book.
Pallet sizes are set out in an international standard, ISO 6780, and for euro pallets in European standards. We read neither: the ISO site refused our automated reader, and the standards are sold rather than freely published. So this page prints no verified pallet size, and we ask you to measure your own. The sizes in the tool and the table below, such as 1,200 by 1,000 or 1,200 by 800 millimetres, are inputs to show the sum, not statements about any standard. Our table and tool do something narrower that we can stand behind: they take a pallet size you enter and count how many sit on a container floor, using the inside sizes in a carrier brochure of March 2016. The result is geometry, in one orientation, and the brochure calls its own sizes nominal. Then the tool compares your loaded height with the door height from the same brochure. If your pallet is a few millimetres off the example, enter the real figure and read the count again, because a whole row can depend on it.
CBM of a shipment
Volume
18.00 m³
| Share of a 20' general purpose (33.2 m³) | 54.2% |
| Share of a 40' general purpose (67.7 m³) | 26.6% |
| Share of a 40' high cube (76.3 m³) | 23.6% |
Capacity shares ignore gaps and packing, so real loads fit less.
Tariff and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Floor count by size, one orientation
| Sample pallet (mm), not verified | 20' | 40' | 40' high cube |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,200 × 1,000 | 8 | 20 | 20 |
| 1,200 × 800 | 8 | 20 | 20 |
| 1,100 × 1,100 | 10 | 20 | 20 |
Why a mixed pattern can beat this count
Our count uses a single orientation across the floor. Turning some rows can use up leftover width, which is plain geometry. In the 20 foot box of the table, 2,352 millimetres of inside width leaves a gap beside a 1,200 by 1,000 pallet whichever way it faces, and that gap is what a mixed pattern tries to use.
Height and weight
Enter a loaded height that includes the base. The door of a standard box is lower than a high cube's door, as shown in the dimensions table. The second tool gives the cubic metres of ten loaded pallets at the size you enter. The brochure also warns that concentrated loads must not exceed the strength of the floor, so a heavy pallet needs that check as well.
The carrier sizes are from a brochure dated March 2016. For cartons without pallets, use the container loading calculator.