We load containers every week, and the same conversation happens every time. A buyer has a quotation, the freight looks high, and nobody has checked whether the order actually fills the box. Most of the money on a machinery import is decided before the container is packed, not after.

So here is how the arithmetic works, written by people who do it rather than by people who describe it.

Three limits, and only one of them decides

A container has a floor, a volume and a weight limit. Your goods hit the smallest of the three, and that one sets the count. Everybody knows the first two. Almost nobody checks them in the right order.

Start with the floor. Take the container’s internal length, divide by the length of one machine plus a gap, and do the same across the width. Multiply. If you’re shipping tracked mowers at 1,800 by 900mm, that gives you six across the length and two across the width on a 40ft box, so twelve units on a single layer.

Now the weight. A 40ft high cube takes about 26,500kg of cargo. Twelve mowers at 450kg is 5.4 tonnes, nowhere near the ceiling. So weight isn’t your problem.

Volume is where people go wrong. The containers hold about 76 cubic metres, the mowers take up roughly 1.9 each, and the sums suggest 32 units would fit. They wouldn’t. Machines don’t tile a container like bricks. You get 12, and the other 20 slots are air that the mower decks and handles won’t let you use.

The count is 12. The limit that decided it was floor space, and it will be floor space for almost every compact machine you ship.

What actually fits, by machine type

Machine Typical packed size Units in a 40HC What limits it
Remote-controlled mower, 550–800mm deck 1,800 × 900 × 1,200mm, ~450kg 10–13 Floor space
Tracked mini dump truck 2,400 × 1,200 × 1,500mm, ~900kg 5–8 Weight, then floor
Tracked concrete mixer 2,000 × 1,000 × 1,400mm, ~800kg 6–9 Weight
Skid steer loader 2,200 × 1,300 × 1,500mm, ~1,200kg 5–7 Weight
Cargo tricycle, box body 3,000 × 1,200 × 1,400mm, ~400kg 8–11 Floor space

Those numbers come from orders we’ve actually loaded. Treat them as a starting point and confirm against your own model, because a roll bar that folds or a deck that detaches changes the count.

The mistake that costs the most

Door openings. They are smaller than the inside of the container, and a surprising number of buyers never check them.

A standard container’s doors are 2,340mm wide and 2,280mm tall. The inside of the box is wider and taller than that. So a machine can measure comfortably inside the container’s dimensions and still not go through the door, because the roll bar pushes it over the height.

We’ve seen this happen twice in the last year. Both times the fix was simple, folding the roll bar down at the factory, but the first time it surfaced was when the loading crew called to say the machine wouldn’t fit. That’s a bad phone call, and it happens after you’ve paid for the machine.

If your machine is close to 2,280mm tall, ask for the folded height. Not the operating height. The folded one.

Should you ship a 20ft or a 40ft?

A 40ft container costs more than a 20ft but nowhere near twice as much. That gap is the whole reason most machinery importers use 40s. Ten mowers in a 40ft usually cost less per unit to ship than six in a 20ft.

Small orders break the rule. If your order fills less than about 60% of a 40ft, price both options before you decide. Sometimes the 20ft wins, and a good forwarder will tell you that rather than quote the bigger box.

One more thing people miss: a 40ft container carries roughly twice the volume of a 20ft but slightly less weight. The container itself is heavier. On dense cargo like mixers or dump trucks, that catches people out.

Filling the space you paid for

Freight is charged per container. An order that leaves 60% full costs exactly what a full one costs, and you’ve paid for the air.

The fix is not complicated. Add spare parts. Filters, belts, seals and blades are light and they slide into the gaps between machines better than anything else. Every container we load leaves with some, and the customer pays nothing extra for the freight because the box was going anyway.

If you’re ordering one machine type and there’s floor space left, ask about a second model. Mixing mowers with mixers usually wastes less space than either alone, because the shapes don’t leave the same gaps.

Working it out yourself, in four steps

If you’d rather do the arithmetic before you ask anyone, this is the order that avoids the usual mistakes.

1. Measure one machine as it will be packed

Not the machine on its own. Fold the roll bar, remove anything that detaches, and measure the footprint it will actually occupy on the container floor. Every figure after this one depends on getting this right.

2. Divide the floor, both ways

Take the container’s internal length and divide by your machine’s length plus a gap. Do the same across the width. Round both answers down and multiply. That is your single-layer count, and for most compact machinery it is the final answer.

3. Check the weight against the payload

Multiply your units by the weight of one machine and compare it with the container’s payload, about 26,700kg for a standard 40ft. If you’ve exceeded it, reduce the count. If you’re far under it, weight is not your constraint and you can stop worrying about it.

4. Check the door before anything else

Compare your machine’s folded height and width with the door opening, 2,340mm wide and 2,280mm tall on a standard container. If it doesn’t clear, the other three steps don’t matter. Sort the door out first, then plan the load.

Getting a real loading plan

Ask for one before the container is sealed. It should show each machine in position, the total weight, and photographs of the packed box with the container number visible.

A supplier who sends that without being asked is a supplier who does this regularly. One who says “it will be fine” is telling you something useful.

If you want to run your own numbers first, our loading calculator uses the same three limits described above. Then send us the model list and we’ll come back with a plan and a photograph before the doors close.

Questions we get asked

How many remote-controlled mowers fit in a 40ft container?

Between ten and thirteen for the common 550 to 800mm deck models, depending on how the decks and roll bars pack. Floor space decides it, not weight, because these machines are light for their size. Wider decks push it toward the lower end of that range.

Is a 20ft or a 40ft cheaper to ship?

Per machine, almost always the 40ft, because it carries about twice the cargo for well under twice the freight. The exception is a small order that would leave a 40ft mostly empty. Under about 60% full, price both before you commit.

Can tracked machines be stacked?

We don’t stack them and you shouldn’t ask for it. A 900kg machine sitting on another one will damage the lower unit and load the container floor in ways it wasn’t designed for. One layer, with the leftover space filled by spare parts.

How much weight can a 40ft container take?

Around 26,700kg for a standard 40ft and slightly less for a high cube. Dense machines reach that ceiling long before the floor is full. Mini dump trucks and mixers are the ones where weight, not space, decides the count.

Do you send a loading plan before shipping?

Yes, and before the doors close rather than after. It shows each unit in position, the total weight and the units per container, along with photographs of the packed container so you can check the quantity against your order while there’s still time to fix anything.

Tell us the models and quantities and we’ll confirm the count, the weight and the freight per unit. Send the list here, or read the landed cost guide if you want the other half of the calculation.

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