US DOMESTIC
48 ft Container Dimensions
The 48 ft container is a US domestic size, not an ISO deep-sea unit. It is both longer and wider than international boxes: 14.63 m long and 2.591 m (102″) wide against the ISO standard 2.438 m (96″). The extra width lets two US pallets sit side by side with room to spare.
These units move on rail (double-stacked) and road within North America. You will not see them on deep-sea vessels — cell guides are built for ISO widths. Since dimensions are not ISO-standardised, expect small variations between fleets.
Doors open to about 2.500 × 2.664 m — the widest and tallest opening of any box on this site — which is why 48s converted to storage take vehicles, wide machinery and full-width racking that ISO doors cannot pass.
48 vs 53 — which one? In practice the market has already answered: the 53-footer has become the domestic default, and railroads and truckers built their networks around it. The 48 ft fleet is mostly legacy equipment being run down rather than replaced — few new 48s are built. For shippers that means 53 ft capacity is easier to book; for buyers it means 48s appear on the secondary market at attractive prices as fleets retire them, with identical width, height and door specs to the 53.
| Metric | Imperial | |
|---|---|---|
| External dimensions | ||
| Length | 14.630 m | 48′ |
| Width | 2.591 m | 8′6″ |
| Height | 2.896 m | 9′6″ |
| Internal dimensions | ||
| Length | 14.453 m | 47′5″ |
| Width | 2.500 m | 8′2″ |
| Height | 2.697 m | 8′10″ |
| Door opening | ||
| Width | 2.500 m | 8′2″ |
| Height | 2.664 m | 8′9″ |
| Specification | ||
| Tare weight * | 4,310 kg | 9,502 lb |
| Max gross weight | 30,480 kg | 67,197 lb |
| Max payload * | 26,170 kg | 57,695 lb |
| Capacity (volume) | 97.5 m³ | 3,443 ft³ |
| Pallets (one tier) | 30 EUR pallets | 26 US pallets |
* Typical value — varies by manufacturer
What fits in a 48 ft container
About 97.5 m³ of capacity — 28% more than a 40 ft high cube. The 2.5 m internal width fits US pallets two abreast without wasted inches, giving roughly 26 pallet positions per tier.
Payload is limited by road weight law rather than the box: practical loads rarely exceed 20 tonnes in over-the-road service.
The two-abreast fit is the size’s whole argument. In an ISO forty, 48″ × 40″ US pallets load in a turned pattern that wastes inches on every row; in the 102″-wide 48, two pallets sit side by side with about 4 cm to spare, so the same floor plan loads faster and cubes out cleaner. EUR pallets fare even better, at roughly 30 positions.
Off the rails, the 48 makes a generous static building block: 36.1 m² of floor with 2.697 m ceilings, roughly a one-bedroom apartment’s footprint in a single steel shell. Availability outside North America is close to zero, so plan on sourcing one domestically.
48 ft vs 53 ft container
| 48 ft container | 53 ft container | |
|---|---|---|
| ISO type code | — | — |
| External dimensions — Length | 14.630 m48′ | 16.154 m53′ |
| External dimensions — Width | 2.591 m8′6″ | 2.591 m8′6″ |
| External dimensions — Height | 2.896 m9′6″ | 2.896 m9′6″ |
| Internal dimensions — Length | 14.453 m47′5″ | 16.002 m52′6″ |
| Internal dimensions — Width | 2.500 m8′2″ | 2.500 m8′2″ |
| Internal dimensions — Height | 2.697 m8′10″ | 2.697 m8′10″ |
| Tare weight | 4,310 kg9,502 lb | 4,900 kg10,803 lb |
| Max gross weight | 30,480 kg67,197 lb | 30,480 kg67,197 lb |
| Max payload | 26,170 kg57,695 lb | 25,580 kg56,394 lb |
| Capacity (volume) | 97.5 m³3,443 ft³ | 108.0 m³3,814 ft³ |
| EUR pallets | 30 | 33 |
| TEU | — | — |
Frequently asked questions
What are the dimensions of a 48 ft container?
Typically 14.63 m long × 2.591 m wide × 2.896 m high (48′ × 8′6″ × 9′6″) externally, with about 97.5 m³ of capacity. As a domestic size it is not covered by ISO 668, so figures vary slightly by fleet.
How much does a 48 ft container weigh?
Tare weight is about 4,310 kg (9,500 lb), varying by manufacturer since the size is not ISO-standardised. Structural max gross is typically 30,480 kg, but road weight limits keep practical payloads near 20 tonnes.
How many pallets fit in a 48 ft container?
About 26 standard US pallets (48″ × 40″) in a single floor tier, loaded two abreast in the 2.5 m internal width — the extra width over ISO boxes is exactly what makes the two-abreast pattern work.
How much does a 48 ft container cost?
In 2025–26, used 48 ft containers typically sell for $3,000–6,000. They are rarer than ISO sizes and essentially a North American regional market, so prices vary sharply by location — expect better deals near rail hubs as fleets retire legacy 48s.
How many square feet is a 48 ft container?
About 389 ft² (36.1 m²) of internal floor — 14.453 m long by 2.5 m wide. That is roughly 27% more floor area than a 40 ft container.
Can a 48 ft container be shipped internationally?
Not in normal service. Deep-sea vessels and terminals are built around ISO 8 ft (2.438 m) widths; 48 ft domestic boxes are 102″ wide and stay within North American rail and road networks.