A standard 20ft container gives about 33 cubic metres (CBM) of internal space, but for furniture the realistic planning number is 25 to 28 CBM of usable volume. That is roughly 8 to 10 six-seat dining sets, or a full mixed villa order: beds, sofas, dining sets, wardrobes, and smaller filler pieces. Furniture rarely hits the weight limit; teak is dense, but a load is mostly packaged air, so volume decides everything. That is why LCL-versus-FCL hinges on CBM: below roughly 12 to 15 CBM, less-than-container-load (LCL) usually costs less than booking a whole box; above that, a full 20ft container (FCL) is almost always cheaper per piece. Before finalising an order, estimate each item’s packed volume, add 15 to 25 percent for packing inefficiency, and see which side of the line you land on.
20ft vs 40ft: the raw numbers
Internal dimensions vary slightly between manufacturers; the figures below are what freight forwarders and Indonesian export packers plan around.
| Container | Internal dimensions (L × W × H) | Theoretical capacity | Realistic furniture load |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 5.9m × 2.35m × 2.39m | ~33 CBM | 25–28 CBM |
| 40ft standard | 12.03m × 2.35m × 2.39m | ~67 CBM | 54–58 CBM |
| 40ft high cube | 12.03m × 2.35m × 2.69m | ~76 CBM | 60–65 CBM |
Two other constraints matter: the 20ft door opening is about 2.34m wide and 2.28m high, so anything taller than roughly 2.2m upright must go in knocked down; and while a 20ft can legally carry around 28,000kg, a well-packed load rarely exceeds 5,000kg, so you run out of space long before payload.
Why you never get the full 33 CBM
Loading efficiency for mixed furniture typically lands between 75 and 85 percent. Export-grade packaging (foam sheet, corner protectors, crates for glass and stone) adds 5 to 15 percent to every item’s raw dimensions. Curved and irregular pieces do not tessellate like boxed goods, leaving voids only smaller items can fill, and safe stacking costs space too: heavy pieces sit low, fragile ones are never point-loaded. The difference between a 75 and an 85 percent load is roughly 3 CBM on a 20ft box: an extra dining set travelling free. Our note on packing and loading furniture containers covers the sequence we ask the workshop to follow.
Typical packed volumes by furniture type
These are planning figures for export-packed items from Bali and Jepara workshops; treat them as a starting grid, not gospel.
| Item (export packed) | Typical packed volume | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 6-seat dining set | 2.0–2.6 CBM | Table plus six chairs, legs detached where possible |
| Queen/king bed frame, knocked down | 1.2–1.8 CBM | Headboard is the main driver |
| Three-seat sofa | 2.5–3.5 CBM | Rarely disassembles; the least efficient item per seat |
| Armchair / lounge chair | 1.0–1.5 CBM | Rattan versions are light but just as bulky |
| Sideboard / buffet | 1.2–1.8 CBM | Crate it if it has stone or glass |
| Wardrobe, 2-door | 1.5–2.5 CBM | Knock-down construction saves up to half |
The sofa problem
A three-seat sofa uses as much space as a full dining set while seating fewer people, and it cannot be broken down. Buyers filling a 20ft for retail generally cap sofas at two or three units and build the rest from higher-density pieces. If your order is sofa-heavy, price a 40ft early: the per-CBM freight rate is significantly lower.
A worked example: one villa order in one 20ft
Here is a realistic mixed load for a buyer furnishing a rental villa plus a small margin of stock:
- 3 six-seat teak dining sets: 3 × 2.3 = 6.9 CBM
- 5 queen bed frames, knocked down: 5 × 1.5 = 7.5 CBM
- 2 three-seat sofas: 2 × 3.0 = 6.0 CBM
- 2 sideboards: 2 × 1.5 = 3.0 CBM
- Coffee tables, side tables, mirrors, lamps, décor as void fill: ~2.5 CBM
That totals about 25.9 CBM: a comfortable, safe 20ft load, with filler items doubling as void protection. Push it to four dining sets and three sofas and you are at roughly 31 CBM on paper, which will not physically fit once packing inefficiency is counted; the honest options are to trim pieces or step up to a 40ft, which costs nowhere near double the freight.
LCL or full container: where the line sits
LCL pricing is charged per CBM with minimums, handling fees, and consolidation-warehouse charges that FCL avoids. As a working rule, orders under about 10 CBM are clearly LCL, 10 to 15 CBM is a grey zone worth quoting both ways, and above 15 CBM almost always favours a dedicated 20ft. FCL also means one loading and one unloading, no shared-container handling, and typically one to two weeks faster clearance.
Get your CBM plan checked before you commit
The arithmetic above gives a solid first estimate: list your items, apply the packed-volume ranges, add 15 to 25 percent, and compare against 25 to 28 usable CBM. What it cannot do is verify the exact packed dimensions of your designs, or sequence the load so fragile pieces survive six weeks at sea. That is the part we handle: working directly with Bali and Jepara workshops, we manage the quotation, production, export packing, and container booking as one process. Details are on our furniture container program page. Send your item list on WhatsApp at +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com, and we will check the plan against real workshop dimensions before you spend anything.