Carton planning: how many folding chairs fit in a 40HQ

Freight is quoted per container, not per chair. That makes carton efficiency a direct margin lever, and it is the first thing we calculate when a new model is developed.

The basics

A 40HQ holds roughly 68 cubic metres. A typical zero-gravity chair carton measures about 96 × 63 × 15 cm, or 0.091 m³. That is around 740 cartons if the container can be filled perfectly — in practice, with pallets or mixed SKUs, expect 600–680.

Where the volume goes

• Folded thickness: reducing the fold from 17 cm to 15 cm adds roughly 8% more cartons.
• Bundling: two or four cartons strapped together reduce handling but must still be stackable.
• Mixed SKUs: mixing models is fine if the carton footprints match, otherwise you lose 5–10% of the container.

What we send with a quotation

For every model we quote, our export desk provides the carton dimensions, net and gross weight, units per 20GP and 40HQ, and a suggested loading pattern. If you are comparing suppliers, ask for this before you compare price — a chair that costs less but ships 15% fewer units is not cheaper.