Shipping Containers Sizes in South Africa: What Size Suits Your Needs?

Shipping containers offer an instant storage space that can be delivered, when and where you need it and dropped into place with no plans, construction, and minimal site preparation. There are various shipping container sizes and types available in South Africa and this article serves to help you make the right choice for your needs.

Standard Shipping Container Sizes

The most common shipping container sizes are: 

• 20-foot container: This container is 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet 6 inches tall. It has a volume of 1,172 cubic feet and can hold up to 10 standard pallets. 
• 40-foot container: This container is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet 6 inches tall. It has a volume of 2,390 cubic feet and can hold up to 20 standard pallets.
• 40-foot high cube container: This container is also 40 feet long and 8 feet wide, but it is 9 feet 6 inches tall. It has a volume of 2,694 cubic feet and can hold up to 20 standard pallets.

It is worth noting that there are other less common sizes available in South Africa, such as 10-foot containers and 45-foot containers. 

For more information download our standard dry shipping container spec sheet.

Determining the Best Shipping Container Sizes For Your Needs

Different shipping container sizes are needed for the storage and transportation of goods for the following reasons: 

1. Space requirements: depending on the size and quantity of items that need to be stored, some containers may be too small, while others may be too large. Therefore, different shipping container sizes allow for greater flexibility in meeting storage needs. 
2. Transport efficiency: another reason for different sizes to optimise transport efficiency. Shipping containers are often used for both storage and transport, and having different sizes of containers allows for more efficient use of space on trucks, trains, and ships.
3. Cost-effectiveness: the cost of using a shipping container for storage will depend on the size of the container. Having a range of container sizes allows customers to choose the most cost-effective option for their storage needs. Almar Container Rentals and Sales allows customers to rent containers for as long as they need them allowing flexibility and cost efficiency. 
4. Flexibility: different container sizes allow for greater flexibility in storage solutions. For example, smaller containers may be used for residential storage, while large containers may be used for commercial or industrial storage. This flexibility allows customers to find a container that best container size to fit their unique storage requirements. 

In addition to the standard dry shipping containers, there are various other types of containers available in South Africa for different purposes. Almar Container Rentals and Sales offer ISO tank containers and refrigerated containers. 

ISO Tank Containers

ISO tanks: These are specialised containers designed for the transportation of liquids or gases, such as chemicals, fuels, and food products. ISO Tanks are built to withstand the pressures and stresses of their contents and are equipped with safety features like pressure relief valves and spill containment systems. In South Africa they come in various sizes, including 20-foot and 40-foot options. Almar Container Rentals and Sales offer a 26 000 litre, 20ft x 8ft framed.  

For more information, download our ISO tank container spec sheet.

Refrigerated Containers / Reefers

These containers, also known as "reefers," are designed for the storage of temperature-sensitive goods, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products, as well as pharmaceutical and anatomical waste. 

For more information, download our refrigerated container spec sheet. 

Almar Container Rentals and Sales’ offers refrigerated containers in the following container sizes - 3m, 6m, and 12m - that keep your fresh produce, perishable items, ice cream, beverages, and medicines at a consistent temperature ranging between +20°C and -35°C. The temperature can be adjusted and controlled within 0.3°C of the required set point. These reefers require a three-phase 380v power supply.

Almar Cold Room

Almar also offers a chiller container option – a customised refrigeration solution that uses single-phase 220v power. This means you can plug your 3m or 6m sized chiller / cold-room container into any domestic power outlet, making it the ultimate cold-room alternative. The temperature range is between +2°C and +10°C.

Almar 3m Single Phase Freezer

Almar recently introduced a 3m single-phase freezer to our fleet of refrigerated containers which are available nationwide. Customers are now able to keep their produce at a temperature of between -10°C and -25°C, while still using a single-phase 220v power supply.

Almar Blast Freezers

Almar has introduced the custom-built Blast Freezer which comes in 6m and 12m container sizes and has been very well received. Our customers have used them in the manufacturing process to freeze pies, fruit, chicken, beef, etc. They are available nationwide and built to customers’ specifications. The power supply is 3 phase 380V.