You are renting cubic metres inside somebody else’s container.
The box you are measured against
LCL space is sold by volume, so it helps to know the size of the container the volume is carved out of. These are the published capacities for standard steel dry containers, from the equipment specification sheet Maersk publishes at maersk.com, read 2026-07-28.
| Container | Internal length | Volume | Maximum payload |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft standard | 19 ft 4 in | 1,165 cubic feet, 33 cubic metres | 62,170 lb, 28,200 kg |
| 40 ft standard | 39 ft 5 in | 2,366 cubic feet, 67 cubic metres | 63,493 lb, 28,800 kg |
| 40 ft high cube | 39 ft 5 in | 2,684 cubic feet, 76 cubic metres | 63,100 lb, 28,620 kg |
| 45 ft high cube | 44 ft 5 in | 3,036 cubic feet, 85 cubic metres | 60,848 lb, 27,600 kg |
Two things follow from that table. A standard 40 ft container holds roughly twice a 20 ft one, so the sensible comparison for a growing shipper is not LCL against a 40 ft box but LCL against a 20 ft box, which fills at about 33 cubic metres. And payload is rarely the limit for a small seller: 28 tonnes is a great deal of dense freight, and most people run out of cubic metres long before they run out of kilograms.
How the price is put together
An ocean rate quoted per cubic metre is one component of what you eventually pay, and it is often the smaller half. These are the parts that a first-time importer does not expect.
Volume or weight, whichever bills higher
LCL is normally sold on a revenue ton, meaning the carrier bills whichever is greater between the volume in cubic metres and the weight in metric tonnes. Dense freight bills on weight, light freight bills on volume, and it is the same shipment either way. Work out both figures before you ask for a rate so you can tell which one you are buying.
Consolidation at both ends
Your pallets have to be loaded into a shared container at origin and separated out of it at destination. That handling is a separate line, it is charged by the facility rather than by the ship, and it does not shrink much when your shipment does. It is the main reason very small LCL consignments have poor unit economics.
The road move after the port
Nothing arrives at your door because it crossed an ocean. Somebody collects the freight from the container station and drives it, and that leg is priced like any other domestic trucking move, with the same accessorial rules about docks, liftgates and address types that apply to a domestic pallet.
Duty, and the bond that pays it
You are the importer. That means a customs entry, a bond, duty and any applicable trade remedies, none of which appear in a freight quote. Budget them separately and get the tariff classification settled before the goods sail rather than after.
The filing that has to be in before loading
The paperwork that most often derails a first ocean shipment is the Importer Security Filing, set out in 19 CFR part 149 and read on 2026-07-28. It is filed electronically by the importer or an agent, and the clock runs against loading in the foreign port rather than against arrival here.
| Requirement | What the regulation says |
|---|---|
| Who files | The ISF importer as defined in the regulation, or an authorised agent |
| Language and method | Submitted in English through a system approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection |
| Deadline for most elements | No later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port |
| Deadline for stuffing location and consolidator | No later than 24 hours before arrival at a United States port |
| Elements named in the regulation | Seller, buyer, importer of record, consignee, manufacturer, ship-to party, country of origin and the commodity classification number |
The practical consequence for a small seller is that your supplier cannot decide on Monday to load on Tuesday. Whoever is filing needs the commercial details a full day before the container is loaded, and the shipment sits if they do not have them. Ocean carriers and the intermediaries that resell their space are also required by 46 CFR 520.3, read 2026-07-28, to keep tariffs open for public inspection in automated systems, so a published rate is something you can go and read rather than something you have to take on trust.
What we can and cannot tell you
No page on this site will publish an LCL price, because a rate per cubic metre without the origin port, the destination, the season, the commodity and the destination handling is not information. A forwarder can take those details and come back with the whole landed number rather than the ocean leg on its own; SMKlog does not arrange ocean freight. Our own calculator prices US domestic parcels and will tell you honestly when a shipment is outside its scope.
LCL questions
What does LCL mean?
Less than container load. Your goods share a container with other shippers’ goods, so you buy space by volume rather than renting the whole box. The alternative, taking a container to yourself, is full container load.
At what point should I take a whole container instead?
The comparison to run is against a 20 ft box, which the Maersk equipment sheet gives as 33 cubic metres and 62,170 lb of payload. Once your regular volume approaches that, ask for both numbers side by side. The crossover depends on the rate per cubic metre you are being offered, so no page can name it for you.
How far ahead does the security filing have to be made?
Under 19 CFR part 149, most elements are due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port, with container stuffing location and consolidator details due no later than 24 hours before arrival at a United States port.
Does SMKlog quote LCL online?
No. SMKlog sells parcel labels only and does not arrange pallet or freight shipments.