Shipping container weight: empty (tare), gross and payload
An empty shipping container weighs about 2,230 kg for a 20 ft box, 3,700 kg for a 40 ft and 3,865 kg for a 40 ft high cube: that is its tare. Loaded, it may weigh up to the maximum gross painted on its doors, 30,480 or 32,500 kg on most boxes in the data sheets; the difference is its payload, the most it can carry. Below: the weights of 17 types, a weight finder that checks a container number and reads the size-type code on the doors, and a calculator for the weight of a loaded box.
Updated 26 Oct 2026How much does a shipping container weigh?
| Container | Size-type code | Empty (tare), typical | Tare in the sheets | Max gross | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 ft container | 12G1 | 1,300 kg | 1,200–1,700 kg | 10,160–12,000 kg | 8,460–10,800 kg |
| 20 ft standard container | 22G1 | 2,230 kg | 2,120–2,350 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 28,130–30,380 kg |
| 20 ft high cube container | 25G1 | 2,230 kg | 2,230 kg | 30,480 kg | 28,250 kg |
| 40 ft standard container | 42G1 | 3,700 kg | 3,630–4,000 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 26,480–28,870 kg |
| 40 ft high cube container | 45G1 | 3,865 kg | 3,700–4,200 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 26,280–28,800 kg |
| 45 ft high cube container | L5G1 or 55G1 | 4,750 kg | 4,650–4,900 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 25,580–27,850 kg |
Typical tare: the median of the data sheets of shipping lines, leasing companies and makers consulted on 20 October 2026; tare in the sheets and max gross: the lowest and highest figure they give; payload: max gross minus tare, from the lowest to the highest the sheets allow. 20 ft HC: a single data sheet. Each box's own tare and maximum gross are painted on its doors, and its maximum gross is on its CSC plate.
Reefer, open top, flat rack, open side and double door containers (11 types)
| Container | Size-type code | Empty (tare), typical | Tare in the sheets | Max gross | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft reefer container | 22R1 | 2,920 kg | 2,480–3,080 kg | 30,480–32,000 kg | 27,400–29,520 kg |
| 40 ft high cube reefer container | 45R1 | 4,505 kg | 4,330–4,760 kg | 34,000–35,000 kg | 29,240–30,670 kg |
| 20 ft open top container | 22U1 | 2,245 kg | 2,170–2,450 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 28,030–30,330 kg |
| 40 ft open top container | 42U1 | 3,880 kg | 3,800–4,060 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 26,420–28,700 kg |
| 40 ft high cube open top | 45U1 or 45U6 | 3,915 kg | 3,860–4,260 kg | 30,480–32,500 kg | 26,220–28,640 kg |
| 20 ft flat rack | 22P1 or 22P3 | 2,890 kg | 2,750–3,100 kg | 34,000–45,000 kg | 30,900–42,250 kg |
| 40 ft flat rack | 42P1 or 42P3 | 5,025 kg | 4,900–6,200 kg | 45,000–52,500 kg | 38,800–47,600 kg |
| 40 ft high cube flat rack | 45P1 or 45P3 | 5,300 kg | 5,000–6,250 kg | 50,000–58,600 kg | 43,750–53,600 kg |
| 20 ft open side container | 22G2 or 22G3 | 3,190 kg | 3,000–3,200 kg | 24,000–30,480 kg | 20,800–27,480 kg |
| 20 ft double door container | 22G0 or 22G1 | 2,277 kg | 2,200–2,340 kg | 30,480 kg | 28,140–28,280 kg |
| 40 ft double door container | 42G0 or 42G1 | 3,580 kg | 3,500–4,000 kg | 30,480 kg | 26,480–26,980 kg |
Typical tare: the median of the data sheets of shipping lines, leasing companies and makers consulted on 20 October 2026; tare in the sheets and max gross: the lowest and highest figure they give; payload: max gross minus tare, from the lowest to the highest the sheets allow. Each box's own tare and maximum gross are painted on its doors, and its maximum gross is on its CSC plate.
The figures are typical, not those of your box: the data sheets of the same type differ by a few hundred kilograms, 3,700 to 4,200 kg for a 40 ft high cube. A high cube weighs only 165 kg more than a standard 40 ft box. A reefer is heavier than a dry box of its size, 690 kg more for a 20 ft, because of its refrigeration unit and insulated walls (reefer container). A 40 ft flat rack is the heaviest box in the tables, and flat racks are rated far above the ISO figure, up to 58,600 kg in the sheets: their floor and side rails carry the load alone (flat rack container).
How much is 1 container in kg, empty and loaded?
Empty, about 2.2 tonnes for a 20 ft box and 3.7 tonnes for a 40 ft. Loaded to its limit, a box weighs its maximum gross: 30,480 or 32,500 kg for most 20 ft and 40 ft boxes in the data sheets, about 30.5 to 32.5 tonnes. So a typical 20 ft box can carry about 28,250 to 30,270 kg, and a 40 ft box about 26,780 to 28,800 kg: no more than the 20 ft, since the rating is the same. A 10 ft box weighs about 1,300 kg empty; ISO 668 rates the 10 ft box at 10,160 kg, and some makers’ sheets give 12,000 kg. A 45 ft high cube weighs about 4,750 kg. The weight of each standard box, with what it means on delivery, is on its own page: 20 ft container weight, 40 ft container weight and 40 HC container weight.
What is tare weight, payload and gross weight?
- Tare, or empty weight: the weight of the box alone. It is what a crane or a forklift lifts when an empty box is delivered.
- Maximum gross mass (MAX GROSS, the rating): the most the box and its load may weigh together. ISO 668 long rated 20 ft and 40 ft boxes at 30,480 kg (67,200 lb); since its 2022 amendment it allows up to 36,000 kg for every size except the 10 ft box. Each box is limited to the figure on its own CSC safety approval plate.
- Payload: the maximum gross minus the tare, the most the box may carry. It is not the net weight of the goods, which leaves out their packing.
- Gross weight of a loaded box: tare plus goods plus packing, pallets and lashing. Before a box is loaded on a ship, this is the verified gross mass (VGM) the shipper declares.
Weights are marked in kilograms and in pounds: 1 lb is 0.4536 kg, and the 30,480 kg of ISO 668 is its rounding of 67,200 lb. A tonne is 1,000 kg.
How to find the tare weight of a container
- On the doors. ISO 6346 requires every container to be marked with its maximum gross and its tare, in kg and in lb, in letters at least 50 mm high; many also show their payload. These are the figures of that very box.
- On the CSC plate. The safety approval plate on the door gives the maximum operating gross mass, the stacking load the box may carry and its racking strength: not the tare. How to inspect a used container reads the plate line by line.
- From the owner. Shipping lines have tare searches by container number, but each covers only its own fleet, and a box it has sold may no longer be in it. A paid database covers the boxes of many owners.
- On a weighbridge, if the markings have been painted over: weigh the truck with the empty box, then without it.
Container weight finder: number and size-type code
Type the 11 characters of the number: 4 letters, then 7 digits. You can paste the number and the code together.
Type the 4 characters of the size-type code, written under or beside the number.
The check digit is worked out by the ISO 6346 method in your browser: nothing is sent. The weights are those of the data sheets for the type of box, not of your box: its own tare and maximum gross are painted on its doors, in kg and lb.
The number on the doors has four letters and seven digits. The first three letters are the owner’s code, registered with the Bureau International des Containers; the fourth is U for a freight container. The last digit is a check digit worked out from the ten characters before it: if it does not match, the number has been misread, mistyped or invented, which is worth knowing before you pay for a box. A right check digit shows only that the number is well formed, not that the box exists or belongs to the seller: compare it with the box itself, on a visit or a video call (how to check a container supplier). The size-type code, written near the number, gives the length, the height and the type of the box: 22G1 is a standard 20 ft box, 45G1 a 40 ft high cube, 22R1 a 20 ft reefer (size and type codes).
Loaded container weight: gross weight calculator (VGM)
—
Enter the weight of the cargo.
Gross mass = tare + cargo + packing, the sum a shipper declares as verified gross mass (VGM) under method 2, where the cargo and packing are weighed. Choosing a type fills in the typical tare and the lowest maximum gross of its data sheets, unless you have typed your own: use the figures painted on your box. ISO 668 has allowed 36,000 kg since 2022, but each box is limited to the figure on its own plate.
Verified gross mass (VGM) in India
Since 1 July 2016, a packed container is not loaded on a ship in India without a verified gross mass declared by the shipper, under Merchant Shipping Notice 4 of 2016. The box is weighed packed on a weighbridge certified under the Legal Metrology rules (method 1), or its contents are weighed and its tare added (method 2), where that method is approved. A box whose gross mass is above the figure on its CSC plate is not loaded. The rule concerns ships: a box that only travels by road needs no VGM.
Container weight on the road and on delivery
On Indian roads, a tractor with its semi-trailer and load may weigh at most 55 tonnes, and no more than its axles are rated for (axle-load notification of 2018): the box and its goods count with the weight of the truck itself, so a heavily loaded box needs a truck with enough axles. Ask the transporter before you load.
On delivery, the tare decides the lifting gear: a crane, a side-lifter or a forklift must be rated for the box with a margin, and a forklift only suits a 10 ft or 20 ft box with fork pockets. Once placed, the box must rest on its four bottom corner castings, never on its side rails: container foundation and unloading explains the supports. A box fitted out as an office or a home weighs more than its tare, with its insulation, panels and furniture: ask the converter for the weight before you hire the crane.
Other container sizes and guides
Published 26 October 2026. Weights: medians and ranges of the data sheets of shipping lines, leasing companies and makers consulted on 20 October 2026. Rules from ISO 6346:2022, ISO 668 (2020, amended in 2022), the Convention for Safe Containers, the IMO's guidelines on the verified gross mass, India's Merchant Shipping Notice 4 of 2016 and the axle-load notification of 2018, checked on 26 October 2026.