How many CBM in a 45ft High Cube container?
The quick answer
A 45ft high cube container holds about 86 m³ inside, which is 3,037 ft³. The inside runs 13.56 m long, 2.35 m wide and 2.70 m high. Real loads fill less than that, because pallet decks and gaps take space.
- Pallets on the floor — about 24 US pallets at 48 by 40 in. Or 27 Euro pallets.
- Weight limit — about 27,600 kg of cargo. Road rules inland often cap it lower.
- Pallet wide is a wider variant — about 2.44 m wide inside, not 2.35 m. It takes 33 Euro pallets.
- Working out a load plan? Need the carton count? Work it out in the container loading calculator.
A 45ft High Cube holds about 86 m³ (CBM) — the largest standard dry box, longer and taller than a 40ft. It is used when you need maximum volume for lightweight cargo on lanes that allow the extra length.
Internal volume
86 m³
3,037 ft³
GMA pallets
24
single layer
Euro pallets
27
single layer
Max payload
28 t
27,600 kg
45ft High Cube container dimensions
These are the inside measurements, the space you can actually load. The outside size, the door opening and the other boxes are side by side on the shipping container dimensions page.
| Internal length | 13.56 m | 44' 5" |
| Internal width | 2.35 m | 7' 8" |
| Internal height | 2.7 m | 8' 10" |
| Capacity (CBM) | 86 m³ | 3,037 ft³ |
| Max payload | 27,600 kg | 60,848 lb |
| Equivalent | 2 TEU | 45' HC |
24 US pallets, or 27 Euro
The extra 1.53 m of length over a 40ft adds pallet positions. On the 13.56 m floor, 48 × 40 in pallets fit 24 in one layer: a line of 13 with the 48-inch side across, next to a line of 11 with the 40-inch side across. Euro pallets fit 27 the same way (16 + 11). The pallet-wide 45ft used in Europe is a different box, about 2.44 m wide inside, built to take 33 Euro pallets.
How many cartons fit in 86 m³?
With 60 × 40 × 40 cm cartons all the same way up, 22 fit along the 13.56 m, 5 across and 6 high: 660 cartons, against 600 in a 40ft high cube. On paper 86 m³ would hold about 895, so, as in any box, the real count depends on how well your carton divides into it. Try your carton in the container loading calculator.
The biggest standard dry box: 10 CBM over a 40ft HQ
A 45ft high cube adds about 1.5 m of internal length over a 40ft (roughly 13.56 vs 12.03 m) at the same high-cube height, which nets ~86 m³ — 10 CBM (about 13%) more than a 40ft HQ and nearly 19 CBM more than a standard 40ft. The extra length adds four GMA or three Euro pallet positions per floor layer (24 GMA / 27 Euro), so genuinely bulky, light freight gets one more container's worth of margin before splitting the shipment.
With ~27,600 kg of payload across 86 m³, the break-even density is about 321 kg/m³ — the lowest of the standard dry boxes. The 45ft is squarely a volume machine: garments, furniture, plastics, e-commerce cartons.
Availability and lane caveats before you book one
45-footers are less common than 40s, so check availability on your lane before you plan around one, and compare its price with a 40ft high cube. It only pays when your cargo really uses the extra 10 m³; if you would fill 70 m³, a 40ft high cube is enough.
The extra length also matters on the road: a 45ft on a chassis is a longer combination, and some countries and routes restrict it or require specific equipment. In Europe, 45ft 'pallet-wide' variants exist specifically to take 33 Euro pallets on intra-European moves — a different box from the standard 45ft covered here. Confirm door-delivery feasibility with the trucker before committing.
Frequently asked questions
How many CBM is a 45ft container?
About 86 m³ inside, from dimensions of 13.56 × 2.35 × 2.70 m; Blue Water Shipping lists it as 85 m³. That is about 10 m³ more than a 40ft high cube.
How much weight can a 45ft high cube carry?
About 27,600 kg of cargo in Blue Water Shipping's spec, with the box weighing about 4,800 kg empty. Road rules on the inland leg can allow less.
How much bigger is a 45ft than a 40ft high cube?
It is 1.53 m longer inside, with the same width and height. That adds about 10 m³, 4 US pallet positions (24 against 20) and 3 Euro positions (27 against 24).
What is a pallet-wide 45ft container?
A European version about 2.44 m wide inside instead of 2.35 m. That is wide enough for three Euro pallets side by side, so 11 rows take 33 Euro pallets, the same as a European truck trailer.