Container Loading Math: How Many Moroccan Straw Bags Fit in a 20ft vs 40ft Container? (Real Numbers, Not Estimates)

First-time importers planning a container shipment from Morocco usually overestimate how many bags fit by 20-40%. They look at the bag’s weight (under 1 kg for most styles) and assume that container weight limits are the constraint. They’re wrong: hand-woven straw bags are volume-bound, not weight-bound. They take up enormous CBM per kilo because they’re hollow.

This post gives you the real numbers — actual fit counts for our most common SKUs, in both 20ft and 40ft containers, with the math you need to plan your own freight.

First, the volume math basics

Ocean freight is priced by CBM (cubic meter, m³) for less-than-container loads (LCL) and by container for full-container loads (FCL). Most buyers don’t realize that a 20ft container holds about 28 CBM theoretical maximum, but only ~24 CBM practical maximum after accounting for bag/box geometry inefficiency. A 40ft container holds ~58 CBM theoretical, ~50 CBM practical.

Hand-woven bags don’t pack tight. The interior of each bag is empty, and even when stuffed and stacked carefully you can’t recover all that air. The realistic packaging factor is 0.7–0.85, meaning if your bags total 30 CBM unpacked volume, you’ll need ~36 CBM of container space.

How many of each SKU fits — the real numbers

These are based on our actual shipping records over the last 24 months, with bags packed into corrugated cartons of 25 units each (industry-standard for our category).

These are mixed-load capacities — if you’re loading a mix of SKUs (which most buyers do), the practical fit is in the middle of these ranges. A typical 40ft load might be 800 small handbags + 600 medium totes + 200 large beach bags.

Per-unit freight cost at typical volumes

Container freight from Casablanca to typical destination ports (rough current ranges, year-end 2026 — verify with your forwarder for live rates):

Apply this to a real load. A 40ft container to Rotterdam at €2,500 holding 1,300 medium totes = €1.92 per unit ocean freight. The same volume in 5 LCL shipments of 10 CBM each = ~5,200 in freight = €4 per unit. Containers are cheaper per unit at the volume threshold where they make sense.

The break-even between LCL and FCL

There’s a practical CBM threshold where a full container becomes cheaper than splitting the same volume across multiple LCL shipments. For Casablanca → Europe, that’s around 12-15 CBM. For longer routes (US East Coast), it’s 8-10 CBM.

Below that threshold, LCL is cheaper because you only pay for the cubic meters you use. Above it, FCL is cheaper because container rates don’t scale linearly with volume.

Hidden costs that change the math

The unit-economics buyers usually miss:

• Inland trucking from Casablanca/Marrakech to port — €150–400 depending on origin. Often quoted EXW; you pay it.
• Origin port handling fees (THC) — €120–200 per container at Casablanca port
• Destination port handling + customs clearance — €350–700 depending on port, plus duties
• Last-mile delivery from destination port to your warehouse — €150–500 within Europe, more for inland US
• Insurance — typically 0.3–0.5% of cargo value
• Demurrage — if your container sits at destination port more than the free days (usually 5-7), €100+/day

Add it all up and a €2,500 “freight cost” becomes a €4,000+ landed-cost line item. Per-unit math should always include all of this.

Weight limits — the often-ignored second constraint

A 40ft container has a volumetric max of ~50 CBM but a weight max of about 26,000 kg (varies by carrier). Hand-woven straw products are very light — even a fully volumetric 40ft container of medium totes weighs only ~1,200 kg. So weight is rarely the constraint.

Two exceptions: (1) Container loaded with very large pendant lights with iron frames can hit weight limits before volume limits. (2) Mixed loads with heavy items (ceramics, leather goods) can hit weight limits early.

Practical loading tips

• Stuff with paper, not air — hand-woven bags arrive with their interior filled with a layer of crumpled tissue paper. This protects the shape and recovers ~10% of the wasted volume.
• Mix sizes within cartons when possible — small handbags inside larger totes, when SKUs come from the same buyer. Recovers ~5–8% volume.
• Use double-walled cartons for the outer 2 layers of the container stack. Single-walled crushes under stack weight on long voyages.
• Always include 4-6 dehumidifier sachets per carton — ocean shipping is humid; mold risk is real.
• Specify which port for FCL quotes — Casablanca, Tangier, Agadir all have different fee structures and transit times.

How to plan your first container

1. Total your SKU mix in CBM using the table above (or ask your supplier for per-SKU CBM data — we provide it on every quote).
2. Add 15–25% packaging factor to get container space needed.
3. Compare FCL and LCL quotes from 2-3 forwarders — rates vary 20-30% between freight forwarders for the same route.
4. Verify destination port fees — these aren’t in the freight quote; they’re billed separately.
5. Build in 1-2 weeks of buffer for transit + customs clearance.

Our standard container quotes

On any wholesale order over 1,000 units, we provide:

• Per-SKU CBM data so you can model the math yourself
• FCL quote (FOB Casablanca) for both 20ft and 40ft scenarios
• LCL quote alongside, so you can compare directly
• Recommended freight forwarder partners we’ve worked with for 5+ years
• Estimated landed cost per unit at your destination port

Most buyers we work with land their first container at €2.50–€4.50 in freight per unit on a typical mid-priced SKU. That sits in the 15–25% of unit cost — a number worth modeling carefully before placing a PO.

Want our per-SKU CBM data sheet? → Talk to our wholesale team