40 HC container dimensions (40 ft high cube)

40 HC / 40 HQ container dimensions in feet, cm, metres and mm

Prices in India: on 20 October 2026, the cheapest quarter of the 27 sellers of a used 40 ft high cube asked ₹1,58,000 or less, and half of all 27 asked ₹1,90,000 or less. We do not sell containers; we read these asking prices every week. Compare them with the other 40 ft boxes, high cube included, on 40 ft container prices.

What is a 40 HC (high cube) container?

HC stands for high cube; some shipping lines and many Indian listings write HQ for the same box. It is a general-purpose steel box with the length and width of a standard 40 ft container and one foot more height. Its size-type code, painted next to the container number, is usually 45G1 (some boxes carry 45G0): 4 for the 40 ft length, 5 for the 9 ft 6 in height. A standard 40 ft box carries 42G1, so the code is the quickest way to tell the two apart in a photo; many high cubes also carry black-and-yellow stripes along the top corners. A 20 ft high cube exists too, much rarer: see the used 20 ft high cube.

How high is a 40 ft high cube container?

2,896 mm (9′ 6″) outside, 2,698 mm (8′ 10″) inside from the floor to the roof, and 2,585 mm (8′ 6″) at the door (40 HC container door height). That is 305 mm more inside than a standard 40 ft box and 305 mm more at the door. The extra height is why converters start from a high cube: for example, with 100 mm taken by a new floor and a ceiling, about 2,600 mm remain, against about 2,290 mm in a standard box. Insulation for the Indian heat usually takes more.

How high is a 40 ft high cube on a truck?

Under rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, in its 2020 wording, a vehicle loaded with an ISO container may not exceed 4.52 m in overall height. With a 2,896 mm high cube on it, the trailer’s deck may stand no more than about 1.6 m off the road: ask the transporter which trailer it will send and how high its deck is, and check the route for cables, branches and low gates: the box stands 305 mm higher than a standard one.

40 HC capacity: CBM and pallets

A 40 HC holds 76.4 m³ (2,698 cubic feet, or 76,400 litres), 8.7 m³ more than a standard 40 ft box. Its floor is about the same, so it takes the same 23 Euro pallets or 20 pallets of 1,200 × 1,000 mm in one layer, by our count with a little play; the gain is in what stacks on them. It pays off for light goods that stack high (cartons, furniture, cotton bales) and for anything over 2,280 mm tall, which does not pass the door of a standard box.

40 HQ container weight and payload

Empty, a 40 HC weighs about 3,865 kg (3,700 to 4,200 kg on the data sheets), slightly more than a standard 40 ft box (3,700 kg). Its maximum gross weight is 30,480 or 32,500 kg depending on the box, so it typically carries 28,655 kg, about 29 tonnes: no more than a standard box, since the extra height adds volume, not strength. Container weight compares every type and works out the weight of a loaded box.

40 ft high cube or standard 40 ft: which to choose?

• For a home, an office, a café or a workshop: the high cube, since every layer of insulation and ceiling takes height.
• For tall cargo or light goods stacked high: the high cube.
• For storage on the ground: the standard box is enough, and far more of them are on sale: the used 40 ft box had 80 sellers on 20 October 2026, the used 40 ft high cube 27.

Asking prices and quotes are on the used 40 ft high cube and new 40 ft high cube pages.

Questions about the high cube container

What is the 45GP or 45G1 container size?

45G1, often written 45GP, is the size-type code of the 40 ft high cube general-purpose box described on this page, not a 45 ft container. A 45 ft high cube exists too, coded L5G1: see 45 ft container dimensions.

How many m³ (CBM) are in a 40 ft HC container?

76.4 m³ on the data sheets we read (inside 12,032 × 2,351 × 2,698 mm), against 67.7 m³ for a standard 40 ft box. The data sheet of the box’s maker gives the exact figure of a given box.