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Full Container, Shared Container or Air Freight? Choosing How to Ship Your Belongings Abroad

Most international movers will offer you one of three ways to send your household overseas. Which one you pick shapes the price, how long you wait for your things, and how much handling they go through. Here is how the three compare, in plain terms.

The three options at a glance

• Full container (FCL, "full container load"): a 20-foot or 40-foot ocean container used only for your goods. It is sealed at or near your home and not opened again until customs or delivery.
• Shared container (LCL, "less than container load", also called groupage or consolidation): your crated or wrapped goods travel in a container alongside other customers' shipments heading the same way.
• Air freight: goods fly as cargo, usually in boxes or a small crate. It is the fastest of the three and by far the most expensive per cubic foot.

How each one is priced

A full container is generally quoted as a set price for the container, plus packing, origin and destination services. The container costs about the same whether it is half empty or packed to the roof, so it gets better value the more you fill it.

A shared container is priced by the volume your shipment takes up, usually in cubic feet or cubic meters, often with a minimum charge. That makes it a natural fit for smaller moves, because you are not paying for empty space.

Air freight is priced by "chargeable weight", which is whichever is greater: the actual weight, or a weight calculated from the size of the boxes. Household goods are bulky for their weight, so the size-based figure usually wins, which is why sending furniture by air rarely makes sense.

Whichever method you choose, ask whether the quote is binding, and get the destination charges (port fees, customs clearance, delivery and unpacking) spelled out in writing. Our cost guide covers the charges that most often get left out.

How much space you get

• 20-foot container: roughly 33 cubic meters (about 1,170 cubic feet) inside.
• 40-foot container: roughly 67 cubic meters (about 2,390 cubic feet) inside.
• 40-foot high cube: about a foot taller than a standard 40-foot, at roughly 76 cubic meters (about 2,700 cubic feet).

Those are the inside measurements, and no load uses every inch. Movers commonly say a 20-foot container holds a small apartment or one- to two-bedroom home and a 40-foot holds a larger family home, but that is only a rule of thumb. A proper in-home or video survey is the only way to get a volume you can rely on.

Speed and handling

A full container usually has the most predictable schedule, since it moves as soon as it is loaded and booked on a vessel. A shared container may wait at a warehouse until enough cargo is gathered for that destination, and it is unloaded again at the far end before your share is released, so it often takes longer and your goods are handled more times. Air freight is the quickest, and many families use it for a small batch of essentials while the rest of their things travel by sea.

Which one fits your move

• A few boxes, a suitcase overflow, or work equipment you need right away: air freight, or a small shared-container shipment if you can wait.
• A studio or small apartment, or a partial move: a shared container is often the sensible choice. Compare it against a 20-foot full container, since the gap can be smaller than you'd expect.
• A full home, or anything with large furniture: a full container, sized by a survey rather than a guess.
• A car going with your household goods: ask whether it can go in your own full container. Customs and import rules for vehicles vary widely by country, so check them before you plan around it.

Questions to ask any mover before you choose

• Is this quote for a full container or a shared container, and what size or volume is it based on?
• Who loads the container, and is it sealed at my home or at a warehouse?
• For a shared container, how long might my shipment wait for consolidation?
• Which destination charges are included, and which will I pay on arrival?
• Are you licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) as an ocean transportation intermediary? You can check a U.S. company's license on the FMC's website.
• What insurance or valuation is offered, and how are claims handled?

Common questions

Is a shared container cheaper than a full container?

For a small shipment it usually is, because you pay only for the space your goods take up. Once a shipment gets close to filling a container on its own, a full container is often the better value and avoids waiting for other shipments to be consolidated.

How much fits in a 20-foot container?

A standard 20-foot container has roughly 33 cubic meters (about 1,170 cubic feet) of internal space. Movers often describe that as the contents of a small apartment or a one- to two-bedroom home, but the real answer depends on your furniture and how it is packed, so ask for a written survey.

Why does air freight cost so much more?

Airlines charge by chargeable weight, which is the greater of the actual weight and a volume-based weight. Bulky household goods take up a lot of space for their weight, so air freight is usually kept to a few boxes of things you need right away.

More guides

• How Much Does It Cost to Move Overseas? What Affects the Price
• How to Avoid International Moving Scams
• Moving Overseas Checklist: Step-by-Step Planning Guide

Updated October 2026. For general consumer information only, not legal or financial advice. Container sizes are typical industry figures and vary slightly by container owner.