Booking a 20ft or 40ft Container? Watch this before you book. Learn how to pick the right container size for shipping from China, avoid overpaying on customs duty, and save real money.
Many first-time importers waste money by booking the wrong container size. In this video, we break down the real price difference between 20ft, 40ft, and 40HQ containers, the 28-ton maximum weight limit every container shares, and why bigger isn't always better when you're shipping heavy goods like machinery. We also explain how customs duty is actually calculated. Based on the value of your goods, not the container size. With a real example of someone paying more duty on a 20ft container than another person paid on a 40ft. If you're new to importing from China or unsure which container to book, this is a practical, no-fluff breakdown to help you decide. Drop a comment or message us if you need help booking your next shipment.
⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – 20ft vs 40ft vs 40HQ: Price Difference Explained 01:30 – Choosing Container Size by Product Type 02:29 – Maximum Weight Limit (28 Tons Rule) 03:17 – Why Heavy Cargo Doesn't Need a Bigger Container 04:07 – Real Example: Machinery Shipments 04:46 – Saving Money on Heavy Product Shipments 05:33 – Customs Duty: Size vs Product Value 06:18 – Real Case: 20ft Paying More Duty Than 40ft 07:03 – Why 40ft Is Usually More Profitable 07:46 – LCL & Consolidation Service Explained 08:25 – Container Booking & Customs Clearance Support 09:04 – Why We Made This Video
📌 About DAKS Group We help buyers ship and source products from China with reliable container booking, customs clearance, quality inspection, and door-to-door delivery. Whether you need a full container load, less-than-container load, or help sourcing from a factory, our team manages the entire process from China to your country.
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This video provides a comprehensive guide on choosing the right shipping container size when importing goods from China. It explains the differences between 20ft, 40ft, and 40HQ containers, emphasizing that the choice should be based on a balance of volume (CBM) and weight to maximize profit and avoid unnecessary costs.
The size of the container you book can cause you to run at a very huge loss or generate huge profits.
Hello, lovely people! Welcome back to my YouTube channel. In this video, I'll be teaching you all
the details needed for you to know before you decide the size of a container you should book
To ship your item from China to your country or any country in the world, well, we have three main
Types of containers and they differ based on their sizes. We have the 20-foot, and we have the 40.
feet, and we have the 40 HQ containers, which differ based on the space they can occupy or the space your items require
can be loaded into your 20-foot container; I have approximately 33 cbm, and the 40-foot container holds about 65 cbm.
48 You have approximately 73 to 75 CBM. If you're new here and don't understand CBM, CBM simply means
cubic meter—the space inside that container, well, if you're shipping goods or importing items
from one country to another country, which of these sizes should you consider? This is very, very
Important, in terms of prices, the differences in prices between 20-foot, 40-foot, and 40 HQ are
Almost insignificant. The difference is not much; for example, 20 feet can be about 3,500.
and 40 feet can be about 4,500, which is a difference of only 1,000, but they have
A 20-foot space is almost twice the size of a 40-foot container; therefore, you must book a 40-foot container.
container when your items are not up to 40 feet, not really, so before thinking
or deciding which size of container you should book, one thing you need to know is what kind of products
What kind of products are you shipping, and next is the weight of those products.
Now, before you consider the type of products you are loading or shipping
The most important thing you need to know is 20 feet of container, 40 feet of container
and 40-foot containers have a maximum weight limit for the items you can load, no matter how you do it, you shouldn't exceed it
exceed that maximum weight, and the funny thing is that all these container sizes have the same
the maximum weight or load you can put in that container is approximately 28 tons if you have
20 feet, 40 feet, 40 HQ—in all these containers, even though they differ in size, but they
The weight of the items you load into the container must not exceed 28 tons.
Therefore, this is very important—you need to know the weight, the total weight of all your
items, and next you need to know the total CBM of your items. Now that you know this
you can really tell which one of them you should book to load your items, for example
I mentioned that if you are loading machinery, these are heavy products that
means that even five machines can be almost equivalent to 28 tons, so that means if you are
You don't necessarily need to book a 40-foot container just because you can afford it when loading machines.
even if you think the cost difference between 20 feet and 40 feet is insignificant, it still does
do not necessarily mean that you should book a 40-foot container because at the end of the day if you
You're loading machinery, and only five machines weigh about 28 tons, which means you have more.
extra space in that container and that will still be a waste of money, so if you are loading items
which are heavy products, sometimes it's better to book a smaller size container as compared to
Booking a larger container size even though you don't think there's a significant difference in prices
It's so huge that the next important thing you need to consider is, from my personal experience.
Custom clearances for containers ranging from 20 feet to 40 feet in almost every country
It's almost the same; the duty to pay is almost the same. Usually, they don't consider the size of it.
The duty is usually based mostly on the value of the items in that container.
Can you believe that someone with a 20-foot container might pay more duty at the destination?
country compared to someone who has booked 40 feet of container, and the reason is because
of the value of the items, so if you load a 20-foot container with heavy machinery
which are very expensive, and someone loads 40-foot container full of, let's say, toilet paper
some products that are less expensive, which means that the person with the 20 feet of
The container will incur higher duty compared to someone with a 40-foot container, it doesn't.
it doesn't matter even if that person is larger in size compared to a 20-foot container
Now the best way to save money and costs is ensuring that you load 40 feet of container.
most shipping logistics do not load 20-foot containers, and the reason is because
With a 40-foot container, you can load other items in the same container.
lighter items, even if you have machinery or heavy-duty products in that container, so this
What are the basic important factors you need to consider when booking a container?
a container from my personal experience, I can really tell you that usually 40-foot containers
is more profitable compared to a 20-foot container, which is why you don't have to worry
Even if you are unable to load a container, you don't have to worry—we have several shipping options available.
logistics, such as our logistics based in China—what we do is help clients receive various kinds
of products, so if you have one 1 cbm or 0.5 cbm, you don't have to worry; all you have to do is to
Bring it to our warehouse; we have several customers who always bring the items to us as well.
They will consolidate all of them together and load them for you without any stress, and it will be good.
The news is that we will handle customs clearance in China and in your destination country, so if you need a full
Container load—if you need less than a full container load, all you have to do is contact us from China.
To Europe, to the US, to Africa, to Ghana—just contact us and we'll help you. If you're new here, don't forget.
to subscribe to this channel, like this video, and hit the notification bell—this really
to make more videos like this from China, yes, it's an early morning in China and
You can see this place here in the early morning in China, and I needed to make this video because
I have received several questions from many clients regarding which container size I should book.
If you need to book a container from China to load your items yourself, contact us—we can help.
We can also assist you with booking container services, and we can help you with customs clearance in China as well.
We can assist you with all documentation, especially within China and even in your destination country.
We can also assist you with customs clearance and everything else—just contact us.
Because we're here for you, thank you, Baba. Oh, there's a wedding happening here—let me show you.
Enjoy, let me make a quick vlog—people are getting married here.
So they are getting married.
so you can see this