When it comes to importing and exporting, there’s a hell of a lot you need to think about.
You need to know who’s responsible for what at every single point of the journey. You need to know how much time it might take to reach delivery points and what the total shipping costs might be. And then what do you ship your goods in?
Whatever you end up choosing will determine your overall costs, delivery methods and what you can send.
Shipping containers are the no. 1 choice for importing and exporting because they’re absolutely perfect for storage. They’re also secure, weather-resistant and mobile.
But how much does a container actually hold? What can you fit in it and how heavy can it be?
Size Matters
When it comes to shipping containers, size most definitely matters.
No matter what you’re importing when you choose your container, there are 3 key points to consider: size, spec, and type.
Because they are the medium of choice for the global transport industry, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all.’ The most commonly used are 20ft and 40ft containers. If you want to know what this means in terms of volume, a 20ft container holds 33 cubic metres, and a 40ft container holds 66 cubic metres.
How Much Weight Can A Container Hold?
Volume is one thing, but weight is a completely different ball game.
If your items are smaller in volume but higher in density, it isn’t a good idea to pack them into a container.
The maximum payload (this is the maximum weight that it can carry) of a 20ft container is 23,000kg – that’s around 20 Mini Coopers.
What’s interesting though, is that a 40ft container can safely hold 26,000kg. So doubling up the size of the container doesn’t necessarily mean that you can double the weight.
Picking the right kind of container depends entirely on the kinds of goods you’re shipping.
Will It Fit Through The Door
Another thing to consider about the container spec is the door size.
It’s important because not only will it keep whatever you’re storing and transporting safe, but the contents need to be easily accessible. Just how are you getting your load in and out?
What Does This Mean In The Real World?
Whenever you choose a container, the size that you pick should depend on how much space you need.
This is where volume is essential. All containers come with a thorough breakdown of all the information that you need.
You might read that a 20ft high container has a 150ft2 floor area. It holds around 2.4 tonnes of weight, which is equivalent to 1310ft2 in volume.
Stats are great to geek out on, but not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for them! Most people struggle to put all those awesome freight facts into real-world terms.
It’s much easier to visualise objects that the container could actually hold. For example, a 20ft container could hold any one of these options:
- 25 3-seater sofas
- 23 wardrobes
- 46 armchairs
- 58 washing machines
- 21 fridge freezers
- 2 cars
- 9,600 bottles of wine
It’s far easier picturing 58 washing machines over 1310ft3 in volume, right?
How Big Are Millenium Containers?
Millennium Cargo offers a wide range of containers to suit your needs, and you can see the breakdown below on our useful chart.
Don’t Know What Size You Need?
If you’re still not sure what size container you need, then get in touch with us today.
At Millenium, we’re all about making freight simple, so if you want to know exactly how many bottles of wine, washing machines or armchairs you can fit into our containers, we can let you know.