Full container load (FCL): one shipper, one box

Packing happens on the shipper's own floor

The container is delivered to the premises, loaded by the shipper's own team and sealed there. That removes a warehouse from each end of the journey and gives complete control over how the cargo is arranged, braced and protected. It also transfers the consequences of poor packing squarely onto the shipper, since nobody downstream will see inside the box until it reaches the consignee.

Seals, and the mass the carrier must be told

The seal identifier is recorded on the shipping documents and checked at each interchange, so a mismatch on arrival is immediate evidence that the box was opened. Separately, the shipper is required to provide the container's verified gross mass before it may be loaded aboard, an obligation introduced under the international convention on safety of life at sea after mis-declared weights were implicated in stow failures. The maritime regulator publishes the requirement and the accepted methods of arriving at the figure.

Choosing the right box for the cargo

Standard dry containers come in the familiar 20-foot and 40-foot lengths, with high-cube variants adding internal height. Beyond those, open-top boxes accept cargo craned in from above, flat racks take loads wider or taller than a closed box permits, and insulated or refrigerated units serve temperature-controlled goods. Dense cargo tends to fill a shorter box by weight long before it fills a longer one by space, which is why heavy commodities usually travel in the shorter unit.

How exclusive boxes go wrong

Weight concentrated at one end, cargo left free to move in a partly filled box, no ventilation planning for goods that breathe, and packaging that cannot bear stacking are the recurring faults. Condensation is the classic one: warm humid air packed in with the cargo condenses on the roof as the vessel moves between climates and falls back as water. Desiccants, liners and moisture-tolerant packing address it; hoping for the best does not.

The case for exclusivity

Two handling events disappear, the transit is generally shorter because there is no consolidation cycle, and the cargo never sits beside another shipper's goods. For volumes approaching a box, for goods vulnerable to contamination or odour, and for anything where an unrelated consignee's problem must not hold the shipment, exclusive use is the straightforward answer.

Frequently asked questions

Does a full container load have to be physically full?

No. The term describes exclusive use of the container, not how much of it is occupied. Shippers frequently book a whole box for a part load to avoid consolidation handling and shared exposure.

Who is responsible for how the container is packed?

The party that packs it. Because the shipper loads and seals at its own premises, the quality of bracing, weight distribution and moisture protection is theirs, and carriers rely on the declared mass they are given.