How many cabinets fit in a 40HQ? One answer, measured twice.

There is no rule of thumb that survives contact with a real packing list. What there is: the container's own capacity, and the measured volume of two delivered programs - a kitchen plus wardrobe order and a 22-space whole house. Divide one by the other and you have the load.

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The container, in numbers

Capacity before cargo: what the box actually holds.

Published specifications for the two containers almost every cabinet order moves in.

Container	Approx. cubic capacity	Approx. max payload	Internal dimensions
40-foot high cube (40HQ / 40HC)	76 m3	26,330 kg	11.998 x 2.655 x 2.330 m; door 2.330 x 2.590 m
20-foot standard (20GP)	33 m3	28,230 kg	5.867 x 2.350 x 2.330 m; door 2.330 x 2.260 m

Source: DHL Freight Forwarding, A Shipper's Guide to Cargo Container Sizes and Types. Internal dimensions and volumes vary by manufacturer, which is exactly why the working number below is your own packing list rather than a table.

Measured, not estimated

Two delivered programs, crate by crate.

Both are totals from project packing lists - the same documents the crates were loaded against, and the same ones your broker declares on.

Program	Pieces / boxes	Volume	Weight	Against a 40HQ (76 m3)
Kitchen + wardrobe	1,012	94.77 m3	-	About 1.25 containers
Whole house, 22 spaces	386 boxes	38.09 m3	10,664.56 kg	Half a container

The kitchen plus wardrobe program breaks down as: kitchen modules 562 pieces / 62.56 m3, wardrobe modules 419 pieces / 23.42 m3, wood crating 21 units / 8.62 m3, hardware packs 10 units / 0.17 m3. The whole-house order loaded on seven pallets and one wooden case. Every figure is a total line on its own packing list.

Density

The only number you need: m3 per piece.

Divide each program by its own piece count and the two densities land close together - which is why the answer to how many cabinets fit in a 40HQ is a range rather than a promise.

Unit	Measured density	Pieces per 40HQ at that density
Kitchen piece (module)	0.111 m3	About 680
Whole-house box	0.099 m3	About 770

Both densities already include crating and packing, because they are derived from the delivered totals. A 20-foot container at the same densities takes roughly 295 kitchen pieces or 335 boxes.

What eats the volume

Crating is cargo, and it is charged like cargo.

In the kitchen plus wardrobe program, wood crating measured 8.62 m3 out of 94.77 m3 - 9.1% of the load - and hardware packs added 0.17 m3, about 0.2%. That volume buys protection rather than product: crates per bay, corner protection and numbered boxes are what keep the damage claim at zero. Stone is crated separately on its own pallet, so stone and cabinetry do not share risk in transit.

The other half of the density question is the packing format, and it is a trade rather than a trick: flat-pack loads more per container because panels nest; pre-built ships volume around every box. The full comparison, factor by factor, is on flat-pack vs assembled.

Run your own load

Loading is one step in a longer calendar. How long custom cabinets take, start to finish sets each stage against the others.

Three steps, one calculator you already have.

Get the volume. Your packing list carries a total in cubic metres; if the order has not run yet, multiply your piece count by 0.111 m3 for kitchen modules or 0.099 m3 per box.
Divide by the container. 76 m3 for a 40HQ, 33 m3 for a 20-foot standard. The result is your container count, and the fraction is what a mixed or partial load has to absorb.
Check the weight. Compare the packing list's total weight against about 26,330 kg of payload for a 40HQ. Stone-heavy and solid-wood-heavy orders are the ones that hit this line first.

Two related reads: how the crates are built and numbered on the flat-pack page, and what the entry costs once the container lands on importing & compliance.

FAQ

How many cabinets fit in a 40HQ, asked straight.

How many cabinets fit in a 40HQ?

Between roughly 680 and 770 packed units, if you work from the two programs measured on this page: 0.111 m3 per kitchen piece and 0.099 m3 per whole-house box against a 40-foot high cube's approximate 76 m3. The honest answer for your job is your own packing list divided by 76 - not a rule of thumb, because depth, height and crating change the density that the thumb is guessing at.

Why is there no single number?

Because the same kitchen can load two different ways. A flat-pack order nests panels and ships dense; a pre-built order ships volume around every box. Crating takes volume too - in the measured kitchen plus wardrobe program below, wood crating alone was 8.62 m3 of the 94.77 m3 total, about 9%.

What is a 40HQ, in numbers?

A 40-foot high cube: an approximate cubic capacity of 76 m3, a maximum payload of about 26,330 kg, internal dimensions of roughly 11.998 m x 2.655 m x 2.330 m, and a door opening around 2.330 m wide by 2.590 m high. The 20-foot standard container is about 33 m3 with roughly 28,230 kg of payload. Both figures come from DHL's published container specifications, linked below.

How do I work out my own load?

Take your packing list's total cubic volume and divide by 76 for a 40HQ, or by 33 for a 20-foot container. If you do not have a packing list yet, divide your cabinet volume per piece: 0.111 m3 for kitchen pieces and 0.099 m3 per box are the two densities measured here, and both already include the crating.

Does weight ever limit the load before volume does?

It can. A 40HQ carries roughly 26,330 kg of payload, and the whole-house program measured here weighed 10,664.56 kg in 38.09 m3 - volume, not weight, was the constraint. Loads of stone or solid-wood-heavy orders are the ones to check against payload before you plan to fill the container.

Can the factory load mixed orders?

Yes, and it is the normal case: kitchens, vanities and closets from one program share the footage and the container. Each crate is numbered to the bay or the room and loaded against the packing list, so a mixed load unloads in the order your site needs.

Send the plan, get the crate plan.

The quote comes back with the packing plan - crate by crate, box by box - so the container count is arithmetic before it is a surprise.

Ask for a load plan See the flat-pack format

Container specifications on this page are those published by DHL Freight Forwarding and are approximate - they vary by container model and manufacturer. Program volumes and weights are totals from the projects' own packing lists. Confirm the loading plan and the entry with your broker and your forwarder. Related: ready-to-assemble cabinets · whole house cabinets · importing & compliance.