How to Make a Container Loading Plan (Step-by-Step)

Quick answer: A container loading plan is a document that shows what cargo goes into a container, where each item sits, in what loading order, and how much of the volume and payload you’re using. To build one you need four inputs — the container’s internal dimensions, each item’s dimensions and weight, the total quantities, and any stacking or weight rules — then you tile the cargo into the floor space, check it against the volume and weight limits, and write down the door-to-nose loading sequence.

You can do this by hand for a simple, single-SKU load. For mixed cargo it’s faster and far more accurate to let software work it out. Here’s both.

Try it on your cargo first. Enter your items for instant volume, payload and container-fill — the backbone of the plan below — free, no signup.

Start with the free calculator →

What a container loading plan actually contains

A useful plan answers five questions before a single box is lifted:

1. Does it fit? Total cargo volume vs. the container’s usable volume — and just as important, total weight vs. the payload limit.
2. Where does each item go? A 3D placement (or a top/side diagram) so the loaders aren’t guessing.
3. In what order? A loading sequence — heavy and floor-stable items first, fragile and light items last.
4. How balanced is it? The centre of gravity, so the load isn’t door-heavy or skewed to one side (and, for road trailers, so no axle is overloaded).
5. How full is it really? The volume and weight utilisation — the number that tells you whether you’re paying to ship air.

Step 1 — Pin down the container

Everything starts from the usable internal space, not the external size. Grab the internal length, width, height, and the max payload for your equipment. A standard 40ft container is roughly 12.03 m × 2.35 m × 2.39 m with a ~26,500 kg payload; a 20ft is about half the floor. (Full specs for every size are in the shipping container dimensions guide.)

Step 2 — List your cargo with dimensions and weight

For every distinct item (SKU), record length × width × height and unit weight, plus the quantity. If your goods are palletised, plan in pallets, not loose cartons — work out the cartons-per-pallet first (how many boxes fit covers that), then treat each loaded pallet as a single block. Starting from a messy dispatch list or spreadsheet? AI import can parse it into a clean manifest instead of you re-keying it.

Step 3 — Check volume and weight before you place anything

Add up the cargo volume (see how to calculate CBM) and the total weight. Two quick sanity checks:

• Volume: total cargo CBM should leave ~10–15% slack against the container’s rated volume — you never achieve a theoretical 100% fill.
• Weight: total weight must stay under the payload limit. Dense cargo (tiles, liquids, machinery) usually hits the weight ceiling long before it runs out of floor; light, bulky cargo (textiles, foam) is volume-limited. Knowing which one binds tells you whether stacking even helps.

If either check fails, you need a second container — better to learn that now than at the dock.

Step 4 — Lay out the floor, then build up

Tile the largest, heaviest, most uniform items across the floor first, in straight rows running door-to-nose. Rotate items to use leftover width (this is exactly how you get 25 Euro pallets into a 40ft instead of 20). Then stack upward only where the item below can bear the load and you stay under the height limit.

Step 5 — Sequence and balance

Write the loading order: floor-stable and heavy items go in first and toward the nose; fragile, light, and early-unload items go last and near the doors. As you sequence, keep the load balanced — weight spread evenly nose-to-door and side-to-side so the centre of gravity stays central. For road trailers this is non-negotiable: an unbalanced load can put you over a legal axle weight even when the total is fine.

A worked mini-example

Say you have 480 cartons, each 60 × 40 × 40 cm (0.096 m³) and 18 kg, going into a 40ft:

Check	Calculation	Result
Cargo volume	480 × 0.096 m³	46.1 m³
Container volume	40ft ≈ 67.7 m³	fits (~68% — leaves slack)
Cargo weight	480 × 18 kg	8,640 kg
Payload limit	~26,500 kg	well under

So this load is volume-driven with plenty of weight headroom — a candidate for taller stacking or adding heavier SKUs to use the spare payload. A plan makes that obvious; a rule of thumb hides it.

The fast way: generate the plan automatically

Doing this by hand works for one box size. Real shipments mix SKUs, have load-bearing and weight rules, and need a sequence and a centre-of-gravity check — and redoing it by hand every time the manifest changes is where hours disappear and paid-for space goes empty.

ContainerMath is container loading software that does steps 3–5 for you: enter your carton or pallet dimensions, weights and quantities, and it computes a 3D loading plan — how many fit, where they go, the loading sequence, the weight & balance, and your real volume and payload utilisation. It handles 20ft, 40ft, 40ft High Cube, reefer and truck/road vessels, and exports a printable loading chart the warehouse can follow box by box. Need the volume math first? Use the free CBM calculator.

Build your loading plan free →

Frequently asked questions

What is a container loading plan?

It’s a document — usually with a 3D view or top/side diagrams — that shows what cargo goes into a container, where each item is placed, the order to load them, and how much of the container’s volume and weight capacity the load uses.

How do I make a container loading plan?

Start from the container’s internal dimensions and payload limit, list every item’s size, weight and quantity, check the totals against the volume and weight limits, tile the cargo into the floor and stack within the height limit, then write the door-to-nose loading sequence while keeping the load balanced. Software automates the placement, sequence and balance.

What’s the difference between a loading plan and a loading sequence?

The plan is the whole picture (placement + utilisation + balance); the sequence is one part of it — the specific order items are loaded so heavy, stable goods go in first and the load stays balanced as it’s built.

Is there a free container loading plan template?

Rather than a static template, a calculator that takes your dimensions and weights and returns the placement, sequence and a printable chart is more accurate, because it recomputes the balance and utilisation every time your cargo changes. You can generate one free with ContainerMath.