Chairs are a volume cargo, not a weight cargo. The container fills up long before it reaches its weight limit.
Published 17 October 2026 · Sabo Furniture, Foshan
Chairs are a volume cargo, not a weight cargo. The container fills up long before it reaches its weight limit, which is why the packing method matters more than the total kilogrammes.
| Range | Per chair | Up to, per 40HQ |
|---|---|---|
| Steel Chiavari | 4 kg | 1,420 |
| Moulded resin | 4.6 kg | 2,500 |
| Solid wood | 4 kg | 1,100 |
| Banquet / hotel | 5.5 kg | 1,700 |
| Church / auditorium | 7.2 kg | 1,250 |
| Folding | 4.5 kg | 2,900 |
"Up to" is deliberate: the real figure depends on packing, whether cushions ship fitted, and how much of the container is given to other goods.
A 40HQ takes roughly 25 tonnes. Even at 2,500 chairs, resin comes to about 11.5 tonnes — less than half the weight limit. The constraint is the 76 cubic metres, and the only lever is how densely the frames nest.
That is why the packing specification (10–12 per stack, woven bag, stacked to the container ceiling on a loading plan) matters more than any weight calculation.
Three things, in order of impact: cushions fitted at packing rather than shipped separately, mixed models in one container, and non-standard cartons. Any of the three can cost 10–15% of the load.
For a mixed order, ask for a loading plan before you book freight. It is the difference between a container that closes and one that ships with 80 empty cubic metres of air.
Below roughly 300 chairs, LCL is normally cheaper than a part-filled container, because you pay for volume used rather than for the box. Above that, the maths flips and a dedicated container usually wins — especially if the goods are time-sensitive, since LCL waits for consolidation.
800 steel Chiavari is about 56% of a 40HQ by volume. Shipped as a part-container, you pay for the space you use; shipped as LCL, you pay per cubic metre and wait for consolidation.
Add 800 cushions fitted at packing and the cube grows again — which is why the loading figure is quoted for chairs, not chairs plus pads. Ship the pads separately if the container is tight.
If the same order mixed two models, expect the usable load to drop by 10–15%: stacks from different frames do not nest, and the gaps are what you pay for.
Up to 1,420 steel Chiavari chairs, up to 2,500 resin, and up to 1,100 solid wood. The numbers assume chairs only, packed in stacks in woven bags.
Lighter frames stack tighter and the packs weigh less, so the container cubes out later. The limit is volume, not weight, for chairs.
The total drops. Mixed loads always cube out worse than a single model because the stacks no longer nest together — expect 10–15% less than the single-model figure.
Roughly 40% of the 40HQ figure. The 20GP is shorter rather than narrower, so the loss is in floor length, not in stack height.
All buying guides — thirteen articles on sizing, pricing, importing and specifying.
