Flat rack container
A flat rack is a container reduced to its floor and its two end walls: no roof and no side walls, so machinery, vehicles, pipes, transformers and loads wider or taller than a box are lashed onto it and lifted on from the sides or from above. A 40 ft flat rack (40 FR) gives a deck of about 11,657 × 2,298 mm and typically carries about 40 tonnes; a 20 ft one, 5,634 × 2,194 mm.
Updated 22 Oct 2026What is a flat rack container used for?
Cargo that does not fit inside any box: a generator, an excavator or a tractor, a boat, steel beams and pipes, a transformer, a section of a plant. The load sits on the deck, held by chains and straps on the lashing rings along the side rails, and it may overhang the sides or rise above the end walls. A flat rack is built for heavy loads on a small area, which a closed box of the same size could not take.
Flat rack container size and dimensions: 20 ft and 40 ft
40 ft flat rack (40 FR) container dimensions
| 40 ft flat rack | mm | cm | Feet and inches | Metres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outside length | 12,192 mm | 1,219.2 cm | 40′ | 12.19 m |
| Outside width | 2,438 mm | 243.8 cm | 8′ | 2.44 m |
| Outside height | 2,591 mm | 259.1 cm | 8′ 6″ | 2.59 m |
| Deck length (between end walls) | 11,657 mm | 1,165.7 cm | 38′ 3″ | 11.66 m |
| Deck width | 2,298 mm | 229.8 cm | 7′ 6½″ | 2.30 m |
| Height of the end walls above the deck | 1,955 mm | 195.5 cm | 6′ 5″ | 1.96 m |
| Height of the deck off the ground | 636 mm | 63.6 cm | 2′ 1″ | 0.64 m |
| Deck area | 26.8 m² (288 sq ft) | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 5,025 kg (4,900 to 6,200 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 40,075 kg, about 40 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 45,000 or 52,500 kg, depending on the rack | |||
Typical values: the median of 4 data sheets published by CMA CGM, Evergreen, ONE and ZIM, consulted on 20 October 2026; feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on each rack give its own tare and maximum gross: a rack rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
20 ft flat rack dimensions
| 20 ft flat rack | mm | cm | Feet and inches | Metres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outside length | 6,058 mm | 605.8 cm | 19′ 10½″ | 6.06 m |
| Outside width | 2,438 mm | 243.8 cm | 8′ | 2.44 m |
| Outside height | 2,591 mm | 259.1 cm | 8′ 6″ | 2.59 m |
| Deck length (between end walls) | 5,634 mm | 563.4 cm | 18′ 6″ | 5.63 m |
| Deck width | 2,194 mm | 219.4 cm | 7′ 2½″ | 2.19 m |
| Height of the end walls above the deck | 2,213 mm | 221.3 cm | 7′ 3″ | 2.21 m |
| Height of the deck off the ground | 378 mm | 37.8 cm | 1′ 3″ | 0.38 m |
| Deck area | 12.4 m² (133 sq ft) | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 2,890 kg (2,750 to 3,100 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 31,250 kg, about 31 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 34,000, 38,100 or 45,000 kg, depending on the rack | |||
Typical values: the median of 5 data sheets published by CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE and ZIM, consulted on 20 October 2026; feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on each rack give its own tare and maximum gross: a rack rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
40 ft high cube flat rack
| 40 ft high cube flat rack | mm | cm | Feet and inches | Metres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outside length | 12,192 mm | 1,219.2 cm | 40′ | 12.19 m |
| Outside width | 2,438 mm | 243.8 cm | 8′ | 2.44 m |
| Outside height | 2,896 mm | 289.6 cm | 9′ 6″ | 2.90 m |
| Deck length (between end walls) | 11,652 mm | 1,165.2 cm | 38′ 2½″ | 11.65 m |
| Deck width | 2,374 mm | 237.4 cm | 7′ 9½″ | 2.37 m |
| Height of the end walls above the deck | 2,264 mm | 226.4 cm | 7′ 5″ | 2.26 m |
| Height of the deck off the ground | 632 mm | 63.2 cm | 2′ 1″ | 0.63 m |
| Deck area | 27.7 m² (298 sq ft) | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 5,300 kg (5,000 to 6,250 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 47,300 kg, about 47 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 50,000, 52,500, 55,000 or 58,600 kg, depending on the rack | |||
Typical values: the median of 5 data sheets published by Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, ONE and ZIM, consulted on 20 October 2026; feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on each rack give its own tare and maximum gross: a rack rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
The high cube rack stands 2,896 mm tall with its walls up, and its walls rise 2,264 mm above the deck, against 1,955 mm on a standard 40 ft rack. It is also built for heavier loads: up to 50,000, 52,500, 55,000 or 58,600 kg gross on the data sheets we read.
Flat racks vary more from one maker to another than closed boxes, because end walls, corner posts and floors are built differently: on the data sheets we read, a 40 ft rack weighs 4,900 to 6,200 kg empty. Ask for the data sheet of the rack you are offered before you plan a load to the last centimetre.
Flat rack container weight and payload
A flat rack is heavier than a closed box of the same size, because its floor and side rails carry the load alone: a 40 ft one weighs about 5,025 kg empty (4,900 to 6,200 kg on the data sheets) and a 20 ft one 2,890 kg. In return it carries more, and how much depends on the gross weight the rack is rated to: about 40 tonnes on a 40 ft rack rated 45,000 kg gross and about 47 tonnes on one rated 52,500 kg; about 31 tonnes on a 20 ft rack rated 34,000 kg and up to about 42 tonnes at 45,000 kg. The markings on each rack give its own figures, the maximum gross weight also being on its CSC plate: maximum gross weight minus tare.
A heavy machine on a small footprint must not rest on a few deck planks: timber bearers laid across the deck spread its weight over the cross-members, as the lashing plan of the shipping line or a surveyor sets out.
Flat rack container types: fixed and collapsible flat racks
- Fixed end walls (code 42P1 or 22P1): the walls stay up. Simple and strong, but an empty rack takes as much space as a loaded one.
- Collapsible end walls (code 42P3 or 22P3): the walls fold down onto the deck, so empty racks travel stacked, several in the space of one, and the empty return costs less. Before you buy one, have the walls folded and raised again: the hinges and locking pins seize on a rack that stood idle.
- Platform: a deck with no end walls at all, for the longest loads.
- High cube flat rack: taller end walls and a higher rating, run by some shipping lines for tall and heavy cargo (dimensions above).
How tall is a flat rack container?
With its end walls up, a standard flat rack stands 2,591 mm high outside, like a standard box; the walls rise 1,955 mm above the deck on a 40 ft rack and 2,213 mm on a 20 ft one, by the medians of our data sheets. The walls of a 40 ft rack are lower because its deck is thicker: the deck stands about 636 mm off the ground, against about 378 mm on a 20 ft rack. Hapag-Lloyd gives 648 mm for the deck of its 40 ft high cube rack and 370 mm for its 20 ft one.
In-gauge and out-of-gauge flat rack cargo
A load no wider than the rack (2,438 mm) and no taller than its end walls travels in gauge, stacked like any container. Wider or taller, it is out of gauge: the shipping line must accept it in advance, it can take the place of the containers beside or above it on the ship, which is why it costs more, and on Indian roads it may be over-dimensional cargo (ODC). In gauge, a truck or a trailer carrying a container may stand at most 4.52 m tall overall in India, deck included.
Flat rack or open top?
A flat rack takes what is too wide for any box, at the cost of no protection from the weather. If the load fits between the side walls of a box, an open top container carries it under a tarpaulin and keeps it drier; an open side container takes it from the side, by forklift, under a steel roof.
Buying a flat rack container in India
To ship one load, you usually book a flat rack from the shipping line with the freight rather than buy one. Buying makes sense for loads that leave your site again and again, for a rack used as a platform, or to ship it as your own container (SOC).
Few flat racks are listed with a price. On 20 October 2026, 2 sellers asked ₹2,50,000 to ₹5,00,000 for a 40 ft flat rack; the 20 ft flat rack page shows the latest reading, or an estimate when no seller lists one. Asia Containers does not sell racks: each page sends your request to partner sellers who can quote one.
40 FR code and the 20 ft flat rack size
What is a 40 FR container?
The 40 ft flat rack: “FR” is the code shipping lines use for flat racks in their equipment lists. Its size-type code, painted on the rack, is usually 42P1 for a rack with fixed end walls or 42P3 for one with folding end walls; a 20 ft rack carries 22P1 or 22P3.
What are the dimensions of a 20 foot flat rack container?
19′ 10½″ × 8′ × 8′ 6″ outside with the walls up (6,058 × 2,438 × 2,591 mm), and a deck of about 18′ 6″ × 7′ 2½″ (5,634 × 2,194 mm) between the end walls, on the data sheets we read.
Flat rack prices and other container types
Published 22 October 2026. Sizes and weights come from the data sheets named under each table, consulted on 20 October 2026; prices from the reading of sellers' asking prices of 20 October 2026.