Twenty-foot equivalent unit
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Multiple image The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is a general unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.<ref name=Rowlett>Rowlett, 2004.</ref> It is based on the volume of a Template:Convert intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box that can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains, and trucks.<ref name=Rowlett/>
Detailed dimensions: 20-foot and 40-foot containers
The standard intermodal container is Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide.<ref name=Rowlett/> The height of such containers is most commonly Template:Convert but ranges from Template:Convert to Template:Convert.
Another standard container is slightly more than twice as long: Template:Convert, dubbed a forty-foot equivalent unit (often FEU or feu).
The reason the smaller container is Template:Convert short of 20 feet is to allow it to be stacked efficiently with 40-foot containers. The twistlocks on a ship are set so that two standard 20-foot containers have a gap of Template:Convert, allowing a single 40-foot container to fit precisely on top.
The 40-foot containers have found wider acceptance, as they can be pulled by semi-trailer trucks. The length of such a combination is within the limits of national road regulations in many countries, requiring no special permission. As some road regulations allow longer trucks, there are also variations of the standard 40-foot container; in Europe and most other places a container of Template:Convert may be pulled as a trailer. Containers with a length of Template:Convert or Template:Convert are restricted to road and rail transport in North America. Although longer than 40 feet, these variants are put in the same class of forty-foot equivalent units.
Equivalence
| Length | Width | Height | Internal volume | Internal floor area | TEU | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 1<ref name=dsv>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 2<ref name=dsv/> | |
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 2.4 | |
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 2.65 | |
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 1 | High cube |
| Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | Template:Convert | 1 | Half-height |
The carrying capacity of a ship is usually measured by mass (the deadweight tonnage) or by volume (the net register tonnage). Deadweight tonnage is generally measured now in metric tons (tonnes). Register tons are measured in cu. ft, with one register ton equivalent to Template:Convert.Template:Update inline
As the TEU is an inexact unit, it cannot be converted precisely into other units. The related unit forty-foot equivalent unit, however, is defined as two TEU.
It is common to designate a Template:Convert container as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU.
The most common twenty-foot container occupies a space Template:Convert long, Template:Convert wide, and Template:Convert high, with an allowance externally for the corner castings; the internal volume is Template:Convert. However, both Template:Convert High cube and Template:Convert half height containers are also reckoned as 1 TEU. This gives a volume range of Template:Convert for one TEU.
While the TEU is not itself a measure of mass, some conclusions can be drawn about the maximum mass that a TEU can represent. The maximum gross mass for a Template:Convert dry cargo container is Template:Convert.<ref name="emase">Template:Cite web</ref> Subtracting the tare mass of the container itself, the maximum amount of cargo per TEU is reduced to about Template:Convert.<ref name="emase" />
Similarly, the maximum gross mass for a Template:Convert dry cargo container (including the Template:Convert High cube container) is Template:Convert.<ref name="emase"/> After correcting for tare weight, this gives a cargo capacity of Template:Convert.<ref name="emase"/>
Twenty-foot "heavy tested" containers are available for heavy goods such as heavy machinery. These containers allow a maximum weight of Template:Convert, an empty weight of Template:Convert, and a net load of Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed
See also
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
Template:Intermodal containers Template:Ship measurements Template:Imperial units