CyanSunPaper Cup Carton & Container Calculator
Cups are cheap; empty space is not. Enter the order quantity and carton size to get the number of cartons, cubic metres, gross weight and how many cartons fit in a 20 ft or 40 ft container — before you ask for a freight quote.
Container volumes here are practical usable figures — 28 m³ for a 20 ft GP, 58 m³ for a 40 ft GP and 68 m³ for a 40 ft HQ — not the ISO nominal capacity. Real loading depends on carton rigidity, pallet choice and how the forwarder stows the boxes. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm with the forwarder.
How paper cups are packed
Cups are nested, not boxed individually. A sleeve holds 25, 50 or 100 cups, sleeves go into a polybag or straight into the carton, and the carton is dimensioned around the nested stack. That is why a carton of 1,000 cups is only about 0.07 m³: the cups occupy the space of one cup plus the stack.
The usual export carton is 5-ply or 7-ply corrugated with a polybag liner for humidity. Double-wall and ripple cups pack fewer per carton because the wall is thicker; 24–32 oz cups often ship 500 per carton. Always ask for the carton dimensions and the cups-per-carton figure in writing — they decide your freight cost.
Typical carton data by cup size
The table uses the same reference sizes as the size calculator. Carton dimensions are typical export cartons, and CBM is calculated from them.
| Cup | Cups / carton | Carton size | CBM / carton |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 oz hot | 2000 | 52 × 38 × 32 cm | 0.0632 m³ |
| 6 oz hot | 1000 | 52 × 38 × 32 cm | 0.0632 m³ |
| 8 oz hot | 1000 | 55 × 37 × 32 cm | 0.0651 m³ |
| 12 oz hot | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 34 cm | 0.0749 m³ |
| 16 oz hot | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 40 cm | 0.0882 m³ |
| 20 oz hot | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 44 cm | 0.0970 m³ |
| 12 oz cold | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 35 cm | 0.0771 m³ |
| 16 oz cold | 1000 | 60 × 40 × 38 cm | 0.0912 m³ |
| 20 oz cold | 1000 | 60 × 40 × 43 cm | 0.1032 m³ |
| 24 oz cold | 1000 | 60 × 40 × 48 cm | 0.1152 m³ |
| 32 oz cold | 500 | 60 × 40 × 45 cm | 0.1080 m³ |
| 4 oz ice cream | 2000 | 50 × 38 × 30 cm | 0.0570 m³ |
| 8 oz ice cream | 1000 | 55 × 37 × 30 cm | 0.0611 m³ |
| 12 oz soup | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 32 cm | 0.0705 m³ |
| 16 oz soup | 1000 | 58 × 38 × 36 cm | 0.0793 m³ |
| 24 oz soup | 500 | 58 × 38 × 44 cm | 0.0970 m³ |
These cartons are a starting point for a quote. The factory's own carton may be a few centimetres different, and that difference is worth real money at container scale: 5 cm on one dimension across 900 cartons is several cubic metres.
The CBM maths, with a worked example
For 20,000 12 oz cups at 1,000 per carton in a 58 × 38 × 34 cm carton:
- Cartons: 20,000 ÷ 1,000 = 20 cartons
- Volume per carton: 0.58 × 0.38 × 0.34 = 0.0749 m³
- Total volume: 20 × 0.0749 = 1.50 m³
- Gross weight: 20,000 × 11 g + 20 × 0.8 kg = 236 kg
At 1.5 m³ this is an LCL shipment, not a container. The break-even between LCL and a 20 ft container is usually around 12–15 m³ depending on the route; below that, LCL is cheaper even after the destination charges. Above roughly 20 m³ a 20 ft container almost always wins.
Container capacity: what actually fits
Nominal ISO volumes overstate what you can load. The practical planning figures below leave room for carton compression, pallet gaps and the door area.
| Container | Practical volume | Payload |
|---|---|---|
| 20 ft GP | 28 m³ | 21,000 kg |
| 40 ft GP | 58 m³ | 26,000 kg |
| 40 ft HQ | 68 m³ | 26,000 kg |
Payload matters for dense cargo, but paper cups are light: a 40 ft HQ full of 12 oz cups is around 11 tonnes, well under the 26-tonne limit. The constraint is almost always volume, which is why carton design — not cup design — controls freight cost.
Pallets, floor loading and the last carton
- Floor loaded fits the most cartons and is normal for FCL. Unloading at destination is slower and may cost extra.
- Pallets are faster and protect the bottom layer; a 1.2 × 1.0 m pallet at 1.5 m stack height holds about 24 of the 12 oz cartons above.
- Mixed SKUs rarely fill a container exactly. Leave 5–10% headroom in the plan and expect a partial last carton per SKU.
Ask the supplier for a loading plan with the proforma invoice. A one-page plan showing cartons, dimensions, gross weight and CBM prevents the most common delay at booking: the forwarder quoting from a different carton size than the factory actually uses.
Freight is only one line of the cost. Add duty and fees in the landed cost calculator.
Open the landed cost calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
How many paper cups fit in a 40 ft container?
It depends on the carton, not the cup. A 12 oz cup packed 1,000 per carton in a 58 × 38 × 34 cm carton is 0.075 m³ per carton, so a 40 ft HQ (about 68 m³ usable) takes roughly 900 cartons — around 900,000 cups. A 40 ft GP takes about 770 cartons. Always check the payload limit as well: 900 cartons at 12 kg gross is under 11 tonnes, so this shipment is volume-limited.
How do I calculate CBM for paper cups?
CBM = carton length × width × height in metres × number of cartons. For a 58 × 38 × 34 cm carton that is 0.58 × 0.38 × 0.34 = 0.0749 m³. Twenty cartons is 1.50 m³. Use the outside carton dimensions and round up the carton count, because the last carton is usually partial.
Why is the freight quote different from my CBM calculation?
Forwarders charge on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight, and LCL shipments are often rounded up to the next cubic metre or charged a minimum. Port handling, documentation and trucking are usually separate lines. Ask for a quote that shows chargeable weight, CBM and each surcharge.
Are paper cups shipped on pallets or floor loaded?
Both are common. Pallets are faster to handle and protect cartons, but a 1.2 × 1.0 m pallet uses space that could hold cartons. Floor loading fits more in a full container and is normal for direct-to-warehouse shipments. Decide before you book, because it changes the loading plan and the unloading cost at destination.
How much does an empty paper cup weigh?
A single-wall 12 oz hot cup is about 9–11 g; a double-wall cup is 14–18 g; a 16 oz cold cup is 12–15 g. The carton adds about 0.7–1.0 kg. Weigh a sample rather than trusting a table — coating, board and rim style all move the number.
Can I mix sizes in one container?
Yes, and most first orders do. The constraint is carton dimensions: mixed cartons stack badly, so plan full cartons per SKU and let the container loading plan handle the remainder. Keep a 5–10% buffer in the CBM estimate for mixed loads.