FEU, or Forty-foot Equivalent Unit, is a standard measurement used in ocean shipping to describe container capacity based on a 40-foot shipping container. One FEU equals one 40-foot container, or two TEUs, because a TEU represents a 20-foot container. Carriers, ports, terminals, and freight forwarders use FEUs to measure vessel space, container volumes, terminal throughput, freight capacity, and shipping demand across global trade lanes.
FEU (Forty-foot Equivalent Unit) is the standard measure for a 40-foot shipping container. One FEU equals two TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and is the most commonly used container size in global ocean freight.
- A 40-foot standard container holds approximately 55 to 58 CBM
- A 40-foot High Cube holds approximately 67 to 72 CBM
- FEU is used in carrier capacity planning and port statistics
- Freight rates are often quoted per FEU on high-volume trade lanes
For related logistics context, see Dedola’s ocean freight shipping services and glossary entries on TEU, Container, FCL, and LCL.
