FEU (Forty-foot Equivalent Unit)

An FEU, or Forty-foot Equivalent Unit, is the standard measurement for containerized shipping capacity. One FEU equals one 40-foot intermodal container, which is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8.5 feet tall (or 9.5 feet for a high-cube variant). When shipping lines, ports, and logistics analysts report throughput volumes, they typically use TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) or FEUs. One FEU equals two TEUs.

Physical Specifications

A standard 40-foot container has an internal length of approximately 39 feet 5 inches, an internal width of 7 feet 8 inches, and an internal height of 7 feet 10 inches. This gives it a usable volume of roughly 2,390 cubic feet. The maximum gross weight (container plus cargo) is 67,200 pounds (30,480 kilograms). The container itself weighs about 8,380 pounds, leaving approximately 58,820 pounds of payload capacity.

High-cube 40-foot containers add an extra foot of height, bringing the external height to 9 feet 6 inches and the internal height to 8 feet 10 inches. This increases the usable volume to about 2,700 cubic feet. High-cube containers have become the industry default for most dry cargo shipments because the additional volume accommodates taller pallets and more cartons per stack without a significant weight penalty. Most ocean carriers charge the same rate for standard and high-cube 40-foot containers.

FEU vs. TEU

Port throughput statistics are typically reported in TEUs. The Port of Los Angeles handled approximately 9.9 million TEUs in 2023. Converting to FEUs, that figure would be roughly 4.95 million FEUs if every container were a 40-footer. In practice, the mix includes both 20-foot and 40-foot containers, so the actual number of physical containers falls somewhere between the TEU count and the FEU equivalent.

Ocean carriers price freight by the container, not by the TEU or FEU as a unit of measure. A spot rate quote might read “$2,800 per 40-foot container, Shanghai to Long Beach.” That same carrier might quote $1,800 for a 20-foot container on the same lane. The 40-foot rate is not simply double the 20-foot rate because the carrier’s cost to handle and slot a 40-foot container is less than handling two 20-foot containers separately.

Loading Capacity

How much cargo fits in an FEU depends on the product. A 40-foot container of lightweight consumer goods (plastic kitchenware, toys, pillows) might fill the volume before reaching the weight limit. This is called “cubing out.” A container of heavy goods (tiles, canned food, metal parts) might hit the weight limit with space still available. This is called “weighing out.”

For FBA sellers importing goods, a typical 40-foot container holds 20 to 24 standard pallets (48 x 40 inches each) when loaded with a forklift. Floor-loaded containers (where cartons are stacked loose without pallets) can hold more product by volume because they eliminate the wasted space around and between pallet footprints. A floor-loaded 40-foot container might hold 25% to 30% more cartons than the same container loaded on pallets, but it requires significantly more labor to unload at the destination.

Cost Considerations

Shipping costs per FEU fluctuate dramatically based on trade lane, season, and market conditions. Trans-Pacific rates from China to the U.S. West Coast have ranged from under $1,500 per FEU during market lows to over $20,000 during the 2021 peak. As of early 2025, rates on that lane hover between $3,000 and $5,500 depending on the carrier and contract terms.

Beyond the ocean freight rate, an FEU shipment incurs origin charges (terminal handling, documentation, container loading), destination charges (port fees, chassis usage, drayage), and any applicable surcharges (fuel, peak season, canal transit). The total landed cost of moving one FEU from a factory in Shenzhen to a warehouse in Long Beach, including all charges, typically runs $4,500 to $8,000 at mid-market rates. Prep centers like MeisterPrep that handle container receiving and FBA prep can coordinate the final-mile logistics from port to warehouse, reducing the number of vendors a seller needs to manage.