News
Author: Young Lin | Role: Export & Project Planning Lead, Oneluck Carpet Factory | Updated: October 2026
Verified by our carpet loading team, Zhaoqing | Carpet tile & broadloom | Carpet Loading Plan Team
Based on our loading team records, broadloom carpet is limited by roll width and payload, while Carpet Tile is limited by carton count and payload. A 40ft high cube gives roughly 28 square meters of floor, so a 4m wide roll has to travel across the container rather than along it. That geometry, not cubic volume, produces the number we quote. In our experience the figure also moves with the packing method you order, because palletised tiles and floor stacked tiles consume the same floor very differently. We quote a loading plan rather than a volume figure, and we settle it at quotation stage so quantity, packing and shipping are confirmed before manufacturing starts.
The question we get asked most often is how many square meters of carpet fit in a 40ft container, and volume alone will not answer it. Importers usually divide container cubic capacity by roll volume, receive an encouraging number, and then discover that the container reached its payload limit or ran out of usable floor while cubic space was still empty. Carpet is dense and bulky at the same time, which is an unusual combination in freight, and it is the reason a loading plan is worth more than a capacity chart.
This guide sets out what we plan a carpet container load against. It compares roll form broadloom with carton packed Carpet Tile, defines the container envelope we build from, and explains which limit arrives first for each cargo form. It does not quote a universal square meter figure, because roll diameter, roll weight and carton configuration move that figure on every order. Instead it walks through how we build the calculation, from the container envelope through to the packing method, so you can see exactly where your own quantity lands.
Figure 1: Container envelope and carpet capacity by cargo form. Source: Oneluck Carpet loading records, 2026.
Every container figure we quote is rebuilt from the same three inputs: the internal container envelope, the unit weight of the goods, and the packing configuration you have ordered. The matrix below sets out how those inputs decide the finished quantity for each carpet form:
| Planning Factor | Broadloom Carpet | Carpet Tile | Effect on Container Quantity |
| Cargo form | Roll, laid across the container floor | Carton, palletised or floor stacked | Determines the counting method |
| Roll width | 3.66m or 4m | Not applicable | Limits rows across the container width |
| Unit weight | Exceeding 100 kg per roll | 3500 to 5200 g/m² total tile weight | Payload becomes the binding limit |
| Packing method | Double-layered linen bag, labeled for shipment | Reinforced cardboard box, sorted by production batch | Controls stack height and floor use |
| Primary constraint | Roll diameter and payload | Carton count and payload | Decides the final square meters |
| Planning input required | Width and weight per roll | Pieces per carton | Needed before we can quote |
Send us your roll width or tile format and your destination. Oneluck Carpet will return a roll or carton count, a floor footprint calculation and a fill rate for your chosen container type.
Request a Free Carpet Loading Calculation
On our 4m looms we run Axminster broadloom at 3.66m or 4m, and that single fact decides the whole loading geometry, because neither width can sit lengthwise in a container that measures about 2.35m across. Every roll therefore travels across the container floor, and the count is set by roll diameter and how many layers we can stack before the load becomes unstable. A 40ft high cube offers roughly 12.03m of floor length and 2.35m of width, which is about 28 square meters of floor area to work with. Weight usually arrives before the floor runs out. A full roll of wool rich Axminster broadloom can exceed 100 kg, so a container reaches its payload ceiling while cubic space is still available. That is why we ask for roll diameter and roll weight together before we confirm a quantity, and why we publish a loading plan rather than a square meter guess. For projects that need a firm number early, we can also plan custom roll lengths so that fewer, longer rolls carry the same total area, and we keep the pile direction running the same way across every roll in the shipment.
Two further points decide whether the plan survives the loading bay. A 4m roll that sits against the container wall without proper blocking can shift in transit and distort the end of the roll, so we specify blocking and lashing for every broadloom load. Where a container is only partly filled, we would rather quote an honest fill rate and hold the balance for the next shipment than pad the load with product the project does not need yet.
Carpet Tile is counted from cartons rather than rolls, and the arithmetic is different because the tiles are flat, rigid and stackable. Our tiles are produced in 500×500 mm and 600×600 mm formats with bitumen or PVC compound backing, packed in reinforced cardboard boxes. Once those figures are fixed, the carton count follows from the container floor area and the permitted stack height.
Three boundaries change the answer in practice. A tile weighing between 3500 and 5200 g/m² total can reach the payload limit on a densely stacked 600×600 mm order, so a plan that is safe with one backing may be overweight with another. Carton dimensions that do not divide neatly into the container width leave an unusable strip along one side, which is worth knowing before the order is placed rather than after the cartons are cut and packed. Where humidity is high on the route, we would rather stack lower and ship an extra container than risk crushed cartons and distorted tiles at destination, because a tile that arrives domed cannot be laid flat no matter how carefully the installer works.
There is also a counting trap on mixed backing orders. Bitumen backed and PVC backed tiles of the same face weight can differ in carton weight, so a quotation that counts only total square meters may understate the payload by the end of the container. We count cartons, not square meters, when we build a tile loading plan. None of these are reasons to avoid carton packed tiles; they are why we ask for your tile format, backing and packing method first.
1. Fix the unit specification: Confirm roll width and roll weight for broadloom, or tile size, pieces per carton and carton weight for Carpet Tile, before asking for a loading figure.
2. Name the container type: Tell us 20GP, 40GP or 40HQ. Payload ceilings differ between them, and broadloom carpet usually reaches the payload ceiling before the floor.
3. State the packing method: Confirm whether tiles ship palletised or floor stacked and whether rolls are labeled individually, because both change the usable floor area.
4. Book the load plan early: Ask for the loading plan at quotation stage, so quantity, packing and shipping are settled before we start manufacturing rather than after the goods are ready and the container is already booked.
How much extra carpet should I order for cutting waste?
Allow 5% to 10% above the measured floor area for cutting waste, pattern matching and future repairs. Broadloom orders with a large pattern repeat sit at the upper end of that range, while plain Carpet Tile layouts usually sit at the lower end. We recommend keeping the balance as attic stock from the same production batch, because a later run may not match the original dye lot exactly.
Should I book a 20ft or a 40ft container for a carpet order?
A 20ft container suits smaller projects and mixed orders, while a 40ft container typically lowers the shipping cost for each square meter on larger volumes. We compare the two footprints against your actual quantity and tell you which one leaves less unused floor. Where a 40ft container would sail half empty because of a payload ceiling, two 20ft containers can move the same area with a better fill rate on each.
Can you load carpet tile and broadloom carpet in one container?
Yes. We plan mixed loads where a project needs both forms, provided the combined weight and the floor footprint both stay inside the container limits. Tiles normally travel at the doors and rolls behind them, so discharge follows the installation sequence, and the rolls are the last item out rather than the first thing blocking the aisle.
Do you supply a loading plan before we place the order?
Yes. We prepare the loading plan at quotation stage, so the order quantity, packing method and shipping arrangement are confirmed before manufacturing starts. If the plan shows a partial container, we will say so rather than fill the space with product you did not ask for, and we can hold the balance against a later phase of the same project.
What information do you need to calculate the quantity?
Send the roll width or tile format, the estimated area, the container type you intend to book and your destination port. With those four points we can return a quantity calculation and a fill rate for the container within one working day, and we will flag any figure that depends on a dimension you have not yet confirmed. If the order is still at tender stage, send the floor plan instead and we will work from the measured area until the specification is fixed.
EN 13501-1: reaction to fire classification for floor coverings.
ISO 9239-1: critical radiant flux test behind the Bfl-s1 class.
Internal loading records: roll width, roll weight and carton build.
Container envelope figures: re-checked against your carrier box specification.
What Carpet Fire Rating Does Your Project Require? : which fire class each construction holds, and how to match it to a project requirement.
Does Carpet Pile Weight Determine How Long It Lasts? : how to read pile weight, pile height and density as one set rather than one number.
What Carpet Is Used in Mosques and Prayer Halls? : roll width planning for large open floors where seams are the main constraint.
Carpet Tile Collection : 500×500 mm and 600×600 mm formats with bitumen or PVC backing, ready for carton counting.
Oneluck Carpet runs tufting, weaving, printing and backing under one roof in Guangdong, and issues a roll or carton count with every quotation. Send your floor plan and we will confirm the load.
Send Your Floor Plan for a Loading Plan
Copyright © 2026 Zhaoqing Yunle International Trade Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
