Are you a new and inexperienced shipper looking for ways to save money by ensuring maximum storage in your shipping container?

We’ve got some great tips for you to help maximise storage with a perfectly productive and cost-effective shipment strategy!

Consider the weight and packaging of your goods

The first thing to look at is the packaging of your goods. Choosing a box that’s just the right size can help you avoid taking up unnecessary space.

Another efficient way to save up space is by labelling boxes with H (heavy) and L (light) according to standard shipping procedures. This can help you ensure that lighter items are not placed in boxes that are just too big for them. As for the larger and heavier items, the best thing you can do is make room for them at the back of the shipping container.

Palletising and Dunnage for loose cargo safety

Once your container is efficiently loaded it’s time to consider safety and loose cargo. Adding dunnage and pallets helps fill the gaps in between the cargo boxes to prevent jostling of the goods in case of bumpy roads.

Dunnage usually implied wooden boards in the past but they have now transitioned to spring-loaded systems with pockets and sockets. Besides this pillows and bubble wrap can also be used as pallets and dunnage.

How many pallets can you stack in a shipping container?

Pallets have three size options:

  1. Standard Pallets
  2. EUR Pallets
  3. Australian Standard Pallets

Each pallet has a different size and so the number of pallet used to occupy maximum space in shipping containers is different. In the case of 20ft containers, the placement method used for maximum storage is:

  • 10 Standard Pallets of dimensions 1200 x 1000mm
  • 11 EUR Pallets of dimensions 1200 x 800mm
  • 10 Australian Standard Pallets of dimensions 1165 x 1165mm

Besides pallets and dunnage, locks, lockboxes, alarm systems, and fencing can also be used to secure cargo.

It’s also important to ensure that you choose the right size shipping container to meet your needs. Too small a container and you are going to struggle to pack it efficiently. Too large, and you are going to need to find extra padding materials to ensure safe transport.

If you’re new to shipping and you can’t find the right shipping container to meet your needs, come and see the team at Shipping Containers Adelaide. We can help you get the right container to meet your needs.