Container weights: tare, payload and max gross
An empty 20ft dry container weighs about 2,150 kg and may carry 28,330 kg; a 40ft weighs 3,695 kg and carries 27,600 kg, less than the smaller box. Per kilogram of tare the 20ft carries 13.18 kg of cargo, the best of all 16 types; the 45ft high cube manages 5.88.
By Oliver Bennett · Published · Data as of 27 October 2026, from spec sheets retrieved that day
Three weights appear on every container's door: tare, the empty box; payload, the most cargo it may carry; and maximum gross, the two added together. The figures below are the medians of the published spec sheets, with the range beneath where sources differ.
All 16 types
| Container | Tare, kg | Payload, kg | Max gross, kg | Payload ÷ tare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft container | 2,1502,140–2,300 | 28,33028,300–28,340 | 30,480 | 13.18 |
| 40ft container | 3,6953,530–3,850 | 27,60026,630–28,970 | 30,48030,480–32,500 | 7.47 |
| 40ft high cube | 3,7503,700–3,940 | 28,72028,560–28,800 | 32,500 | 7.66 |
| 45ft high cube | 4,7354,650–4,820 | 27,85027,650–27,860 | 32,500 | 5.88 |
| 45ft pallet-wide container | 4,5004,300–4,750 | 29,250 | 33,50033,000–34,000 | 6.50 |
| 20ft reefer container | 2,8102,780–3,080 | 27,67027,400–27,700 | 30,480 | 9.85 |
| 40ft high cube reefer | 4,4804,440–4,720 | 29,52029,280–30,560 | 34,50034,000–35,000 | 6.59 |
| 20ft open top | 2,2402,170–2,350 | 28,24028,130–28,310 | 30,480 | 12.61 |
| 40ft open top | 3,8653,850–3,880 | 26,61526,600–26,630 | 30,480 | 6.89 |
| 40ft high cube open top | 4,0953,890–4,300 | 27,39526,180–28,610 | 31,49030,480–32,500 | 6.69 |
| 20ft flat rack | 2,7302,360–3,100 | 32,57030,140–35,000 | 38,100 | 11.93 |
| 40ft flat rack | 5,0004,990–6,200 | 40,00038,800–40,010 | 44,99544,990–45,000 | 8.00 |
| 40ft high cube flat rack | 5,200 | 47,300 | 52,500 | 9.10 |
| 20ft platform | 2,6302,520–2,740 | 29,61027,960–31,260 | 30,480 | 11.26 |
| 40ft platform | 5,700 | 39,300 | 45,000 | 6.89 |
| 20ft tank container | 3,5803,560–3,600 | 32,42032,400–32,440 | 36,000 | 9.06 |
The lightest box is the 20ft container at 2,150 kg; the heaviest is the 40ft platform at 5,700 kg. The highest payload belongs to the 40ft high cube flat rack, 47,300 kg, though only one source publishes it. At the other end the 40ft open top may carry 26,615 kg, the least of any type.
Payload per kilogram of box
Dividing payload by tare shows how much cargo each kilogram of steel earns its keep with. Short boxes win clearly: five of the six 20ft types beat every longer box, the best of which is the 40ft high cube flat rack at 9.10, and the standard 20ft leads with 13.18 kg of payload per kilogram of tare. The 45ft high cube comes last at 5.88.
20 ft40 and 45 ft
The reason is the gross weight. Most standard boxes, short or long, are rated at similar gross weights, so the extra steel of a longer box comes straight off the payload. The 40ft container weighs 1,545 kg more empty than the 20ft and its typical payload is 730 kg lower.
When a box weighs out before it fills
Divide the payload by the inside volume and you get a cargo density: the point at which the box reaches its weight limit just as it is full. Goods denser than this run out of weight allowance first and leave air under the roof; lighter goods fill the space first.
| Container | Payload | Volume | kg per m³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft reefer container | 27,670 kg | 28.3 m³ | 978 |
| 20ft open top | 28,240 kg | 32.5 m³ | 869 |
| 20ft container | 28,330 kg | 33.2 m³ | 853 |
| 40ft high cube reefer | 29,520 kg | 67.4 m³ | 438 |
| 40ft container | 27,600 kg | 67.7 m³ | 408 |
| 40ft open top | 26,615 kg | 66.4 m³ | 401 |
| 40ft high cube | 28,720 kg | 76.4 m³ | 376 |
| 40ft high cube open top | 27,395 kg | 75.3 m³ | 364 |
| 45ft pallet-wide container | 29,250 kg | 89.6 m³ | 326 |
| 45ft high cube | 27,850 kg | 86.0 m³ | 324 |
The range is wide. The 20ft reefer container reaches its payload at 978 kg per cubic metre, because insulation shrinks the space while the weight rating stays. The large boxes sit near 324 kg per cubic metre. Paper, tiles, drinks and machinery tend to fill the weight allowance of a 40ft or 45ft box long before its volume; furniture and clothing do the opposite.
Plates, not just types
Gross weight is a property of each box rather than of the type. Every container carries a safety approval plate with its own rated gross, and the sources here publish 10 different gross figures between them: 30,480, 32,500, 33,000, 34,000, 35,000, 36,000, 38,100, 44,990, 45,000, 52,500 kg. Even within one type they differ. For the 40ft container, sources give 30,480 and 32,500 kg.
The standard behind these plates has moved. According to the Wikipedia summary of ISO 668, a 2016 amendment raised the maximum gross mass of every standard size except the 10ft box to 36,000 kg. None of the dry, open-top or reefer types in the data has a typical gross that high, and six of the 16 types still show 30,480 kg as their typical figure. A high cube rated at 32,500 kg instead of 30,480 kg is why its typical payload is 1,120 kg higher than the standard 40ft's, despite a heavier box.
How much the sources agree
Weights vary more between sheets than dimensions do. The 20ft payload is an example of close agreement: 28,300 to 28,340 kg across three sources. Flat racks and platforms are the opposite, because each builder rates them differently; their ranges in the table above run to several tonnes. Where a source printed kilograms and pounds that did not agree, or a payload that was not gross minus tare, its weights for that box were left out. Why container sizes differ between sources lists those checks.
These are the figures the spec sheets publish. The weight you may actually load also depends on the plate of your box, the vehicle that carries it and the route, so always check the plate and your carrier.
Sources
- Ocean Network Express (ONE) – Container Information. Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd.
- Maersk – 'All the way: a handy guide to Maersk's fleet of containers' (equipment flyer PDF). A.P. Moller - Maersk.
- Turkon Line – Container details pages. Turkon Container Transportation and Shipping Inc.
- SeaCube Containers – product spec sheets (PDF). SeaCube Containers LLC (container lessor).
- DSV – Shipping container dimensions / Trailer sizes pages. DSV A/S (freight forwarder).
- DP World – 45 ft high cube pallet wide container (Europe equipment). DP World.
- Latin American Cargo – container types and sizes (platform pages). Latin American Cargo (forwarder).
- OEG – ISO tanks product datasheet (PDF). OEG Energy Group.
- Tradecorp Indonesia (kontainerindonesia.co.id) – 20' T11 ISO tank container. PT Tradecorp Indonesia.
- Wikipedia – Intermodal container (ISO 668 nominal external dimensions and rated mass). Wikipedia contributors.
- Load calculations: PalletSpec, exact guillotine packing over the smallest published floor sizes (see sources and method).
More guides: 20ft vs 40ft vs 40ft high cube containers · Shipping container door dimensions · Reefer vs dry container: what the insulation costs · Open top vs flat rack vs platform containers · 45ft high cube vs 45ft pallet-wide container · Half and quarter pallets: how many fit, and why they beat full pallets · UK pallet vs Euro pallet: 1200×1000 against 1200×800 · All guides