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How many containers does your house need?
A 40′ high cube holds about 66 m³ of packed furniture, roughly a 4–5 bedroom house without the kitchen. Stone and tile fill a container by weight long before it looks full. List your pieces to see the plan.
About 32.1 m³ and 3,750 kg packed: ship it as 1 × 40′ high cube, about $20,000 to your door through our logistics partner ($9,750 of it sea freight to Houston).
Ways to ship it
| Option | Containers | Sea freight (range) | To your door |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20′ containers | 2 × 20′ | $11,900–$14,300 | $26,237 |
| 40′ high cubes ✓ | 1 × 40′ high cube | $8,850–$10,650 | $20,000 |
Plan the container with us. Send us your list. We'll consolidate several factories into one container, inspect everything before it's loaded and send you the loading photos.
Talk it through with Vinay
Not sure about a quote, a category or your timing? Tell us what you're weighing up and you'll get an honest answer, usually within a day.
Keep it
Everything you work out in these tools adds up in one project: your budget, containers, dates and trip. Save it to get a link by email, or print it.
How we work it out
Each piece uses a typical packed volume and weight for export (for example a 3-seat sofa about 1.7 m³ and 90 kg, a king bed 1.6 m³, 10 m² of 2 cm marble about 0.3 m³ and 560 kg). We plan on 28 m³ usable in a 20′ and 66 m³ in a 40′ high cube, about 85% of the internal volume, because furniture never packs perfectly, and on a safe cargo weight for road delivery (18 t in a 20′, 20 t in a 40′).
We then compare shipping it in a shared container (charged per m³, sensible up to about 15 m³), in 20′ containers, in 40′ high cubes and the cheapest mix, using freight ranges for your port from public index rates. Freight moves every week; a forwarder's quote fixes it.
Sources
- SVIKARR client shipment: full 40′ high cube, Foshan to Dallas, door to door (Oct 2026)
- Freightos Baltic Index FBX01, China to North America West Coast
- Xeneta weekly ocean container market update (8 Oct 2026)
- Drewry World Container Index (weekly)
- Daily Cargo News: Australian rates (16 Oct 2026)
Rates and rules last checked 15 October 2026.
Questions
How much furniture fits in a 40-foot container?
About 66 m³ of packed furniture in a 40′ high cube: typically a 4–5 bedroom house of furniture, or a smaller house plus its kitchen. A 20′ holds about 28 m³.
When is a shared container (LCL) cheaper?
Up to roughly 15 m³. Above that a 20′ of your own usually costs about the same and is handled less.
Why does weight matter?
Roads limit how heavy a loaded container can be. A 20′ full of marble or tile hits that limit while half empty, so heavy materials often go in 20′ containers.