CapacityJune 8, 2026 6 min read

Container Fill-Rate Benchmarks: What Good Utilization Looks Like by Cargo Type

By Kubova Team

Isometric row of three cutaway shipping containers filled to different levels, with a fill-gauge motif

“Is 82% a good fill rate?” is impossible to answer without context — it depends entirely on what you’re shipping. So we measured it: here are real container utilization benchmarks by cargo profile, straight from our packing engine, and how to read your own number against them.

Short answer: “Good” volume use for a light load is roughly the high-80s to low-90s for well-proportioned or well-mixed cargo, dropping toward the high-70s for cubes and awkward ratios. Engine-measured in a 40 HC: mixed 3-SKU ~93%, a 50×40×30 cm carton ~90%, an 80×60×50 cm carton ~90%, a 40 cm cube only ~76%. 100% is not a target — it’s a red flag.

The benchmark

We loaded a single 40 HC to capacity for four cargo profiles (light unit weights, to isolate the volume question). Each figure is a direct engine output.

Cargo profile	Volume used
Mixed 3-SKU (60×40×30, 50×50×50, 40×30×20)	93.1%
Uniform 50 × 40 × 30 cm carton	90.4%
Uniform 80 × 60 × 50 cm carton	89.7%
Uniform 40 × 40 × 40 cm cube	75.5%

Single 40 HC loaded to capacity, Kubova packing engine, measured 2026-06-08.

93%

best — a well-mixed load

~90%

typical good single carton

76%

an awkward cube

Why the spread is so wide

The 17-point gap between a mixed load and a cube isn’t noise — it’s geometry:

Tiling. Cartons that divide the container’s length, width and height evenly leave almost no gaps. Cubes rarely tile all three axes at once, so they waste space in every direction.
Interlocking. In a mixed load, smaller cartons drop into the gaps a larger carton leaves — which is exactly why the mixed profile topped the table.
The top layer. The final layer is usually partial; a height that doesn’t divide cleanly into the 269 cm inner height leaves a slab of air.

The single-SKU penalty

Loading one product type at a time forfeits the interlocking advantage. If your orders are multi-SKU but your tool only handles one carton, you’re benchmarking against the wrong ceiling — and likely booking more space than you need. (More on this in mixed-SKU loading.)

How to read your own number

High-80s to low-90s: you’re doing well for the cargo — little to gain from re-planning.
Low-to-mid 80s: normal for blocky or cube-ish cartons; check whether mixing or a different carton helps.
Below high-70s: investigate — an awkward carton ratio, single-SKU loading, or a weight cap you hit before the space filled.
Near 100%: distrust it. No real load fills a container like a liquid.

When weight caps you below a 'good' fill

On dense cargo you may stop loading at, say, 60% volume because you’ve hit the payload limit — and that’s correct, not a low score. A 40 HC fills on weight above roughly 375 kg per cubic metre of cargo. Always read fill rate alongside weight.

The honest part

It would be easy to report a flattering number by quietly stretching the container’s dimensions. We don’t — the fill rates above are what the engine actually achieves inside real inner dimensions. A benchmark is only useful if it’s honest.

Measure your real fill rate

Enter your cargo and container — see the honest utilization in seconds.

Open the calculator

Frequently asked questions

What is a good container utilization rate?

For light cargo, a well-proportioned single carton typically reaches the high-80s to low-90s in volume use, and a well-mixed multi-SKU load can reach the low-90s. Cubes and awkward ratios drag it down toward the high-70s. In our engine runs a mixed 3-SKU load hit ~93%, a 50×40×30 cm carton ~90%, and a 40 cm cube only ~76%. Anything claiming ~100% is either ignoring real geometry or overflowing the container.

Why can’t a container reach 100% fill?

Boxes are rigid and can only sit in a few orientations, so they leave gaps wherever their dimensions don’t tile the space exactly — plus the door column and weight limits cap real loads. 100% would require cargo to behave like a liquid. A tool reporting 100% is a warning sign, not a feature.

Why does mixing SKUs improve fill?

Smaller cartons can fill the gaps that a single larger carton leaves. In our runs the mixed 3-SKU load reached the highest fill (~93%) precisely because the different sizes interlocked. A single-SKU calculator can’t see this advantage.

How do I measure my own fill rate?

Divide the total cargo volume you actually loaded by the container’s inner volume (a 40 HC is about 76 m³). Compare against the benchmarks here: near the high-80s/low-90s is good; below the high-70s suggests an awkward carton, too much single-SKU loading, or a weight cap you’re hitting first.

Who: Written and reviewed by the Kubova team, who build and operate the packing engine described here.

How: Drafted with AI assistance for research and structure; the technical claims, examples and product details are owned and verified by the team.

Why: To help logistics and engineering teams decide whether to let an AI agent plan their loads — not to chase a keyword. Published 2026-06-08.