So you’ve finally got a new home abroad, hooray! Now, all you need to do is find the right shipping container sizes to load your belongings.
In the market, there are several shipping container sizes suitable for carrying your belongings based on their weight and capacity.
Before determining your choice, let’s see some breakdowns on container sizes perfect for your individual moving needs!
Also Read: Pros of a Shipping Container Shelter Home Over Other Shelters
Container Types for Moving Overseas
When planning an international move, understanding the different container shipping options proves essential.
Each type offers distinct advantages depending on the volume of your belongings, your budget, and your timeline preferences.
FCL
Full Container Load (FCL) provides exclusive use of an entire shipping container regardless of whether you fill it. This option offers several advantages for international moves.
FCL shipments typically reach their destination faster than other options because they travel directly from origin to destination without consolidation delays.
The container remains sealed throughout transit, reducing handling and minimizing the risk of damage or loss.
With FCL, you control the entire packing process and timeline. This flexibility allows you to load your container at your convenience, rather than waiting for consolidation with other shipments.
Additionally, FCL typically offers better value when moving larger households, as you pay a flat rate for the container regardless of weight or volume (up to the container’s capacity).
Groupage
Groupage shipping represents a middle ground between FCL and LCL options. This method involves consolidating your belongings with items from other households moving to the same destination country or region.
Unlike standard LCL shipping, groupage typically groups items for residential moves rather than commercial shipments.
The primary benefit of groupage lies in cost efficiency for medium-sized shipments. While you’ll share container space, groupage services are typically organized by destination region, resulting in fewer consolidation delays than standard LCL shipping.
Groupage services often include specialized handling of household goods, with movers experienced in packing and securing residential items.
However, transit times remain less predictable than FCL, as your shipment depends on when sufficient goods accumulate to fill a container bound for your destination region.
LCL
Less than Container Load (LCL) shipping offers the most economical option for smaller international moves.
With LCL, you pay only for the actual space your goods occupy within a shared container. This approach proves ideal for studio apartments, students, or individuals relocating with minimal belongings.
LCL shipments undergo consolidation at warehouses, where goods from multiple shippers combine to fill a container.
Your items typically travel to a consolidation point, then transfer to a shared container, and finally move to a deconsolidation warehouse at the destination before final delivery.
The cost structure for LCL shipping differs significantly from FCL. Rather than paying a flat container rate, LCL costs depend on volume (cubic meters or cubic feet) or weight (kilograms or pounds), whichever yields the higher charge.
Common Shipping Container Sizes for Moving Overseas
Shipping containers come in standardized dimensions to facilitate efficient global transport. Understanding the capacity and limitations of each size helps determine which container best accommodates your household goods.
10-feet
The 10-foot container offers a compact solution for smaller moves or as additional storage space.
With internal dimensions of approximately 10ft × 8ft × 8.6ft and a volume capacity of 563 cubic feet, these containers accommodate the contents of a studio apartment or a small one-bedroom home.
These containers hold distinct advantages for certain moving scenarios. Their smaller footprint makes them easier to position in limited spaces, ideal for properties with restricted access.
The 10-foot container’s payload capacity of approximately 19,530 pounds easily handles typical household goods, as most residential moves prioritize volume over weight capacity.
However, 10-foot containers see limited availability in international shipping. If you specifically need a 10-foot container, expect limited sailing schedules and potentially higher costs per cubic foot.
20-feet
The 20-foot container, officially designated as a Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU), serves as the standard measurement unit in the shipping industry.
With internal dimensions of approximately 20ft × 8ft × 8.6ft and a volume capacity of 1,172 cubic feet, these containers accommodate the contents of a two-bedroom home or apartment.
This container size strikes an excellent balance between capacity and practicality for many international moves.
The 20-foot container’s payload capacity of approximately 55,126 pounds easily exceeds the weight of typical household goods.
The 20-foot container offers practical advantages for residential moves. Their dimensions allow placement in more restricted spaces than larger containers, making them suitable for properties with limited access.
20-feet (High Cube)
The 20-foot High Cube container maintains the same length and width as the standard 20-foot container but offers an additional foot of height.
This increased vertical space proves valuable for taller items like refrigerators, wardrobes, or stacked boxes that might not fit comfortably in standard containers.
With approximately 1,300 cubic feet of space, the High Cube variant provides roughly 10% more volume than the standard 20-foot container.
This additional space often makes the difference between having to compress or disassemble furniture and being able to load items in their original state.
While less common than standard 20-foot containers, High Cube variants remain readily available on major international shipping routes.
40-feet
The 40-foot container offers double the length of a 20-foot unit, providing approximately 2,390 cubic feet of space.
This substantial capacity accommodates the contents of a three to four-bedroom house, making it the preferred choice for larger household moves.
The expanded dimensions create significant loading flexibility. The 40-foot container allows for more strategic packing arrangements, with space to create separate zones for fragile items, furniture, and boxed belongings.
Despite their larger size, 40-foot containers remain highly available for international shipping, serving as a standard unit in global trade.
Their prevalence ensures competitive pricing on major shipping routes. However, their length may present challenges for placement at properties with limited access or tight turning radiuses.
40-feet (High Cube)
The 40-foot High Cube container combines the length of a standard 40-foot container with an additional foot of height, creating approximately 2,690 cubic feet of capacity.
This generous volume easily accommodates a four to five-bedroom home with space for bulkier items like sectional sofas, king-sized beds, and large appliances.
The added height proves particularly valuable for international moves involving taller furniture pieces or when you prefer to minimize the disassembly of larger items.
The extra vertical space also allows more efficient stacking of boxes without compromising the integrity of lower items, an important consideration for long ocean voyages.
High Cube containers command slightly higher rates than standard 40-foot containers but offer approximately 12% more volume.
For comprehensive household moves, this additional capacity often eliminates the need for multiple containers or difficult decisions about what to leave behind, justifying the modest premium.
Can You Use a 53-feet Container for Moving Overseas?
The 53-foot container dominates domestic shipping within North America but presents significant limitations for international relocation.
These containers primarily serve the rail and road transportation networks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with extremely limited availability for overseas shipping.
Several practical obstacles prevent the widespread use of 53-foot containers in international shipping. Most cargo vessels lack the specialized slots needed to accommodate these non-standard sizes.
Additionally, many international ports lack the necessary handling equipment, and road transportation regulations in destination countries often prohibit these oversized containers.
Despite these limitations, the 53-foot container offers impressive specifications. With dimensions of 53ft × 8ft × 9.6ft and a volume capacity of approximately 3,850 cubic feet, these containers could theoretically hold the contents of a large four to five-bedroom home.
A workaround sometimes involves using 53-foot containers for the domestic portion of the journey, then transferring goods to standard 20-foot or 40-foot containers at the port. However, this additional handling increases costs and risks damage to belongings.
Given these constraints, the vast majority of international household relocations utilize standard 20-foot or 40-foot containers rather than attempting to work with 53-foot units.
The global standardization of shipping container sizes ensures smoother logistics and more competitive pricing for international moves.
Personalized Recommendations for Customers
Considering the diversifying options for moving abroad with the help of shipping containers, Tradecorp now offers the 20′ HC Pallet Wide Removalist Container perfect for most situations!
This specialized container provides extra height compared to standard shipping containers, creating additional vertical space for taller furniture items
The pallet-wide design optimizes interior width, allowing efficient loading of standard pallets with minimal wasted space.
Designed specifically for household relocations, this container incorporates features that protect belongings during long-distance ocean transport.
The extra cubic capacity accommodates the contents of a typical two-bedroom home while the reinforced structure ensures items remain secure throughout the journey.
Also Read: Container Home Foundation: Importance, Components, and Types
Conclusion
By accurately deducing the shipping container sizes you need for moving abroad, you’ll have no problem keeping your belongings safe during shipment. With its Removalist Container, Tradecorp is ready to provide the best solution for home movers looking for moving platforms with no problems. Order one today!
