Why the unit count is not a simple division
Freight per cabinet is one of the largest single lines in the landed cost of a container of refrigeration equipment, and it is decided by a handful of dimensions that are rarely all stated on a quotation.
A 40-foot high cube has an internal length of roughly 12.03 m, a width of about 2.35 m, and a height of about 2.39 m. The door opening is around 2.34 m wide and 2.28 m high. That last figure is the one that quietly removes options: a cabinet packed taller than the door cannot be loaded upright at all, whatever the internal height says.
- Packed dimension, not product dimension — packaging adds 20 to 60 mm per side
- Whether the unit must travel upright, which rules out stacking
- Whether the plinth or feet are fitted or packed separately
- Whether pallets are used, because a pallet adds height and stops products sitting flush
A worked example
Take a two-door glass merchandiser with packed dimensions of 1 300 × 800 × 2 050 mm, travelling upright.
| Orientation | Along length | Across width | Units per tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet length along container length | 12.03 / 1.30 = 9 | 2.35 / 0.80 = 2 | 18 |
| Cabinet width along container length | 12.03 / 0.80 = 15 | 2.35 / 1.30 = 1 | 15 |
| Packed height 2.05 m vs door height 2.28 m | loads upright | no stacking possible | — |
So eighteen units, not fifteen and not the twenty-four that a rough volume calculation would suggest. The volume occupied is around 38 m³ out of roughly 67 m³ of internal volume — a volumetric efficiency of about 57%, which is normal for upright refrigeration equipment and is exactly why quoting freight by volume alone misleads.
Turn the cabinet ninety degrees and you lose three units. That is one of the reasons a supplier may ask to change a cabinet dimension by fifty millimetres: it can move a whole loading pattern onto the better orientation.
Typical counts for common cabinet types
The figures below are indicative for planning purposes only. Packed dimensions vary by model and by market, so treat them as a starting point and confirm against the actual packing list.
| Cabinet type | Typical packed size (mm) | Indicative units per 40HQ |
|---|---|---|
| One-door display cooler | 650 × 700 × 2 000 | about 45 |
| Two-door merchandiser | 1 300 × 800 × 2 050 | 18 |
| Three-door merchandiser | 1 880 × 800 × 2 050 | 12 |
| Chest freezer | 1 300 × 700 × 900 | about 27 |
| Upright freezer | 680 × 750 × 2 050 | about 48 |
| Counter / worktop unit | 1 200 × 700 × 900 | about 30 |
| Blast freezer | 800 × 850 × 1 900 | about 20 |
Before you book the container
- Ask for packed dimensions in writing for every model, not the catalogue dimensions
- Confirm packing orientation — the upright requirement is not negotiable on most cabinets
- Check whether the door opening clears the packed height with the plinth fitted
- Decide whether spares and accessories travel on the same container, and count them in the load
Mixed loads, part loads and damage
A mixed container is normal and usually a good use of space, but a mixed container full of tall cabinets with a few small units on top of them is a damage claim waiting to happen. Small units need their own floor positions, or a proper crate, not a space squeezed above a merchandiser.
For a first order, a part load or an LCL shipment is sometimes the right call, and it is worth being honest about the trade. On LCL the cartons are handled more often at both ends, and the damage rate rises accordingly. Many first-time importers send one container to a single port and consolidate inland, which keeps the equipment on the floor of a container for the whole sea leg.
What to send us to get a real number
Send the model list and quantities, the destination port, whether you want spares on the same container, and whether the goods will move inland on arrival. We will come back with a loading plan, the actual unit count, and the container type it needs — for most orders that is a fifteen-minute exercise and it prevents the most expensive kind of surprise.
Tan runs the sheet-metal area at Dixue and has been building commercial refrigeration cabinets for eighteen years.
