An intermodal container (also container, freight container, ISO container, shipping container, hi-cube container, box, conex box and sea can) is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system. “Intermodal” implies that the container can be moved from one mode of transport to another without unloading and reloading the contents of the container. Lengths of containers, which each have a unique ISO 6346 reporting mark, vary from 8-foot (2.438 m) to 56-foot (17.07 m) and heights from 8-foot (2.438 m) to 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m). There are approximately seventeen million intermodal containers in the world of varying types to suit different cargoes. Aggregate container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU / teu) which is a unit of capacity equal to one standard 20 × 8 ft (6.10 × 2.44 m) (length × width) container.

Ocean Container Dimensions

 

	STANDARD 20′		STANDARD 40′		HIGH CUBE 40′
INSIDE LENGTH	19’4”	5.89m	39’5”	12.01m	39’5”	12.01m
INSIDE WIDTH	7’8”	2.33m	7’8”	2.33m	7’8”	2.33m
INSIDE HEIGHT	7’10”	2.38m	7’10”	2.38m	8’10”	2.69m
DOOR WIDTH	7’8”	2.33m	7’8”	2.33m	7’8”	2.33m
DOOR HEIGHT	7’6”	2.28m³	7’6”	2.28m	8’5”	2.56m
CAPACITY	1,172ft³	33.18m³	2,390ft³	67.67m³	2,694ft³	76.28m³
TARE WEIGHT	4,916 lb	2,229kg	8,160lb	3,701kg	8,750lb	3,968kg
MAX. CARGO	47,999 lb	21,727 kg	59,040lb	26780kg	58,450lb	26,512kg