Container Fill Rate Calculator

Work out container fill rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Container Fill Rate Calculator

Fill rate is the loaded volume against the container's internal volume — 33.2 m3 for a 20-foot, 67.7 m3 for a 40-foot and 76.4 m3 for a 40-foot high cube. Volume fill and weight fill are separate constraints, and the shipment is only efficient when whichever binds first is close to its limit.

Formula

Container fill rate

Fill % = pallets x volume per pallet x 100 / container internal volume

Worked example

With the default values below, Container Fill Rate Calculator returns Container Fill Rate of 62.04%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Container Internal Volumeminimum 0.01 m3: 67.7 m3
Pallets Loadedminimum 0: 20
Volume Per Pallet Loadminimum 0.001 m3: 2.1 m3
Container Payload Limitminimum 0.01 kg: 26,000 kg

Results

Container Fill Rate: 62.04%
Volume Used: 42.000
Unused Volume: 25.700
Further Pallets That Would Fit: 12

Step by step

1Values used
2Container fill rate
3Container Fill Rate= 62.04
4Volume Used= 42.000
5Unused Volume= 25.700
6Further Pallets That Would Fit= 12

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I optimise on volume or weight?

On whichever limit is reached first. Dense goods hit the payload limit at low volume fill; bulky goods fill the volume long before the weight limit. Mixing dense and light SKUs in one container fixes both.

Why does theoretical fill rarely exceed 85%?

Pallet gaps for handling, dunnage, load-securing space and the mismatch between pallet footprint and container width. A 40-foot container takes 20-21 standard pallets in one tier.