Start from the carton, not the container
Insulation tube ships in cartons, and the carton is the unit that fills a container. Ours is 1850 × 320 × 360 mm, holding pieces of 1.83 m standard length. The inside diameter and wall thickness decide how many pieces go into that carton — the carton itself does not change with size.
That is the key point: two customers asking "how many metres in a 40HQ" for the same product can get answers a factor of two apart, because a 9 mm wall and a 25 mm wall do not pack the same number of pieces per carton. Any supplier who quotes a single number for "a container of tube" is either assuming a size or guessing.
Cartons per 40HQ — the geometry
A 40HQ has roughly 12.03 m internal length, 2.35 m width, 2.69 m height (nominal figures; individual containers vary by a few centimetres, which is why the last row of cartons sometimes does not close). Stack the 1850 × 320 × 360 mm carton on the most efficient orientation:
| Direction | Container | Carton | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 12,030 mm | 1,850 mm | 6 across |
| Width | 2,350 mm | 320 mm | 7 across |
| Height | 2,690 mm | 360 mm | 7 high |
6 × 7 × 7 = 294 cartons as a pure geometric maximum. Rotating the carton to run 1.85 m across the width gives 1 × 37 × 7 = 259, which is worse — so the orientation above is the one to load.
In practice nobody loads the geometric maximum. Expect to lose roughly 5–8 % to the gap at the doors, dunnage and lashing, and to the fact that the last column rarely closes flush. Plan on 270–280 cartons for a full container of tube, and confirm the final figure on the loading list rather than on the drawing.
From cartons to metres
This is the calculation to run with your own packing data:
cartons × pieces per carton × 1.83 m = metres per container
A worked example with made-up figures, only to show the mechanics: if your size packs 20 pieces per carton and the container takes 275 cartons, the load is 275 × 20 × 1.83 = 10,065 m. Change the pieces-per-carton and the answer moves — a 30-piece carton gives 50 % more metres in the same container.
We send the actual pieces-per-carton figures with the quotation, per size, because they are a production parameter rather than a catalogue constant. If you are calculating landed cost before ordering, ask for that table at enquiry stage — it is the number that decides whether your container is full of product or full of air.
When weight binds before volume
Closed-cell tube is light, so volume normally fills first — but not always. A 40HQ carries roughly 26 tonnes of payload, and at the top of the density range (90 kg/m³ to order, rather than the 65 kg/m³ standard) a dense order can reach the weight limit with cartons still to spare. It matters on heavy-wall, large-diameter runs. If your order is at the high-density end, tell us before booking and we will check both limits rather than discover the weight problem at the weighbridge.
Sheet and tape are a different calculation
Sheet ships in rolls of 1.0 m or 1.2 m wide × 10 m long, which stack flat and use a different floor plan; tape ships in 50 mm × 3 mm × 10 m rolls in far smaller cartons, so a container of tape is measured in thousands of rolls rather than hundreds of cartons. Do not extrapolate the tube figure to either of them.
Mixed containers
Most first orders are mixed: a few sizes of tube, some sheet, some tape. That is normal and it loads fine, but the arithmetic changes — the mixed pallet plan is worked out per order, not from a formula, because the carton heights differ and the loading sequence follows the delivery order. Send the split and we return a loading plan with the quotation.
One practical note on mixed loads: put the tape and small cartons at the doors and the tube against the front wall. It loads faster, it unloads faster at destination, and it puts the lashing where it does something.
Questions buyers ask
How many metres of tube are in one 40HQ?
There is no single answer, because the number of pieces per carton depends on the inside diameter and wall thickness. The container takes roughly 270–280 cartons of our standard 1850 × 320 × 360 mm carton; multiply that by the pieces per carton for your size and by 1.83 m, and you have the metres. We send the pieces-per-carton table with the quotation.
Why can't you just give me a number?
Because a 9 mm wall and a 25 mm wall do not hold the same number of pieces in the same carton, so a single figure would be right for one order and wrong for the next. We would rather give you the arithmetic and the per-size packing table than a number that makes your landed-cost calculation look finished when it is not.
Does a 20ft container make sense for a first order?
Often, yes. A 20ft holds roughly half the cartons and is easier to fill with a single size, which is what a first order usually is. The freight per tonne is higher, but you are not paying for air. Tell us the volume you expect to move and we will say which container size makes sense rather than defaulting to the bigger one.
Can we load different products in one container?
Yes, and most orders do. Mixed loading changes the plan rather than the principle: carton heights differ between products, so the pallet plan is worked out per order. Send the split by product and size and it comes back with the quotation, along with a loading sequence that keeps unloading at destination simple.