FEU (Forty-foot Equivalent Unit)

What is an FEU?

An FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit) is a measure of volume in units of 40-foot long containers. For example, “My company moves 500 FEU from Shanghai to Los Angeles every year.”

One 40-foot container would equal an FEU, or two 20’ containers would equal an FEU.

Why do shippers count in FEU?

Carriers, ports, and shippers use FEU to compare container volume across different container sizes. A shipper with ten 40-foot containers and four 20-foot containers has 12 FEU of cargo, since each pair of 20-foot containers equals one FEU.

The industry also uses TEU, which counts in 20-foot units, so 1 FEU equals 2 TEU. FEU suits shippers who use mostly 40-foot containers. A standard 40-foot container holds about 67 CBM and a 40-foot high cube holds about 76 CBM, but both count as 1 FEU.

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