Container sizes, and what genuinely fits
The internal capacity of a container and the volume you will actually load are two different numbers. Plan against the second one.
- 20ft general purpose
- About 33 CBM internally; realistically 25–28 CBM loaded. Maximum payload around 28 tonnes on paper. The right box for dense, heavy cargo — you will hit the weight limit long before you run out of space.
- 40ft general purpose
- About 67 CBM internally; realistically 55–58 CBM loaded. Payload around 26 tonnes. Roughly double the volume of a 20ft for considerably less than double the freight.
- 40ft high cube
- About 76 CBM internally; realistically 65–68 CBM loaded. A foot taller than a standard 40ft, which is what you want for light, bulky cargo where volume runs out first.
- 40ft reefer
- About 59 CBM of temperature-controlled space. Requires power at origin, on the vessel, at the terminal and in transit — and clearance has to be planned around it, because a reefer waiting on a permit is an expensive reefer.
- Out-of-gauge and flat rack
- For cargo that will not fit a closed box. Priced case by case and needs permits for oversize road movement in the Philippines. See our project cargo service.
Figures on this page are indicative planning guides, not quotations. Tariff rates, carrier schedules and Bureau of Customs requirements change — we confirm every figure against your actual cargo and the rules in force on the day before you commit.
When FCL is the right call
Your volume is above roughly 15 CBM
Past that point a 20ft container frequently costs less outright than the same cargo shipped as LCL, before you count the handling you avoid.
The cargo is fragile or high value
An FCL box is sealed at origin and opened at destination. LCL cargo is consolidated, stacked against other people's freight, and deconsolidated at the far end.
You need a predictable schedule
FCL moves on the vessel you booked. LCL waits for the consolidation to fill, which can add days at origin before the cargo has moved at all.
You are shipping regularly
Repeat volume on a fixed lane is what carriers price for. Consistent bookings are worth more at the negotiating table than a single large one.
Clearance simplicity matters
One container, one bill of lading, one entry. LCL shipments clear alongside other consignees' cargo, and someone else's problem can become your delay.
When LCL is still the better answer
Below about 13 CBM, on irregular one-off shipments, or when you genuinely cannot fill a box and would be paying to ship air. We will say so rather than sell you a container.
Free time, demurrage and detention
The costs that turn a well-priced container into a badly-priced one. They are avoidable, and avoiding them is mostly a matter of preparing before the vessel arrives.
- Free time
- The days the shipping line allows you before storage charges begin. Typically a handful of days, and negotiable at the point of booking — which is the only point at which it is cheap to negotiate.
- Demurrage
- Charged when the container sits inside the terminal past its free time, usually because clearance is not finished. Rates escalate the longer it sits.
- Detention
- Charged when you have pulled the container out of the terminal and not returned the empty within the allowance. A separate clock from demurrage, and separately billed.
- Port storage
- Levied by the terminal rather than the shipping line, and payable in addition to demurrage. Two organisations, two invoices, the same delay.
- Container deposit
- Some lines hold a refundable deposit against damage or late return of the box, released once the empty is back and inspected.
How we keep these off your invoice. We lodge the entry against the pre-arrival documents rather than waiting for the vessel to berth, we flag missing permits or an incomplete Form E while the cargo is still at sea, and we book the delivery truck against the projected release date instead of the actual one. Most demurrage bills are not caused by customs — they are caused by a document that nobody chased in the two weeks the container spent crossing the South China Sea.
How an FCL booking runs
Quote and book
You send the load port, commodity, volume and weight. We come back with an itemised cost and secure space and equipment on a named sailing.
Load at origin
The empty is positioned at your supplier, loaded and sealed. We handle the export declaration and pass you the bill of lading draft to check.
Sail and prepare
While the box is at sea we validate the documents, confirm the tariff classification and the Form E, and lodge the entry so nothing waits on arrival.
Clear and deliver
Our brokers clear it at the port of discharge, we truck it to your door, and the empty goes back inside the free time.
Frequently asked
As a working rule, somewhere around 13–15 CBM. Below that, LCL usually wins because you only pay for the space you occupy. Above it, a 20ft container is often cheaper outright than the same volume shipped loose — and because the box is sealed at your supplier and opened at your warehouse, the cargo is handled far less and clears as one unit. The crossover moves with the freight market, so it is worth having both costed rather than assuming.
A 20ft general purpose container measures around 33 CBM internally, but you will realistically load 25–28 CBM once pallets, packaging and the shape of your cartons are accounted for. Weight matters too: the box will take roughly 28 tonnes on paper, but Philippine road limits and the trucking equipment available at delivery often cap the practical payload well below that. Tell us the weight as well as the volume and we will tell you which constraint binds first.
Demurrage is charged by the shipping line when your container sits inside the terminal beyond the agreed free time. Detention is charged when you have taken the container out of the terminal and kept it beyond the free time before returning the empty. They are billed separately, they run on separate clocks, and on a delayed clearance you can be paying both. Free time is typically a few days and is negotiable at booking — which is the point at which to deal with it, not afterwards.
Yes. We arrange the empty container to be positioned at the supplier's premises for loading, handle the export declaration, and seal the box there. It is the cleanest way to run FCL because the cargo is not handled between the factory floor and your warehouse.
Manila is the default and has the most frequent services. We also route to Subic, Batangas, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos. If your delivery point is in the Visayas or Mindanao, discharging at a regional port is often faster and cheaper than clearing in Manila and trucking the container south.
Price a container on your lane
Give us the load port, the commodity, the volume and the weight. We will tell you which box fits, what it lands at, and whether LCL would genuinely serve you better.