How Many Cubic Meters Are in a 40-Foot Container?

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A regular 40-foot shipping container has 2,391 cubic feet or 67.7 cubic meters of volume. A 40-foot-high cube shipping container has 2,700 cubic feet or 76.5 cubic meters of volume.

A regular shipping container is 8 feet 6 inches high. A high cube shipping container is a foot taller, at 9 feet 6 inches high. Shipping container sizes are standardized and regulated so that different companies and transport mechanisms, such as railways, trucks and ships, can all handle the same shipping containers with one set of equipment. Standard shipping containers come in 20-foot, 40-foot and 53-foot lengths. The 53-foot size is not commonly used. Two 40-foot-high cube containers can be stacked and transported by most rail systems, making them the most efficient size for shipping.