Container Stuffing: The Process, the Plan and the Paperwork

Quick answer: Container stuffing is the operation of loading cargo into a shipping container — planning the stow, sequencing the load, distributing the weight, securing it, and declaring the Verified Gross Mass (VGM). It happens either at your own premises (factory stuffing) or at a container freight station (CFS / dock stuffing), and the choice changes who is responsible for what.

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Factory stuffing vs CFS stuffing

	Factory stuffing	CFS / dock stuffing
Where	Your own warehouse or plant	Container freight station near the port
Container	Delivered empty to you	Stuffed by the terminal operator
Control over the stow	Full — you decide the sequence	Limited — you send cargo, they load it
Best for	FCL, repeat shipments, fragile or high-value cargo	LCL consolidations, one-off shipments, no dock capacity
Cost shape	Haulage of an empty box to you, plus your own labour	CFS handling charges per CBM or per tonne
Main risk	Getting the stow wrong is entirely on you	Your cargo is stowed by someone who has never seen it

If you’re factory stuffing, you own the plan. That’s an advantage — but only if you actually make a plan rather than loading whatever comes off the line first.

If you’re choosing between full and shared containers in the first place, see LCL vs FCL and when to switch.

Step 1 — Make the stuffing plan before the box arrives

A stuffing plan is not a packing list. It answers a different set of questions:

• How many containers, of what type, and is the cargo volume- or weight-limited?
• What goes in which container when the shipment splits.
• In what order each item is loaded.
• Where the weight sits once everything is in.
• What securing each part of the stow needs.

Doing this after the container is on your dock costs you demurrage while you work it out. Doing it before means the crew loads to a drawing.

The full method is in how to make a container loading plan.

Step 2 — Load in the right sequence

Sequence matters more than most people expect, for three separate reasons.

Multi-drop order. If the container is discharged at more than one destination, the last delivery is loaded first, at the nose. Get this backwards and someone unloads the entire container at the first stop to reach the cargo behind.

Heavy at the bottom, and spread. Dense cargo goes on the floor, distributed along the container — not concentrated in one section. A container’s floor has limits on how much load it can take over a small area, and a heavy machine on a small footprint can exceed the local deck pressure even when the total weight is comfortably legal.

Fragile last, and protected. Anything crushable rides on top, with its stacking limit respected. The single most common stuffing failure is a bottom layer that was never rated to carry what got stacked on it.

Step 3 — Get the weight distribution right

This is where stuffing stops being warehouse work and becomes a legal problem.

• Longitudinally, the centre of gravity should sit near the middle of the container. A load biased to one end transfers unevenly onto the truck’s axles, and that’s what fails at the weighbridge — the container is legal, the axle isn’t.
• Laterally, side-to-side imbalance is a tipping risk on the road and a handling problem at the terminal.
• Nothing beats the payload limit. Volume and weight run out at different times; dense cargo like tiles, canned goods or liquids hits the payload wall with the container half empty. See container weight limits and max payload.

A rough rule used on the dock: no more than about 60% of the payload in either half of the container. It’s a blunt instrument, but it catches the worst cases. For the real analysis — and the axle figures that actually get checked — see container weight distribution and centre of gravity.

Step 4 — Secure the stow

Cargo that doesn’t move doesn’t get damaged. Sea transport applies forces in every direction, and a stow that looks solid on a still dock will work itself loose over a fortnight of ship motion.

• Fill the voids. Airbags, dunnage and void fillers stop cargo from taking a run at the walls.
• Lash what can shift. Straps and lashing to the container’s lashing points, at sensible angles.
• Separate what must stay separate. Dangerous goods have segregation rules that are not negotiable — see dangerous goods segregation.
• Protect from condensation. Long ocean legs produce container rain; desiccants and liners matter for hygroscopic cargo.

Step 5 — Tally, seal and declare the VGM

The paperwork is part of the operation, not an afterthought.

• Tally the cargo as it goes in. A tally sheet reconciled against the packing list is what settles a shortage claim later.
• Seal the container and record the seal number on every document. A seal number that doesn’t match is a customs problem.
• Declare the VGM. Under SOLAS Chapter VI, in force since 1 July 2016, the shipper must provide a Verified Gross Mass for every packed container before it can be loaded onto a vessel. No VGM, no loading.

There are two permitted methods:

Method	How it works
Method 1	Weigh the packed, sealed container on a calibrated weighbridge.
Method 2	Weigh or use verified weights for all packages, pallets, dunnage and securing material, then add the container’s tare as marked on the door.

Method 2 only works if you actually tracked what went in — another reason the tally and the stuffing plan earn their keep.

Common stuffing mistakes

Mistake	What it costs
Loading in arrival order rather than drop order	The whole container unloaded at stop one
Weight concentrated at one end	Axle overload at the weighbridge, even though the container is legal
Stacking above the cargo’s rated limit	Crushed bottom layer, damage claim
Planning from volume alone	A “fitting” load that exceeds payload
Leaving voids unfilled	Shifted, damaged cargo on arrival
Estimating the VGM	Container refused at the terminal
Ignoring the door aperture	Cargo that fits the container but not the opening

Plan the stuffing, don’t improvise it

Most stuffing problems are planning problems that surfaced late. The number of containers, the split, the sequence, the weight balance and the securing are all decidable before the box arrives — and all much cheaper to fix on a screen than on a dock with a truck waiting.

ContainerMath is a container stuffing planner that produces the stuffing plan: how many containers the cargo needs, what goes in each, a 3D view and a printable 2D cross-section for the crew, centre-of-gravity on every plan with per-axle weights on road vehicles, and securing advisories for the stow. Optional checks cover deck floor loading and the SOLAS VGM. Mixed SKUs, stacking limits and orientation rules are respected, so the plan is one your team can actually load.

Build a stuffing plan free →

Frequently asked questions

What does container stuffing mean?

Stuffing is the operation of loading cargo into a shipping container — planning the stow, sequencing the load, distributing weight, securing the cargo and declaring its verified gross mass. The reverse operation, emptying a container, is called de-stuffing or unstuffing.

What is the difference between factory stuffing and CFS stuffing?

Factory stuffing happens at your own premises: an empty container is delivered to you and your team loads it, so you control the stow. CFS stuffing happens at a container freight station near the port, where the operator loads your cargo — normally used for LCL consolidations or when you have no dock capacity.

What is a container stuffing plan?

A document that specifies how many containers a shipment needs, what goes in each one, the loading sequence, how weight is distributed and what securing is required. It’s produced before the container arrives, so the crew loads to a drawing rather than improvising.

What is VGM in container stuffing?

Verified Gross Mass — the total weight of the packed container including cargo, dunnage, securing material and the container’s own tare. Under SOLAS Chapter VI, in force since 1 July 2016, the shipper must declare it before the container can be loaded onto a vessel.

How should weight be distributed when stuffing a container?

Keep the centre of gravity near the middle of the container, both fore-aft and side-to-side, with heavy cargo on the floor and spread out rather than concentrated. A common dock rule of thumb is no more than about 60% of the payload in either half. Uneven distribution passes the container weight limit but fails the truck’s axle limits.

Why is the loading sequence important when stuffing?

Because it determines what you can reach. For multi-drop shipments the last delivery is loaded first, at the nose of the container, so each stop can be unloaded without disturbing the rest. Sequence also controls whether heavy cargo ends up under fragile cargo rather than on top of it.