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How Wide is a Shipping Container? Important Container Specifications to Know
Shipping containers are a flexible storage tool, giving you the opportunity to keep storage close to where it’s needed, whether on a jobsite, near your operations or in a safe location after-hours.
In this blog, we’ll answer the question ‘How wide is a shipping container’, explaining the width of standard shipping containers, extra-wide shipping containers and provide some examples to help you understand how much you can store inside a shipping container.
Table of Contents
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Shipping containers are 8 feet across externally, and 7’8” across internally.
What Are the Dimensions of a Shipping Container?
The interior dimensions of a standard 20ft. shipping container are 19’5”, 7’8”, 7’10” (L x W x H). For a standard 40ft. shipping container, the interior dimensions are 39’5” x 7’8” x 7’10”.
If you need extra storage space, it’s typically more cost-effective to get containers individually. However, double-wide shipping containers can create a custom, extra-wide space for your storage needs.
High cube containers, on the other hand, offer an extra foot of storage height. A 40ft. high cube container’s internal dimensions are 39’5” x 7’8” x 8’10”. A 45ft. high cube container, on the other hand, has internal dimensions of 44’5” x 7’8” x 8’10”.
What Can You Fit into a Shipping Container?
A while back, I wrote an article that focused on the interior storage volume of a shipping container. It’s one thing to understand the dimensions of a container, but another thing entirely to understand what that translates to in terms of stored material.
So, you might be curious about how a container’s dimensions apply to how and what you can store inside. Here’s some comparisons to think about.
Small Items
A great way to visualize the space you have is by comparing it to the classic moving box. Medium moving boxes, with dimensions of 18 x 18 x 16 inches, have a volume of 3 cubic feet.
Although containers aren’t commonly used for moving, understanding how many boxes fit into each container size can help you estimate how many rooms you can store. Additionally, using boxes to store container contents can improve organization, as they are easier to stack than loose items.
According to our sales representatives, a 20-foot container can typically hold items from 3-4 rooms, while a 40-foot container can accommodate items from 4-5 rooms, depending on the size of your largest items.
Medium-Sized Items
When it comes to larger stored items, paint drums are often stored inside shipping containers to keep painters’ supplies organized. These drums vary in size, from 5-gallon pails to the standard 55-gallon drums used in industrial settings. For this example, we’ll use 55-gallon closed-head drums, which have a diameter of 23¼ inches and a height of 34¾ inches, giving them a volume of 8.54 cubic feet.
Even smaller containers can be effective for painters, as a 10-foot container can hold up to 40 drums.
Large Items
For this category, we’ll use a standard pallet filled with material, measuring 48 x 40 x 87 inches. This amounts to a volume of 96.67 cubic feet. In a typical 20-foot container, you can fit 8 pallets of material. Pallets are commonly utilized in warehouse or construction environments because they can be easily moved with a forklift.
Whether you’re using a container for temporary pallet storage or as part of a larger storage system for your organization, you can rely on containers to keep your palletized materials safe.
Even standard shipping containers have a lot of interior storage space. With 7’8″ of width in addition to clever storage options like racks and hooks, you can make the most of your space.
Tips for Making the Most of Your Storage Space
You can make the most of the space that you have available by utilizing cabinets, racks and storage shelves. This keeps clutter off the ground and makes it easier for you to access the materials you need without having to bend down to pick them up.
It can also help to keep an inventory list of everything stored inside your container. By keeping it inside the container, you can make it easier to track inventory levels and identify what you need to reorder.
A cut-away section of an insulated shipping container. There’s plenty of width inside a shipping container to store a sizable amount of material and enough space to modify containers to meet your specific needs for a project or business.
Summary
Shipping containers offer a versatile and efficient solution for storage needs across various industries.
By understanding the dimensions and capacities of different container types, you can optimize your storage space and ensure that your materials are organized and easily accessible.
Whether you’re storing small items, medium-sized paint drums, or large pallets, shipping containers provide a reliable and secure option to meet your storage requirements.
With proper planning and organization, you can make the most of your container space and streamline your operations effectively.
Need a shipping container? Southwest Mobile Storage carries an extensive inventory, with containers that can meet your specific storage needs. You can get a quote from a dedicated container sales representative, who can address your questions and help you find the right storage solution.
We offer pro-rated pricing following the first 28-day billing cycle, meaning you don’t pay for the days you don’t use the container. That saves you money in the long term, helping you focus on your project without needless headaches. Contact us today for more information!
