Replace the dry floor before estimating reefer positions
An export order has eighteen completed Euro pallets and the team wants a forty-foot refrigerated booking. The dry forty-foot guide is useful for understanding packing geometry, but its count is not a reefer answer. A reefer has insulation and machinery, and its usable cargo envelope is equipment-specific. Start with the assigned refrigeration type and carrier specification. If the booking is still provisional, identify the published example you used and revisit the calculation when the actual unit is known.
Hapag-Lloyd’s current forty-foot Reefer High Cube inside table gives 11599 × 2290 × 2425 mm, with a 2290 × 2557 mm door. CMA CGM’s corresponding reefer example is 11584 × 2294 × 2557 mm, with a 2284 × 2567 mm door and a separate cargo usable-height entry. These different values demonstrate fleet variation and specification boundaries. Select a complete record from one equipment source for a scenario; assembling the largest values across sources would describe equipment neither carrier has offered.
Check eighteen footprints using transparent arithmetic
On 11599 × 2290 mm, orient a 1200 × 800 mm footprint with its long side along the equipment. Nine positions fit lengthwise because 9 × 1200 = 10800 mm, and two fit across because 2 × 800 = 1600 mm. This simple arrangement contains eighteen footprints. The remaining dimensions are 799 mm length and 690 mm width before spacing or other exclusions. This calculation is a baseline arrangement that can be checked by hand, rather than a published or proven maximum for all forty-foot reefers.
A uniformly rotated layout has floor(11599 / 800) = 14 positions along and floor(2290 / 1200) = 1 across, or fourteen. A mixed arrangement can differ from both uniform grids. The floor engine explores finite strip and MaxRects candidates for identical rectangles, so it may return a larger valid candidate. Retain its proof status. Best found reports what this search discovered; it does not prove that no other valid packing exists. Dry-container verified fixtures do not establish optimality for this reefer rectangle.
| Scenario | Modeled floor | Height record to check |
|---|---|---|
| Hapag-Lloyd reefer High Cube | 11599 × 2290 mm | 2425 mm inside; 2557 mm door |
| CMA CGM reefer High Cube | 11584 × 2294 mm | 2557 mm inside; separate usable cargo entry |
| Historical standard dry preset | 12032 × 2352 mm | 2395 mm inside; 2292 mm door |
| Historical dry High Cube preset | 12032 × 2352 mm | 2700 mm inside; 2597 mm door |
Translate spacing into the proposed grid
For the eighteen-position example, an illustrative 20 mm gap between the nine lengthwise rows requires 9 × 1200 + 8 × 20 = 10960 mm. A 20 mm gap between two footprints across requires 2 × 800 + 20 = 1620 mm. If a specifically agreed 50 mm wall band applies on each side and at each end, the modeled usable region becomes 11499 × 2190 mm. That particular grid still fits those numbers. None of these illustrative allowances is a recommended reefer airflow or securing requirement.
The comparison shows why explicit dimensions are more informative than reducing a count by an invented percentage. Spatial rules may affect only one direction or a particular channel. The floor planner’s uniform wall clearance cannot represent every such condition. Define the accepted reserved region with the carrier and loading team, then decide whether a rectangular approximation is adequate. If it removes a critical channel or obstruction from the model, use a separate equipment drawing that preserves those details.
Check loading height against all relevant envelopes
A hypothetical 2500 mm completed pallet is below the Hapag-Lloyd example door height of 2557 mm but above its stated inside height of 2425 mm. It therefore fails that interior dimensional screen by 75 mm even though the entry-height comparison looks positive. This is why a single number described as container height is inadequate. Distinguish door opening, interior construction height and carrier cargo loading line. Ask the carrier to resolve differing reference planes if the specification is unclear.
For cases 300 mm high on a 144 mm pallet, a hypothetical accepted total height limit of 2300 mm permits floor((2300 − 144) / 300) = 7 complete layers. Their finished arithmetic height is 2244 mm before caps or other materials. Eight layers would be 2544 mm. The accepted 2300 mm limit is an example input, not a value derived from a universal reefer rule. The case-layer result also needs a packaging and weight review; the floor planner neither evaluates compression nor certifies an upper loaded pallet tier.
Create a cargo list that the count cannot supply
Suppose each of eighteen full pallets has forty cases at 12 kg per case and an illustrative 25 kg pallet tare. Their gross mass before additional materials is 18 × (40 × 12 + 25) = 9090 kg. The floor drawing only counts the eighteen rectangular footprints; it does not produce that mass. Actual partial pallets, packaging materials and load distribution require their own entries. Compare the complete cargo record with the assigned equipment’s accepted payload and loading conditions rather than using floor quantity as a proxy for weight.
Temperature-controlled planning also requires the product-specific temperature, ventilation and handling record. Geometry does not simulate air movement or product temperature. A dense final drawing can conceal an inappropriate airflow arrangement, while a larger side gap alone does not prove proper cooling. Obtain the applicable instructions, and make any required reserved space explicit. Do not infer operating settings from the equipment dimensions or claim a temperature-control outcome because the floor search reports a valid arrangement.
Build a reefer scenario from this example
Change the planner’s internal floor to 11599 × 2290 mm and enter identical 1200 × 800 mm footprints. Run zero spacing for the arithmetic comparison, then repeat using the agreed restrictions and measured wrapped footprint. Keep the eighteen-position uniform-grid arithmetic alongside the returned mixed-search candidate. Record cargo height, loading-line instructions, pallet masses and the full assigned unit identifier in the shipment file.
Write your own input record beside this example: equipment identifier; dimension source and date; actual loaded footprint; rotation; gap; wall clearance; loaded height; result count and proof status. Retain the record with the layout.
Understand the limits of mixed orientation
Mixed orientation means the same rectangular load may appear at zero or ninety degrees. It does not mean the program packs Euro and industrial pallets together. Nor does it establish a feasible sequence through the door or suitable fork-entry direction. If your eighteen pallets differ in footprint, group them explicitly and plan zones with known quantities. A zone calculation should use the zone’s dimensions, not each group’s maximum capacity in the entire container. Shared full-floor maxima would count the same space repeatedly.
When reviewing the final proposal, check why each dimension was selected, whether the source is a current fleet example or an assigned measurement, and which constraints remain outside the model. Keep the result coordinates, status and equipment specification together. If the delivered unit differs, recalculate from the new floor and height information instead of retaining the original count. This process supports a reproducible planning decision while leaving thermal performance, restraint and loading approval to their appropriate reviews.
Primary sources and scope
Hapag-Lloyd forty-foot reefer High Cube: Current representative interior and door table.
CMA CGM container tables: Separate reefer examples and cargo usable-height data; confirm assigned equipment.