Mixed Container Loading Guide

1. Container capacity — plan with usable CBM

Nominal container volumes are not loading volumes. Cartons are rectangular, cartons cannot be compressed and the last row never fits perfectly, so plan with usable CBM and stay under the payload limit. The numbers below are planning estimates; the forwarder confirms the actual container spec.

Container	Nominal CBM	Usable CBM (planning estimate)	Max payload (estimate)	Best for
20ft GP	33.2	26–28	≈28,000 kg	First order, 6–10 SKUs, mixed cartons.
40ft GP	67.7	54–57	≈28,800 kg	Bulk cartons, one or two categories.
40ft HQ	76.4	62–66	≈28,600 kg	Voluminous parts: bumpers, body kits, panels.
20ft palletised	33.2	20–22 (10 pallets)	≈24,000 kg	When your warehouse needs pallets, not floor stacks.

Watch out

Plan to fill about 85–90% of usable CBM. A container that is too light is fine; one packed past the payload limit gets rejected at the port.

2. CBM per part family

These are the packed volumes we use for load planning. They are averages across suppliers and change with packaging — always ask for the measured carton dimensions on the quotation packing list, not a catalogue number.

Part family	Packing	Volume per unit (est.)	Weight per unit (est.)
LED headlamp pair (D-Max, Revo)	1 pair per foam carton	0.09–0.12 CBM	6–7 kg
LED tail lamp pair	1 pair per foam carton	0.06–0.09 CBM	4–5 kg
Door mirror pair	1 pair per foam carton	0.05–0.08 CBM	3.5–4 kg
Front bumper	1 pc per carton	0.12–0.20 CBM	9–12 kg
Steel fender	1 pc per carton	0.08–0.12 CBM	7–9 kg
Hood / bonnet	1 pc per double-wall carton	0.20–0.30 CBM	12–15 kg
Body kit (full set)	1 set per double-wall carton	0.45–0.60 CBM	13–16 kg
Fender flares (4 pcs)	1 set per carton	0.15–0.20 CBM	6–7 kg
Chrome handle covers (100 sets)	100 sets per carton	0.05–0.07 CBM	20–25 kg

3. A real 20ft mixed load plan

This is the pattern we use for a first-time distributor who wants wide coverage rather than depth on one SKU. Total volume lands at roughly 26 CBM with room for the last row — a 20ft GP with about 3,000 kg of cargo.

Example mix: 40 pairs LED headlamps (≈4.2 CBM), 40 pairs tail lamps (≈3.0 CBM), 30 pairs mirrors (≈2.0 CBM), 20 body kits (≈11.0 CBM), 40 flare sets (≈7.0 CBM), 10 bumpers (≈1.6 CBM) ≈ 28.8 CBM — trim 2–3 kits to land safely under 28 CBM. Adjust with the measured carton sizes.
Keep one side aisle clear during loading for the loader; seal only after the count is verified.
Photograph the half-loaded and full container; you will need it if a carton arrives crushed.

Layer	What goes there	Example mix	Rule
Floor, front	Heavy, rigid, flat cartons	Bumpers, steel fenders, hoods	Max 1.2 m stack; label facing the door.
Floor, rear	Medium cartons	Body kits, flares, mirror pairs	Heaviest of this group closest to the doors.
Second layer	Cartons that can carry weight	Headlamp pairs and tail lamps in their cartons	Never stack lamps more than 2 cartons high.
Top layer	Light, fragile or awkward	Chrome accessories, small cartons, loose fills	Fill voids with carton dunnage, not loose parts.

4. Packing rules that prevent claims

Body parts fail in transit for three reasons: lens cartons crushed under heavy loads, painted surfaces rubbing, and steel panels sliding into each other. The fixes are cheap and belong in the packing specification, not in a damage claim.

Lamps: foam-lined cartons, two cartons maximum stacking, “this side up” marks — and don’t put body kits on top of them.
Painted parts: polyethylene film plus foam corners; do not use newspaper (ink transfer to paint).
Steel panels: E-coat protection, paper interleaving between panels, corner protectors.
Mirrors: mirror glass wrapped separately; arm and housing in the same carton to avoid misplacement.
Hardware kits: bagged and taped inside the carton — loose screws are the most common shortage claim.
Carton marks: SKU, description, quantity, side (LH/RH), destination market, barcode where required.

Watch out

If your warehouse receives palletised, tell us at quotation. Palletising in China adds 1–2 CBM of height but cuts unloading time and damage at destination.

5. Documents that match the physical load

The packing list is the link between the container, the customs declaration and your warehouse system. Build it from the measured carton dimensions, not from nominal volumes, and make sure the SKU, quantity and carton number match what is physically loaded.

Packing list: SKU, description, quantity, cartons, net/gross weight, measured CBM per SKU.
Carton numbering: sequential numbers on every carton, printed once and not reused.
Loading report: container number, seal number, loading date, total cartons, total CBM.
Commercial invoice: values per SKU consistent with the packing list quantities.
Conformity documents: per SKU, matching the HS codes on the invoice.

Take-away checklist