Quoting freight per forty-foot box
On many long-haul lanes, carriers and forwarders quote ocean freight per FEU, and published rate benchmarks often use the same unit. A rate per FEU usually covers one 40 ft container regardless of height, though some carriers price high cubes separately. Surcharges such as bunker or peak season charges may be quoted per container, per TEU or per FEU, so line up the units before comparing two quotes.
Double the space, not double the payload
An FEU has roughly twice the floor length of a 20 ft container, but it does not carry twice the weight. Maximum gross weights for 20 ft and 40 ft boxes are often similar, so dense cargo such as tiles or metal parts tends to ship in 20 ft containers, while light, bulky goods fill 40 ft and high cube boxes. Road weight limits at origin or destination can tighten this further.
40GP, 40HC and other record codes
On booking confirmations and tracking records, a 40 ft unit rarely says FEU. It appears as shorthand such as 40GP, 40DV or 40HC, or as an ISO 6346 size-type code starting with 4, such as 42G1 or 45G1. When a report totals FEU, it may count each 20 ft box as half a unit, so reconcile it with box counts before using it for billing or volume commitments.
Example
A rate quoted per FEU from Shanghai to Rotterdam applies to each 40 ft box booked, so an importer shipping five 40 ft high cubes pays that rate five times, plus any surcharges quoted separately.
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Official sources
Questions
What does FEU mean?
FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit) is a capacity unit equal to one 40 ft container, or two TEU. It is common in freight rate quotes and booking volumes on lanes where the 40 ft box is the usual unit of sale.
Is an FEU the same as a 40 ft high cube?
An FEU is a unit of capacity, and a 40 ft high cube is one physical box that counts as one FEU. A standard 40 ft container also counts as one FEU, though it is a foot lower.
Why do some rates use FEU and others TEU?
Mostly habit and equipment mix. Lanes dominated by 40 ft boxes tend to quote per FEU, while capacity reports and lanes with more 20 ft cargo often use TEU. Convert before comparing.