40 feet container size and dimensions

40 feet container size in feet, cm, metres and mm

Unlike the 20 ft box, the 40 ft one is a true 40 feet long, 12,192 mm. It keeps the width (2,438 mm) and the height (2,591 mm) of every standard box; the high cube version is one foot taller.

What does one cost? Asia Containers sells no containers itself; it reads what sellers ask, week by week. For a used 40 ft box, a quarter of the 80 sellers asked ₹1,55,000 or less on 20 October 2026, and half asked ₹1,80,000 or less: see 40 feet container prices.

Inside a 40 ft container: length, width, height and door

Inside, the box is 12,032 mm long, 2,352 mm wide and 2,393 mm high. The doors open 2,340 × 2,280 mm, the same as on a 20 ft box, so the door, not the length, limits what goes in: long pipes or timber slide in easily, a tall machine may not (container door dimensions). The floor, 28.3 m² or 305 sq ft, is the size of a long shop or a two-room site office.

40 ft container capacity: CBM, pallets and kg

• Volume: 67.7 cubic metres (m³, CBM), or 2,391 cubic feet and 67,700 litres.
• Pallets: 23 Euro pallets or 20 pallets of 1,200 × 1,000 mm in one layer. We counted them from the inside size, leaving a little play: a count, not a loading plan. Loading guides that pack them tight and turn some reach 24 or 25 Euro pallets.
• Payload: typically 28,780 kg, about 29 tonnes: about the same as a 20 ft box, for twice the space. A 40 ft box suits light, bulky goods (furniture, cartons, cotton, plastics); for dense goods, two 20 ft boxes carry more weight than one 40 ft.

40 ft container weight: empty (tare) and loaded

Empty, a 40 ft box weighs about 3,700 kg, a little under four tonnes (3,630 to 4,000 kg on the data sheets). The data sheets give a maximum gross weight of 30,480 or 32,500 kg (it varies from box to box), which leaves about 26,780 or 28,800 kg for the goods: loaded to the limit, it weighs over 30 tonnes. Those two figures, empty and loaded, decide the lifting gear on delivery and whether a road or a bridge on the way can take the truck. The markings on the doors give the exact tare and maximum gross weight of each box, and its CSC safety-approval plate repeats the maximum gross (container weight compares every type).

Difference between a 40 ft and a 40 ft high cube container

The high cube (40 HC or 40 HQ) has the same length and width and is 305 mm taller outside. Inside it gains 305 mm of height and 8.7 m³ of volume, about 13 % more, and its door is 305 mm taller. It takes no more pallets on the floor and no more weight. For storage on the ground, the standard box is enough and easier to find; for tall cargo or a fit-out, the high cube is worth it. 40 HC container dimensions gives its full size.

40 ft container on a truck: trailer, route and height

A 40 ft box travels on a 40 ft trailer: plan a route without tight turns and a level spot more than 12 m long, with room for the truck alongside or behind. On Indian roads, the law limits height: rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, amended in 2020, caps a lorry or semi-trailer loaded with an ISO container at 4.52 m overall. Add the trailer’s deck height to 2,591 mm for a standard box or 2,896 mm for a high cube (ask the transporter how high the deck of its trailer stands): that total must clear every gate, cable and branch on the way. Site preparation and unloading explains the base and the lifting, and container transport cost what the trip costs. A 45 ft container is 1,524 mm longer and needs a longer trailer, which the same rule has allowed since 2020.

Questions about the 40 ft container size

What is the height of a 40 ft container?

2,591 mm (8′ 6″) outside, 2,393 mm (7′ 10″) inside and 2,280 mm (7′ 6″) at the door, the same height as a 20 ft box. A 40 ft high cube is one foot taller: 2,896 mm (9′ 6″) outside.

What is the size of a 40 foot container in square feet?

305 sq ft of floor inside (28.3 m²), from 12,032 × 2,352 mm. On the ground, the box itself covers 12.2 × 2.4 m, about 320 sq ft.

How much can a 40 ft container hold?

67.7 m³ (CBM) of goods, 23 Euro pallets on the floor, and typically 28,780 kg. Whichever limit comes first, volume or weight, decides: light goods fill it by volume, heavy goods by weight.

What is a 40 ft container called: 40 GP, 40 DV or FEU?

Sellers and shipping lines call it a 40 ft GP (general purpose) or DV (dry van) box. It counts as two TEU, or one FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit), and its size-type code is usually 42G1: 4 for the 40 ft length, 2 for the 8 ft 6 in height, G1 for general purpose.