The maximum cargo weight is 55,000 pounds for a 20-foot container (53,000 pounds for a 20-foot tank). No container loaded with a load capacity greater than that indicated will be moved. The maximum capacity of a 20-foot container is 28,200 kg with a cubic capacity of 33 cubic meters.
If this is your first time exporting, you will surely have doubts about the maximum amount of cargo you can carry in a shipping container.
With the SOLAS Convention currently in force, the measures taken against overweight containers have become stricter. Most shipping companies will allow you to load the container for two or three hours before you start paying them.Before the shipping container arrives, make sure you have it installed in your home so you can start loading it. Shippers should note that, taking into account the weight of the truck, chassis and container, the maximum gross vehicle weight cannot exceed 36,287 kg (80,000 pounds), which is the basic legal limit for U.S. road transport UU. Please note that containers loaded up to the rail cargo weight limit cannot be moved on the road, as the container will exceed 80,000 pounds.
An excess weight of the cargo could generate additional costs, since it will be necessary to disassemble the cargo and repackage it in two containers, internal expenses, etc. To comply with the SOLAS regulation, the shipper must provide the actual verified gross mass of the container, which is the total weight of the cargo plus the tara of the container. The SOLAS amendments say that the shipper has the responsibility to provide adequate weight verification to load the full container overseas from a vessel. Shippers must distribute the weight evenly throughout the container or the container may be subject to an axle weight violation. The open roof design allows loading and unloading the load with a crane or other heavy equipment, making it easy to transport large or heavy items.
Open-top containers are a type of shipping container that has an open top, allowing for easy loading and unloading of cargo that is too tall to fit in a standard container. The maximum weight that U.S. railroads will accept or deliver to carry wagons is (including the weight of the container) 52,900 pounds (23,995 kg) in the case of a container of 20 units and 67,200 pounds.
