Container Type and Shipping Type

Container Sizes

There are generally three types of containers used in shipping from China to US.

20'GP = 20'DV = 20FT = 20′ = 20 feet general purpose (20'GP) 40'GP = 40'DV = 40FT = 40′ = 40 feet general purpose (40'GP) 40'HC = 40'HQ = 40 feet high cube

The 20'GP is usually used in carrying heavy goods.

The 40'GP is usually used to carry voluminous cargo.

Note: The max load of a 20'GP and a 40'GP is the same. In China, for example, the maximum load for both types of containers is 27-28 tons.

A general purpose container is used for dry goods and is interchangeably termed as Dry Container (DC). Products that are made of liquid or gas are placed in solid containers which are then measured by volume and classified as special.

Both FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than Container Load) are available for sea freight shipping from China to USA.

If you are planning on using full container loads for your shipping from China to US, there are options that go by the volume:

FCL 20" – with a 33.2 cubic meter volume

FCL 40" – with a 67.7 cubic meter volume

FCL 40" HQ – with a 76.3 cubic meter volume

Additional notes:

• LCL demands more work for the freight forwarder which can ramp up the costs.
• Tracking of items is much harder for LCL.
• Lost, misplaced and damage of goods is unlikely to happen with FCL compared to LCL.