Sea Can Sizes: Complete Shipping Container Dimensions Guide for Canada (2026)

By Paul LeBlanc, owner, and Christian LeBlanc, second-generation operator, Van Blanc Ent. Inc.

Reading time: 16 minutes

Why Do Sea Can Dimensions Matter More Than Buyers Think?

Sea can dimensions matter because the external size on the spec sheet is not the size you actually load. A 20ft container is 19ft 4in inside and the door is only 7ft 6in tall. Those few inches decide whether your equipment fits, so buyers should size every load against interior length and door height, never the exterior label.

Most buyers calling about a sea can know the rough size they need. “I want a 40-footer.” “Looking for a 20.” Then they ask the price, the lead time, the delivery cost. Then somewhere in the third or fourth call (or sometimes after delivery, which is the worst time), they hit the dimension that nobody mentioned: the door height. Or the interior width. Or the offset between the 40 feet on the spec sheet and the 39 feet 5 inches actually inside.

The shipping container is one of the most standardised industrial objects on earth. ISO 668 has governed its external dimensions since 1968. The 20ft and 40ft Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) framework is what makes the global supply chain work. But the dimensions that matter to the buyer in Brantford or Belleville or Brockville are not the ones that matter to the ship. The dimensions that matter to you are the ones that decide whether your tractor fits, whether your job site office gives you headroom under the door header, and whether the truck can actually deliver to your driveway. This guide lays them all out, in plain numbers, in the order the buyer cares, and if you want the same figures organised by length and grade rather than by use case, we keep a companion breakdown of every container length we stock. When the dimensions are settled and you are ready to shop, our rundown of sea cans for sale in Canada covers grades, inspection, and the buying path.

Master Dimensions Table (Every Size in One Place)

One chart, every name. Whether you searched sea can sizes, seacan dimensions, c-can sizes, or the spelled-out 20 foot sea can, these are the numbers that decide fit, in imperial with metric where it counts.

Numbers reflect ISO 6346 / ISO 1496 standard external dimensions and typical interior dimensions. Tare and payload weights vary slightly by manufacturer and age of unit, and if you are working out trailer or pad loads we walk through what an empty and a fully loaded box actually weighs separately. The 53ft is the only size in the table not governed by ISO (it is a North American domestic intermodal standard, not an ocean-shipping ISO container). All sizes carry forklift pockets at the base, twist-lock fittings at the corners, and a single set of double doors at one end (20ft, 40ft) or sometimes both ends (custom open-end units).

The Three Dimensions That Trip Most Buyers Up

Three numbers cause most of the disappointment we see at delivery. Buyers planning carefully who somehow miss these end up with a unit that does not work for the use they bought it for. Here they are, in the order they trip people:

Door height (7ft 6in on standard, 8ft 5in on High Cube)

The door opening is shorter than the interior height. On a standard 8ft 6in container, the inside is 7ft 10in tall but the door opening is only 7ft 6in. That four-inch difference is the door header beam. It is structural, it cannot be cut, and it is what catches buyers loading tall equipment. A pallet stacked 7ft 7in fits inside but cannot be wheeled in through the door. A car on a trailer with a roof rack often clears the inside but scrapes the header. On a High Cube the door opens to 8ft 5in (with 8ft 10in interior), so the same four-inch offset still applies. Always size your load against the door height, not the interior height.

Interior length (7-8 inches less than the spec)

A 20ft container is 19ft 4in inside, not 20ft. A 40ft is 39ft 5in inside. The walls, end frames, and door reinforcements eat 7 to 8 inches off the spec length. On a 20ft this matters less. On a 40ft loaded with palletised goods, that 7 inches is the difference between fitting 20 standard pallets in two rows of 10 versus running into the rear wall on the last pallet. Always work with interior length when planning storage layout.

Interior width (7ft 8in, not 8ft)

The container is 8ft wide outside. Inside it is 7ft 8in. The 4-inch wall thickness on each side is steel and bracing. Most North American pallets (48 inches wide) fit two abreast across the interior with about 4 inches of clearance, which is fine for forklift work. Euro pallets (48 inches wide on long side) fit the same way. But anything close to 8ft wide does not fit, period. We have had buyers measure their equipment at 7ft 11in and assume it would slide in. It does not. The interior is 7ft 8in and the door is 7ft 8in and that is the cap.

How Big Is a 20ft Shipping Container?

A 20ft shipping container is the size that moves out of our Brantford yard more than any other unit. It is the size that fits a residential driveway. It is the unit that handles most farm use cases that are not whole-harvest scale. It is the pop-up retail kiosk, the backyard workshop, the garage extension, the cottage equipment shelter. The dimensions decide whether each of those use cases works.

• Exterior: 20ft 0in long, 8ft 0in wide, 8ft 6in tall (6.06 m × 2.44 m × 2.59 m)
• Interior: 19ft 4in long, 7ft 8in wide, 7ft 10in tall (5.90 m × 2.34 m × 2.39 m)
• Door opening: 7ft 8in wide, 7ft 6in tall (2.34 m × 2.28 m)
• Tare weight: approximately 2,300 kg (5,070 lb) empty
• Max gross: 30,480 kg (67,200 lb) as marked on the CSC plate
• Internal volume: 33.2 m³ (1,172 ft³), roughly 11 standard 48-inch pallets at floor level

Common 20ft use cases and the dimension that decides them

20ft High Cube: When the Extra Foot Pays

The 20ft High Cube has the same length and width as a standard 20ft, but the exterior height is 9ft 6in instead of 8ft 6in. The interior gains an extra foot, going from 7ft 10in to 8ft 10in. The door opening matches: 8ft 5in instead of 7ft 6in. That single foot of extra headroom is the difference for several specific use cases:

• Tall equipment storage. Anything pushing 7ft 7in tall does not clear a standard 20ft door. On a HC, you have 8ft 5in to work with. Equipment with raised ROPS, taller dirt-bike storage racks, hanging tool storage, all clear easily.
• Residential conversion. The 8ft 10in interior height lets you frame an interior ceiling at 8ft (standard residential) and still have 10 inches of mechanical space above for HVAC ducts, electrical, lighting plenum. A standard 20ft conversion ends up with a 7ft ceiling, which feels low.
• Stacked pallets. Two 48-inch pallets stacked is 96 inches plus pallet wood, roughly 100 inches. That fits easily in the 106-inch HC interior; in a standard 20ft (94-inch interior), the second pallet grinds the ceiling.

20ft HC supply runs about 10 to 15 percent thinner than standard 20ft, so prices are slightly higher; the height premium is one of several factors we explain in our guide to what moves a quote up or down by grade and size. For most buyers needing the height, the upgrade is worth it. If you are torn between the two 20ft heights, our side-by-side look at the 20ft High Cube and the Standard settles it with the headroom, supply, and clearance math.

How Big Is a 40ft Shipping Container?

A 40ft shipping container is twice the length of a 20ft, almost the same delivery cost, and a substantially better value per square foot for buyers who have the room and the access for tilt-deck delivery. When you are shopping a 40 ft sea can for sale, the sea can sales rundown walks the grades and what moves the quote.

• Exterior: 40ft 0in long, 8ft 0in wide, 8ft 6in tall (12.19 m × 2.44 m × 2.59 m)
• Interior: 39ft 5in long, 7ft 8in wide, 7ft 10in tall (12.01 m × 2.34 m × 2.39 m)
• Door opening: 7ft 8in wide, 7ft 6in tall (2.34 m × 2.28 m)
• Tare weight: approximately 3,800 kg (8,380 lb)
• Max gross: 30,480 kg (67,200 lb)
• Internal volume: 67.7 m³ (2,390 ft³), roughly 21 standard 48-inch pallets at floor level (two rows of ten plus one)

The 40ft is the unit most industrial buyers actually want, and the export industry runs almost entirely on this size. For a Brantford or Cambridge manufacturer running a parts buffer, a 40ft Cargo Worthy holds a substantial finished-goods inventory. For a Sudbury mining contractor, two 40ft units side by side become a base camp. For a Norfolk County farmer with a 4,000-acre operation, a 40ft is the size that holds a year’s worth of round bales.

40ft High Cube: The Real Volume Champion

The 40ft HC is the volume king of standard ISO containers. Same length and width as a 40ft standard, exterior height 9ft 6in, interior 8ft 10in, door 8ft 5in. Internal volume is 76.3 m³ (2,694 ft³), roughly 13 percent more than a 40ft standard. The HC is what most buyers actually want for any use case where ceiling height matters: residential conversions, tall equipment, stacked pallets, a job-site office where you can stand up under the door header without ducking.

HC supply has been better than standard for the last decade because most international shipping has migrated to High Cube. Prices on used HC are often the same as or below standard 40ft, simply because the supply is bigger. If you have the room and the access, default to a 40ft HC over a 40ft standard. The extra foot pays for itself.

45ft and 53ft: Lengths Most Suppliers Skip

The 45ft is the longest size in the global ISO ocean fleet. It is 8ft wider than a 40ft and the same High Cube exterior height (9ft 6in). Interior: 44ft 4in long, 7ft 8in wide, 8ft 10in tall. Volume 86 m³ (3,040 ft³), about 13 percent more than a 40ft HC. 45ft units are common in trans-Pacific service and increasingly in domestic intermodal. Most retail container suppliers in Canada do not carry them. Van Blanc does, and the right buyer is the one who needs the extra five feet without wanting to step up to the 53ft and its non-ISO logistics.

The 53ft is North American intermodal’s domestic standard. It is 13 feet longer than a 40ft, also 6 inches wider externally (8ft 6in instead of 8ft 0in), and the same 9ft 6in HC height. Interior: 52ft 5in long, 8ft 2in wide (yes, wider than a 40ft inside), 8ft 10in tall. Volume 108.5 m³ (3,830 ft³), roughly 42 percent more than a 40ft HC. The 53ft trades off ocean-shipping compatibility (it does not fit on standard ocean vessels) for domestic capacity advantage. Cannabis grow operations, large agricultural buyers, and contractors building bunkhouses choose the 53ft when the alternative is two 40ft units and a midline doorway.

For full specs on Van Blanc’s 53ft inventory, see our 53ft High Cube container page. Pricing for all sizes is laid out in the complete cost guide. At the opposite end of the range, the compact 10ft container covers the courtyards and tight side-yards where even a 20ft cannot land.

Why Is a Reefer Container Smaller Inside Than a Dry Container?

A refrigerated container (reefer) carries the same exterior footprint as its dry equivalent (20ft, 40ft, or 40ft HC). The interior is meaningfully smaller because the insulation and the refrigeration equipment eat into the cavity:

• 20ft reefer interior: 17ft 10in long, 7ft 5in wide, 7ft 5in tall (down from 19ft 4in × 7ft 8in × 7ft 10in dry). Volume drops from 33.2 m³ to roughly 28 m³, about 16 percent less.
• 40ft HC reefer interior: 37ft 10in long, 7ft 5in wide, 8ft 5in tall (down from 39ft 5in × 7ft 8in × 8ft 10in dry HC). Volume drops from 76.3 m³ to roughly 67 m&sup3.
• Door opening: Reduced as well, typically 7ft 5in wide and 7ft 4in tall on a 20ft reefer.

Why it matters: a reefer holds less than the equivalent dry. If you are calculating storage volume, use the reefer’s smaller interior. The trade-off is the temperature control, which is non-negotiable for cold-chain food, pharma, lab samples, brewery cold storage, or cannabis flower curing. Reefer containers also weigh more (heavier insulation, refrigeration unit, generator panel), so payload drops slightly. Tare weight on a 40ft HC reefer is roughly 4,500 kg versus 4,000 kg on the dry equivalent.

Will My Equipment Fit? Quick Math by Use Case

The single most-asked dimension question is “will X fit in a Y.” Here is honest math for the most common Ontario use cases:

The numbers above assume the equipment is rolled in level on its own wheels or on dollies. Add 1 to 2 feet of buffer for loading equipment with mounted implements (front-end loader, backhoe attachment) or trailers with overhang. For anything close to the door height, measure your specific unit before buying. Door height is unforgiving.

Site Access: What the Truck Actually Needs

Container dimensions matter for what fits inside. Site access dimensions matter for whether the bin can land where you want it. Standard tilt-deck or roll-off delivery requires:

• 20ft delivery: Roughly 75 feet of clear straight access (truck plus trailer plus tilt clearance), 14 feet of width, level ground for the final 30 feet. The truck is about 12 feet tall.
• 40ft delivery: Roughly 100 feet of clear access, 14 feet of width, level ground.
• 53ft delivery: Roughly 120 feet, slightly more turning radius required. Some sites that take a 40ft cannot take a 53ft.
• Overhead clearance: 14 feet minimum. Tree branches, low power lines, and gate-arch crossings disqualify many otherwise-suitable sites.
• Ground: Firm enough to support the truck’s weight without sinking. Soft lawn or recently saturated ground requires plywood mats or a chassis trailer drop instead of tilt-deck.

Frequently Asked Questions

Reach Van Blanc in Brantford

We have been supplying every standard shipping container size across Ontario since 1995, from 10ft units up to 53ft High Cubes. Our warehouse is at 90 Morton Avenue East in Brantford. The fastest way to confirm whether a specific size fits a specific use case is to come walk the bin in person at our yard. Worth the drive for unbeatable quality, family customer service with 30 years of experience.

Van Blanc Ent. Inc., 90 Morton Ave E Unit 1B, Brantford, ON N3R 7J7, +1 888-509-6658

Fast 1-3 day delivery to every region across Ontario from our 4 Brantford yards. Every quote comes with a real lead time, not a hopeful one. Call for any size, any grade, any modification.

Related Reading

• Shipping Container Cost in Canada (2026 Pricing Guide)
• Rent-to-Own Shipping Containers in Ontario
• 40ft High Cube Dry Container Specs
• 53ft High Cube Container Specs
• Custom Container Modifications