Containers & Cargo Equipment
TEU
Also known as: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
A twenty-foot equivalent unit is the standard measure of container capacity, based on the volume of one twenty-foot-long shipping container, used to express the size of vessels, terminals, and cargo flows in a common unit. A standard forty-foot container counts as two TEU, so a ship rated at twenty thousand TEU can carry the equivalent of twenty thousand twenty-foot boxes. Because it normalizes different container lengths into a single figure, the TEU is the universal yardstick for comparing ship capacity, port throughput, and trade volume across the global container shipping industry.
A capacity unit, not a box you can book. Rates and vessel statistics are quoted in TEU while you ship in forty-foot containers, which is why a headline rate rarely resembles your invoice.
Related terms
Reviewed by a licensed customs broker. Definitions are general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment. Duty rates, tariff programs and agency requirements change frequently.