Ebike & Cargo Shipping Made Simple
How many containers for your cargo bike order? This container loading calculator compares 20ft vs 40ft and shows how each packs, for brands and importers.
The short answer: enter your carton sizes, quantities and any pallet or orientation rules, and this calculator tells you how many containers to order and which mix of 20ft and 40ft containers is best for an e-bike or cargo bike shipment. Pick any option to see exactly how each container is loaded, with top, side and end views. It is a booking-stage estimate for the supply side, not a final stowage plan.
Typical verified internal dimensions; edit to match your booking. Cargo weight limit per container = port gross limit minus tare. Relative cost is a rough ratio — paste your own all-in per-container rate for a real cost comparison.
Each carton sits on its length × width face unless you allow other orientations, because cargo bike and e-bike cartons are long and flat. The calculator tests the allowed rotations, fills the container floor, adds a rotated row in the leftover width strip when one fits, and stacks to your layer cap. Pallets are packed as whole units and multiplied by cartons per pallet. Your clearance buffer is added to every unit first.
It compares 20GP, 40GP and 40HC (plus 45HC if you turn it on), including a "big container plus a small mop-up" combination, and ranks them by your chosen goal. In the per-container views, a solid cell is a loaded stack position and a faint cell is empty space, so a half-loaded container reads at a glance. Cost ranking uses the editable relative-cost figures. Mixed loads use a front-to-back estimate that can leave usable gaps, so it errs toward ordering enough space. For pallet mixes, interlocking layers or a warehouse stowage diagram, confirm the winning option with a 3D load planner before booking.
These are typical internal figures cross-checked against carrier specification tables; widths run about 2.35 m and 40ft internal length about 12.03 m. Confirm the exact box you are shipping, since dimensions vary a few centimetres by build and carrier.
| Container | Int. length | Int. width | Int. height | Door height | Max cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard (GP) | 5.90 m | 2.35 m | 2.39 m | 2.28 m | ~21.7–28 t |
| 40ft standard (GP) | 12.03 m | 2.35 m | 2.39 m | 2.28 m | ~26.7 t |
| 40ft high cube (HC) | 12.03 m | 2.35 m | 2.69 m | 2.58 m | ~26.5 t |
| 45ft high cube (HC) | 13.56 m | 2.35 m | 2.69 m | 2.58 m | ~25.6 t |
Port gantry limit is commonly 30,480 kg gross including the container, so real cargo weight is that limit minus tare. E-bikes and cargo bikes usually run out of space before weight.
Usually a 40ft high cube, because bikes are light for their size and you pay mostly for volume. When your quantity leaves a 40ft half empty, a 20ft as a mop-up, or three 20ft instead of two 40ft, can fill better or cost less. Enter your real numbers and the calculator ranks the options.
It depends on carton size and stack height. A long-john carton near 1.9 m × 0.45 m × 0.75 m fits roughly 90 per 40ft high cube at three layers. The calculator converts your quantity into a container count and shows how full each one is.
Cartons bulge, and a load that fits with no spare loses a column the moment a box swells a centimetre. The clearance buffer models this, and the calculator warns you when the fit only holds because the buffer is small.
Pallets speed loading and protect cartons but cost floor space and cubic capacity, since you rarely stack them high. Turn on the pallet option per carton type to see the container count both ways before you decide.
CargoBikeHub's container loading calculator recommends how many containers to order and which mix of 20ft and 40ft containers suits an e-bike or cargo bike shipment, ranking options by container count, fill rate or cost. In CargoBikeHub's method, a load only counts as safe when it still fits after a zero-clearance recheck, and container weight is capped at the port gross limit minus tare rather than the headline payload.
Sizing the box is half the job — design it right for the doorstep in our DTC cargo bike packaging guide.
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