Open top container
An open top container is a shipping container without a fixed roof: steel bows and a tarpaulin close it, and the beam above the doors swings aside, so heavy or tall cargo goes in from above, by crane. It comes in 20 ft and 40 ft, with the outside size of a standard box; a 40 ft open top gives 12,029 × 2,350 × 2,348 mm inside, or 66.3 m³.
Updated 22 Oct 2026What is an open top container used for?
Loads that go in from above rather than through the doors: a machine that only a crane can lift, marble or granite blocks, castings, steel coils, logs, glass on its racks, or a load taller than the door opening. The crane lowers it in, it is lashed to the rings along the floor and the top rails, the bows and the tarpaulin go back on, the door header swings shut, and the box travels like any other. With its roof on, an open top also stores goods like a closed box, though in the monsoon a tarpaulin keeps out less water than a steel roof.
Open top container sizes and dimensions: 20 ft, 40 ft and high cube
40 ft open top container dimensions
| 40 ft open top container | 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 |
| Inside length | 12,029 mm | 1,202.9 cm | 39′ 5½″ | 12.03 m |
| Inside width | 2,350 mm | 235 cm | 7′ 8½″ | 2.35 m |
| Inside height | 2,348 mm | 234.8 cm | 7′ 8½″ | 2.35 m |
| Door opening width | 2,340 mm | 234 cm | 7′ 8″ | 2.34 m |
| Door opening height | 2,278 mm | 227.8 cm | 7′ 5½″ | 2.28 m |
| Floor area inside | 28.3 m² (304 sq ft) | |||
| Volume inside | 66.3 m³ (CBM), 2,341 cu ft, 66,300 litres | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 3,880 kg (3,800 to 4,060 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 26,600 kg, about 27 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 30,480 or 32,500 kg, depending on the box | |||
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 the doors give the tare and maximum gross of each box: a box rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
20 ft open top container dimensions
| 20 ft open top container | 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 |
| Inside length | 5,898 mm | 589.8 cm | 19′ 4″ | 5.90 m |
| Inside width | 2,351 mm | 235.1 cm | 7′ 8½″ | 2.35 m |
| Inside height | 2,348 mm | 234.8 cm | 7′ 8½″ | 2.35 m |
| Door opening width | 2,340 mm | 234 cm | 7′ 8″ | 2.34 m |
| Door opening height | 2,280 mm | 228 cm | 7′ 6″ | 2.28 m |
| Floor area inside | 13.9 m² (149 sq ft) | |||
| Volume inside | 32.5 m³ (CBM), 1,148 cu ft, 32,500 litres | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 2,245 kg (2,170 to 2,450 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 28,260 kg, about 28 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 30,480 or 32,500 kg, depending on the box | |||
Typical values: the median of 6 data sheets published by CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, ONE and ZIM, consulted on 20 October 2026; feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on the doors give the tare and maximum gross of each box: a box rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
Outside, both have the size of standard boxes. Inside, they are a little lower (2,348 mm against 2,393 mm in a dry 40 ft box), because the bows and the top rails take space under the tarpaulin. Both are rated to the same gross weights, so the lighter 20 ft box carries more: typically 28,260 kg against 26,600 kg.
40 ft high cube open top container dimensions
| 40 ft high cube open top | 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 |
| Inside length | 12,032 mm | 1,203.2 cm | 39′ 5½″ | 12.03 m |
| Inside width | 2,352 mm | 235.2 cm | 7′ 8½″ | 2.35 m |
| Inside height | 2,653 mm | 265.3 cm | 8′ 8½″ | 2.65 m |
| Door opening width | 2,340 mm | 234 cm | 7′ 8″ | 2.34 m |
| Door opening height | 2,585 mm | 258.5 cm | 8′ 6″ | 2.59 m |
| Floor area inside | 28.3 m² (305 sq ft) | |||
| Volume inside | 75.1 m³ (CBM), 2,652 cu ft, 75,100 litres | |||
| Weight empty (tare) | 3,915 kg (3,860 to 4,260 kg on the sheets) | |||
| Payload (typical) | 28,505 kg, about 29 tonnes | |||
| Maximum gross weight | 30,480 or 32,500 kg, depending on the box | |||
Typical values: the median of 4 data sheets published by Evergreen, Maersk, ONE and ZIM, consulted on 20 October 2026; feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on the doors give the tare and maximum gross of each box: a box rated to a higher gross weight carries more, its gross weight minus its tare.
Some shipping lines run a 40 ft high cube open top, 305 mm taller, for loads up to about 2.6 m tall that must stay within the box. Other variants exist: the hard top, whose steel roof lifts off in one piece, and the half height open top, for heavy, dense cargo such as ore or stone.
Open top container height and the roof opening
An open top is 2,591 mm high outside, like a standard box, and 2,348 mm inside under the bows; its doors open 2,278 mm high. A high cube open top is 2,896 mm outside and 2,653 mm inside. With the bows taken out, the clear height grows a little: Hapag-Lloyd gives 2,420 mm in its 40 ft open top instead of 2,344 mm under the bows.
The roof opening, the space between the top rails once the bows are out, decides what a crane can lower in. On the Hapag-Lloyd and DSV data sheets it is about 2.2 m wide, and about 5.3 to 5.4 m long on a 20 ft open top, 11.55 to 11.57 m on a 40 ft one. It differs from one maker to another: before you book, ask for the data sheet of the box you will get.
In-gauge and out-of-gauge open top cargo
A load that stays inside the walls and below the top of the box travels in gauge, like any container. A load that stands above the top rails, 2,591 mm above the base of the box, is over-height, or out of gauge: the tarpaulin is raised over it, the shipping line must accept it in advance and usually charges more, and on Indian roads it may become over-dimensional cargo (ODC). Even in gauge, a truck or a trailer carrying a container may stand at most 4.52 m tall overall in India, deck included.
Open top or flat rack: which one?
An open top keeps its side and end walls: the cargo must fit within the width of the box, and it travels protected. A flat rack has no side walls and no roof: it takes cargo wider than a box, loaded from the sides or above, and leaves it open to the weather. A load that fits between the walls goes in an open top; one that does not goes on a flat rack. A load that goes in from the side by forklift, under a steel roof, suits an open side container.
Buying an open top container in India
To ship one load, you usually do not buy an open top: you book one from the shipping line with the freight and return it empty. Buying makes sense when the box will be loaded again and again at your site, used for storage, or shipped as your own container (SOC).
Asia Containers does not sell containers: it reads sellers’ asking prices every week. On 20 October 2026, the typical asking price was ₹2,00,000 for a 20 ft open top (13 sellers) and ₹3,50,000 for a 40 ft open top (12 sellers); each page gives the range and sends your request to partner sellers for a delivered quote. A complete open top comes with its bows and tarpaulin: on a listing, ask whether both are there. Before you pay, have a bow lifted out and dropped back in, the tarpaulin spread, and the door header swung open and shut: those are the parts that fail on a used box.
Open top container weight, height and the 20 ft size
Is there a 20 ft open top container?
Yes: a 20 ft open top has the outside size of a standard 20 ft box and 5,898 × 2,351 × 2,348 mm inside. It suits short, heavy loads; the 40 ft one suits long ones.
How much does an open top container weigh?
Empty, about 2,245 kg for a 20 ft open top and 3,880 kg for a 40 ft one, on the data sheets we read; a high cube open top about 3,915 kg. The 20 ft one typically carries 28,260 kg and the 40 ft one 26,600 kg.
What is the height of a 20 ft open top container?
2,348 mm inside on the data sheets we read, under the bows, and 2,591 mm outside, the same as a standard 20 ft box. The door opening is 2,280 mm high.
What does OT mean on a container?
OT is the shipping lines’ short name for an open top. The size-type code painted on the box says it too, with a U for open top: 22U1 for a 20 ft, 42U1 for a 40 ft and 45U1 for a high cube on Hapag-Lloyd’s data sheets.
Open top 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.