Reference
40' High-Cube
A foot more internal height. Full internal dimensions, door opening, capacity and weights below.
- Inside length
- 12.024 m
- Inside width
- 2.350 m
- Inside height
- 2.697 m
- Door width
- 2.340 m
- Door height
- 2.597 m
- Capacity
- 76 m³
- Tare weight
- 4020 kg
- Max cargo weight
- 26460 kg
About the 40' High-Cube
A 40' standard with roughly thirty centimetres of extra internal height, adding around nine cubic metres of usable volume through the roof rather than the floor.
That height costs almost nothing in payload, so it is the default choice for anything that cubes out before it weighs out. Where cargo is light and bulky, the high cube is usually cheaper per unit shipped than the standard box.
Externally it stands nine feet six inches rather than eight feet six. Road and rail clearances on the inland legs are worth checking, because not every route, bridge or tunnel will take the extra height.
What it carries
How it is built
- A welded steel frame with corner castings at all eight corners, which take the crane spreader, the twistlocks that hold it to the deck and the lashings that secure it.
- Side walls and roof pressed from corrugated low-alloy weathering steel — the corrugation stiffens the panel, and the alloy forms a protective oxide layer instead of rusting through.
- Double doors at one end, closed by vertical locking bars with cam fittings that pull the door tight against the frame.
- A rubber gasket running the full perimeter of the door aperture, sealing against driven rain and dust.
- A floor of thick marine-grade plywood, usually film-faced, bolted onto steel cross-members that carry forklift wheel loads.
- Lashing points along the side rails and at floor level for securing cargo inside.
- Externally 2,896 mm (9 ft 6 in) tall against 2,591 mm (8 ft 6 in) for a standard container - the extra height is in the panels, while frame, doors and floor follow the standard 40 ft build.
- Lashing rings rated to 1,000 kg are fitted on the front top-end rail, the bottom cross member and the corner posts.
- A recess in the floor at the front end seats the container on a gooseneck chassis, letting it ride lower on the road and so stand taller within height limits.
- Suits light, voluminous cargo and over-height pieces up to roughly 2.70 m.
Why it is used
- Running costs are low — maintenance is generally limited to panel dents, door seals and floor boards.
- Fully intermodal: the same sealed box moves by ship, rail and road without the cargo being rehandled at any interchange.
- Corner castings sit at ISO-standard positions, so any crane, spreader, chassis or railcar in the world can take it.
- Weatherproof and lockable, which limits both moisture damage and pilferage.
- The most widely available equipment there is, so a booking rarely fails for want of a box.
- The self-supporting, stackable frame also makes retired units useful for site storage and modular building.
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