Container loading calculator: what a free tool can answer

Does it fit by volume?

The quickest check divides the shipment's m³ by each container's usable volume. "Usable" is a planning assumption: the CBM calculator uses 85% of the inside volume by default (28.2 m³ in a 20' GP, 57.6 m³ in a 40' GP, 64.9 m³ in a 40' HQ) and lets you pick 70–95%. The assumption is the weak point: real fill depends on how the cartons fit together, which the next answer checks.

How many of one carton, really?

For one carton size, geometry replaces the assumption. 50 × 40 × 30 cm cartons in a 20' GP give three different answers:

• 470 by volume at 85%;
• 392 stacked all the same way round (14 × 4 × 7);
• 492 when turned cartons fill the strips left at the wall and under the roof (89% of the inside volume).

Pallets: floor positions

Pallets that cannot be stacked turn the question into a floor puzzle: 25 EUR pallets fit a 40' GP floor by geometry; published counts run from 23 to 25. The pallet guide shows the layouts; in the worksheet, field 6 One high (pallets) adds the floor check.

Weight, and which limit

Dense cargo fills the payload first. The worksheet checks every container against the box rating, ONE's ratings or your own figure; container weight limits explains why those differ by 2 t on a 40' GP.

Which mix of containers

When one box is not enough, the answer is often a mix. For 70 m³ of 1 m cubes (100 kg each), two 40' GP would work, but so does one 20' GP plus one 40' GP: two containers, three TEU instead of four, and the least spare room.

What still needs a load plan

None of these numbers decides the order cartons come off the truck, how weight spreads along the floor, which cartons can bear others, or how the load is secured. Livnaro does not draw 3D mixed loads; for a tight or mixed load, ask the forwarder for a load plan before fixing the order quantity, and keep the calculator's figures as the brief.