45' HC / L5G1
45ft high cube
45s are high cube by default; there is no standard-height 45. Needs a 45ft or extendable chassis, which is exactly why some carriers quietly decline them.
Outside, inside, and the door
What it looks like
Specification
| Measure | 45ft high cube |
|---|---|
| Exterior length | 540″ 45′ |
| Exterior width | 96″ 8′ |
| Exterior height | 114″ 9′ 6″ |
| Interior length | 533″ 44′ 5″ |
| Interior width | 92″ 7′ 8″ |
| Interior height | 106″ 8′ 10″ |
| Door opening width | 92″ 7′ 8″ |
| Door opening height | 101″ 8′ 5″ |
| Tare weight | 10,580 lb |
| Max payload | 56,620 lb |
| Max legal cargo weight | 41,700 lb |
| Max gross | 67,200 lb |
| Capacity | 3,043 cu ft |
| Chassis | 45ft or extendable, which is why some carriers decline these |
These are nominal figures for this equipment type. Real boxes vary by manufacturer, line and build year, and the tare is stencilled on the door of the unit you are actually getting. Send us the container number and we will confirm against the real one.
What a 45ft container is
A 45 is the long box: five feet more than a 40, and a high cube by default, since there is no standard height version in ordinary service. Outside it runs 45 ft by 8 ft by 9 ft 6 in. Inside, the nominal figures are about 44 ft 5 in by 7 ft 8 in by 8 ft 10 in, giving roughly 3,043 cu ft, with a door opening near 7 ft 8 in wide by 8 ft 5 in tall.
There is a second box that also calls itself a 45. The wide body version is 102 in across rather than 96, and those extra inches change what fits on the floor. On the Caribbean and Central America trades out of PortMiami and Port Everglades the wide body is common enough that a booking marked only 45 is worth checking. The figures on this page are the nominal ones for the 8 ft wide ISO box.
When a 45 is the right box
Volume at ordinary weight, and nothing else. The 45 gives you about 350 cu ft more than a 40ft high cube at the same height, which is two more pallet rows on the deck, and it does it inside one booking rather than two. For light, bulky freight moving on a trade where the size is offered, that is the cheapest cubic foot on the water.
It is the wrong box whenever weight is the binding constraint. It is heavier empty than any 40, at around 10,580 lb, and it rides on a heavier chassis, so the legal road cargo lands at 41,700 lb, below both the standard 40 and the 40ft high cube. Dense freight belongs in a 20 or a 40. And if the cargo is wider than a pallet pair rather than longer, the answer is the 102 in wide body rather than more length.
What people get wrong: the chassis, and where the weight limit comes from
The 45 does not fit the standard 40ft chassis that sits in every yard. It needs a fixed 45 or an extendable, and that is the single practical reason some operations quietly decline the size. It is worth saying the length out loud at the first ask, because the equipment has to be planned rather than found on the morning of the move.
The 41,700 lb road figure is published, not derived here: Crowley lists it for both its 96 in and 102 in wide 45s. It is what remains of the 80,000 lb legal gross once the tractor, a 45 ft chassis and the container's tare come out. The chassis also carries a rating of its own, and on a legal move it is the road gross that binds first. On a permitted overweight move the order can reverse, because a permit raises what the combination may weigh while a pool extendable still caps how much loaded container it is rated to carry. Two different limits, and the lower one always wins.
What to send to get it booked
Say 45 first and say whether it is the 96 in ISO box or the 102 in wide body, because those two answers decide the chassis and the load plan before anything else is discussed. Then the container number, the steamship line and the terminal, which settle the gate requirement and the appointment.
After that the ordinary details: delivery address, last free day, and the cargo weight as it reads on the bill of lading. If the load is close to 41,700 lb, say so, since an overweight 45 is a permit conversation and a different piece of equipment rather than a heavier version of the same move. If the delivery is tight for a 40, it will be tighter for this: forty five feet of box behind a tractor needs room to turn in and room to leave.
Comes off
Goes to
Questions
Straight answers
Why do some carriers refuse a 45ft container?
Because of the chassis. A 45 does not ride on the standard 40ft equipment that sits in every yard, so it needs either a fixed 45 or an extendable, and an operation that does not keep those on hand has to go and find one. The refusal is rarely about the box being difficult on the road. It is about whether the equipment under it is available on the day you need it, which is why a 45 is worth naming as a 45 when you first ask.
Is there a standard height 45ft container?
Not in normal service. A 45 is a high cube by default, 9 ft 6 in tall outside, which is why the size is often written as 45 HC even when nobody says the words. So if you have a 45 arriving you can plan on roughly 8 ft 10 in of interior height and a door opening around 8 ft 5 in, and you should plan the travel height the way you would for any high cube rather than the way you would for an 8 ft 6 in box.
How much more does a 45 hold than a 40ft high cube?
About 3,043 cu ft against 2,695 on the nominal figures, so roughly 350 cu ft, which is the extra five feet of floor at the same height. In pallet terms it is usually two more rows on the deck. What it does not give you is more weight: the 45 is heavier empty at around 10,580 lb, and its published legal road cargo is 41,700 lb, which is less than either 40.
Is a 45ft container legal on the highway in Florida?
Yes, on the right chassis. The length is handled by the chassis it rides on rather than by a permit, which is why the equipment question comes first and the legal question rarely comes up at all. Weight is the ordinary constraint: the published road figure for a 45 is 41,700 lb of cargo, which is what is left of the 80,000 lb legal gross once a tractor, a 45 ft chassis and the box's own tare are subtracted.
How do I know if my 45 is the wide body?
Check the width on the booking or measure the box. The ISO 45 is 8 ft wide outside like every other container. The wide body version used heavily on the South Florida trades is 102 in, about 8 ft 6 in, and it is seven inches wider inside. They are not interchangeable at a dock and the pallet pattern is different in each, so it is worth settling before the load plan is drawn rather than when the doors open.
What are the inside dimensions of a 45ft high cube?
Interior length, width and height are listed in the specification table on this page, alongside the exterior dimensions and the door opening. The door opening is the one that decides whether a machine fits, and it is smaller than the interior.
What chassis does a 45ft high cube need?
45ft or extendable, which is why some carriers decline these. We carry the chassis, so a booking does not depend on what the terminal has available that morning.
Can you handle it overweight?
Yes, on the right chassis and with the right permit. Overweight is a separate conversation from the container size, and the ports have their own limits on top of the state's.
Where do you pull 45ft high cubes from?
Port of Miami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach, POMTOC, South Florida Container Terminal, Seaboard Marine, Florida International Terminal, Port Everglades Terminal, Crowley, King Ocean, MSC, Tropical Shipping, Antillean Marine, FEC Port Everglades ICTF, FEC Hialeah rail ramp and CSX ramp.
What is the last free day?
The last day your container can sit inside the terminal before storage charges start. Miss it and demurrage begins accruing daily, which is why a pre-pull is almost always cheaper than waiting.
What is a pre-pull?
We collect the container from the terminal before you are ready for it and hold it on a yard. It stops demurrage running at terminal rates and it takes the pressure off your receiving schedule.
What is the difference between demurrage, per diem and detention?
Three different charges from different parties. Demurrage is the terminal charging you for cargo sitting inside the gate past free time. Per diem is the shipping line charging you for keeping their container out past free time. Detention is the trucker's time, charged when a driver waits at your dock beyond the free window. They can run at the same time, which is how a bill gets ugly fast.
How do I get a rate?
Send the lane, the equipment, the container size and the port, and we come back with a number. Quotes and dispatch run 24 hours a day at quotes@dariaslogistics.com.
What does a drayage quote actually include?
The move itself, plus the accessorials people get surprised by later: chassis, pre-pull, per diem, demurrage, detention and storage. We would rather name them up front than add them to an invoice.