Container loading in LoadExpert happens in two tabs — carton loading and pallet loading. From a customer asking "how many cartons fit?" to a full shipment that has to be split across containers, those two tabs cover the decision. This page goes through them the way the app is actually laid out: what you enter, what comes back, and how each constraint is checked.
Open LoadExpert and there are exactly two calculation tabs: carton loading and pallet loading. Everything else in the app — calculation history, work orders, run logs — supports those two and does not calculate anything itself.
| Tab | When you use it | What is inside |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Carton loading | No pallets: corrugated boxes, plastic crates, bags or drums go straight into the container | Five modes |
| 2 · Pallet loading | The cargo is palletised first, then the whole pallets are forklifted in | Two questions × four container modes |
Loose cartons loaded straight into the container — corrugated boxes, plastic crates, bags, drums. This is the tab most shipments start with. Depending on what you already know and what you have to answer, you switch mode; the carton details, the solver setting and the calculate buttons are shared by all five modes.
| Mode | Question | What you enter | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | A customer gave you the carton size only and wants a quotation for "how many fit in one container" | One carton size + container | Carton count, volume utilization, gross weight, center of gravity, whether the payload limit is reached |
| Fixed-quantity allocation | A total quantity is fixed and the question is "how many containers, and how much in each" | One carton size + quantity + container | Container count, cartons per container, remainder left over |
| Load verification | Mixed SKUs — will they fit one container or not | Several carton sizes × quantities + container | Fits / does not fit, and how many cartons are left out |
| Multi-container allocation | Mixed SKUs — how many containers to get the whole lot shipped | Several carton sizes × quantities + container | How many containers, what goes into each, how every SKU is distributed |
| Optimal mixed loading | Quantities are open — find the combination that fills one container best | Several carton sizes, each with an exact value, an upper limit, a lower limit, a range and a priority + container | How many of each SKU, in the best combination found |
| Input | How it behaves |
|---|---|
| Carton dimensions and gross weight | Length / width / height in cm, gross weight per carton in kg. In the mixed-SKU modes you add one row per carton size. |
| Box rotation | On by default. Switch it off and the carton keeps its height upright and can only turn 90° on its base — the setting for cartons that must not be laid down or inverted (shipping marks facing up). |
| Weight-stacking tolerance | A 0–100% slider, default 30% on this tab. 0% = strict heavy-on-light; 30% = an upper carton may be up to 30% heavier than the one below; 100% = the constraint is off. |
| Target containers | Multi-select. Tick several container types and they are calculated in one run and compared side by side — no re-entering the same data container by container. |
| Payload limit | Leave it blank and each container's default payload limit is used; or enter the figure on your own contract — the difference from the default is shown for confirmation before you submit, with a one-click reset beside it. |
| Layout and solver | Rule-based layout for evenly built rows, or optimized loading for the higher count (see section 5). Alongside that, a fast solver returns a usable plan in about 15 seconds, and a thorough solver takes about 30 seconds and leaves fewer gaps. |
A customer writes: "We have 850 cartons at 60×40×40 cm (23.6 × 15.7 × 15.7 in) / 18 kg, shipping in 40HQ — will they fit, and roughly how many containers?" Run multi-container allocation with 850 cartons × 18 kg + 60×40×40 cm + 40HQ and you get the container count, the split per container and whether anything is overweight.
Palletise first — 8 presets (EUR, US and Asian standards) or your own pallet dimensions — then load the pallets into the container. The tab answers two separate questions, how much fits on one pallet and how many pallets the shipment needs, and then how many pallets fit a container — containers too short for the door are filtered out automatically.
| Question | What you have | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum per pallet | Carton size + pallet size | Units per layer × layers = cartons per pallet, footprint utilization, total height including the pallet; stacking is limited by whichever is reached first, height or weight |
| Pallets required | Carton sizes + total carton counts (mixed SKUs supported) + pallet size | The minimum pallet count, what goes on each pallet (Pallet A / Pallet B …), and how the full pallets and the last partial pallet are built |
Pallets are filled one at a time: each pallet takes the SKU that currently occupies the most volume, is filled up, and then the next pallet starts. That is why the count comes out close to the theoretical minimum. Identical builds are grouped into one row (Pallet A / Pallet B …), so the warehouse can prepare stock one stacking pattern per row.
| Container mode | Load | Containers |
|---|---|---|
| Single-container maximum | Pallets only | One |
| Mixed maximum | Pallets plus loose cartons | One |
| Multi-container allocation | Pallets only | Several |
| Mixed allocation | Pallets plus loose cartons | Several |
The two multi-container modes work out the container combination from the pallet count. The two "mixed" modes are what the trade usually calls a combi load.
The result of pallets required is drawn pallet type by pallet type: one tile for Pallet A, one for Pallet B, matching the pallet breakdown above it row for row. Calculate three pallets and the view shows three pallets — two full ones and the last partial one, which no longer has to be imagined.
The pallets that ship with the app (industry reference values; a non-standard pallet can be entered as any length and width):
| Standard | Dimensions | Tare | Max load | Rec. total height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR-pallet | 120 × 80 cm 47.2 × 31.5 in |
25 kg 55 lb |
1,000 kg 2,205 lb |
180 cm 70.9 in |
| EUR2 | 120 × 100 cm 47.2 × 39.4 in |
33 kg 73 lb |
1,200 kg 2,646 lb |
180 cm 70.9 in |
| GMA pallet | 121.9 × 101.6 cm 48 × 40 in |
21 kg 46 lb |
1,500 kg 3,307 lb |
180 cm 70.9 in |
| Asian standard | 110 × 110 cm 43.3 × 43.3 in |
25 kg 55 lb |
1,200 kg 2,646 lb |
180 cm 70.9 in |
| EUR half pallet (1/2) | 80 × 60 cm 31.5 × 23.6 in |
10 kg 22 lb |
— | 120 cm 47.2 in |
| EUR quarter pallet (1/4) | 60 × 40 cm 23.6 × 15.7 in |
5 kg 11 lb |
— | 80 cm 31.5 in |
| GMA half pallet (1/2) | 121.9 × 50.8 cm 48 × 20 in |
10 kg 22 lb |
— | 120 cm 47.2 in |
| GMA quarter pallet (1/4) | 61 × 50.8 cm 24 × 20 in |
5 kg 11 lb |
— | 80 cm 31.5 in |
Pallet sizes in centimetres with inches alongside, tare and load limits in kilograms with pounds alongside. Industry reference values — the pallet your supplier actually delivers governs. More on pallet standards.
10 cm (≈ 4 in) has to be left between the top of the pallet and the door for the forklift to work — that is the default handling clearance and it is adjustable. If the load does come out too tall, you do not have to try container types one by one: enter the height limit and the containers that cannot take it are greyed out for you.
A combi load puts the pallets in first and fills the space that is left with loose cartons, so that the last metres of a container carry cargo instead of air. It is not a separate tab: as on the home page, the combi load lives in the two mixed modes of the pallet tab.
Pallets plus loose cartons in one container. Use it when the pallet count is still open and you want the fullest possible single container.
Pallets plus loose cartons across several containers. Use it when the shipment is already fixed and you need the container combination plus what goes into each one.
Two different things get called "mixed" in loading. A combi load mixes pallets with loose cartons and lives on the pallet tab. Mixed SKUs — several carton sizes, all loose, no pallets — belong to carton loading, in load verification, multi-container allocation and optimal mixed loading.
The same carton data can be laid out two ways, and the difference matters to the people who have to build the load — not only to the number at the top of the result.
Every carton faces the same way and every layer is built the same way. A warehouse can copy it directly — it is the easiest plan to load and check, and it gives the lower carton count.
Carton orientations and row patterns are searched for the higher count. Better for quoting and for squeezing the last boxes in, less uniform on the floor.
| Solver | Time | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Fast solver | ~15 s | Returns a usable plan first. On mixed loads it keeps searching in the background and tells you if it finds a better one — it does not redraw the result on its own. |
| Thorough solver | ~30 s | Searches more fully and leaves fewer gaps. The more varied the cargo, the bigger the difference. With a single carton size the two solvers agree. |
The same carton gives a different number in a different container, so every result reports the utilization actually achieved rather than a headline maximum.
Cartons are placed at the size you enter, against the standard internal dimensions of the container — nothing is deducted on your behalf. If you want clearance for the door seal or a soft carton, enter slightly larger dimensions (for example 60.5 × 40.5 × 25.5 cm instead of 60 × 40 × 25 cm). See loading limits for how much is usually enough.
Every result is checked against the same criteria before it reaches you. A constraint that fails is reported rather than silently ignored — an unbalanced load, an overweight container or an unsupported carton is exactly what gets a container refused at the gate or turns into a claim later.
| Check | Criterion |
|---|---|
| Payload limit | Total gross weight against the container's payload limit. Leave the field blank to use the standard limit, or enter your own contract figure. |
| Door clearance | A single carton loaded upright against the door height — a 40HQ door is 258 cm (101.6 in), a 40GP door 228 cm (89.8 in). For pallets forklifted in whole, the load's total height is measured against the door instead. |
| Heavy-on-light | No upper layer heavier than the layer below beyond the tolerance you set (0–100%, strict at 0%), so cartons are not crushed by what sits on them. |
| Support area | Enough of each carton's base resting on the cartons below — no carton floating in mid-air. |
| Center of gravity | Offset from the container floor centre within ±10% lengthwise and widthwise, and center-of-gravity height below 60% of the internal height — against one-sided loading and container rollover. |
| Stacking layers | Internal height ÷ carton height on the carton tab; on the pallet tab the pallet's own load limit can bite first. |
| Handling clearance | 10 cm (≈ 4 in) above the pallet left for forklift entry by default, adjustable to your warehouse. |
Carton dimensions, gross weights and payload limits are used as entered, with no optimistic rounding, and internal container dimensions are fixed ISO reference values. What the tool will not do is hide a failed check: an overweight or badly balanced plan is shown with its warning, so it can be fixed before booking.
A loading calculation is rarely just for you — it goes to a customer for approval or to a warehouse to be built. So the result has to be saved, looked at and handed over.
Every calculation is saved automatically. Open an earlier one again to compare it, or send it on — no need to keep the numbers in a notebook beside the browser.
Carton loading shows the carton layout inside the container. Pallet loading lays the pallet types out side by side, one tile per Pallet A / Pallet B, matching the breakdown above it — the last partial pallet is visible rather than guessed at.
Generate a link for a result from your history and send it to the customer or the warehouse. The recipient opens the same 3D view and the same breakdown without signing in, and the link holds the version that was calculated — it does not drift as the solver improves.
History and share links belong to the account that created them, and business data is kept separate between accounts — the loading calculations run server-side.
| The question you have to answer | Where to go |
|---|---|
| No pallets — how many cartons fit one container? (quoting) | Carton loading → maximum capacity |
| No pallets — how many containers for this quantity? (booking) | Carton loading → fixed-quantity allocation or multi-container allocation |
| Mixed SKUs — will they fit one container? | Carton loading → load verification or optimal mixed loading |
| How many cartons on one pallet, and how high? | Pallet loading → maximum per pallet |
| How many pallets does this shipment need, and what goes on each? | Pallet loading → pallets required |
| How many pallets fit a container, and which containers are too short? | Pallet loading → pick a container mode and read the result |
| Pallets first, loose cartons in the space left over (combi load) | Pallet loading → mixed maximum or mixed allocation |
| A whole shipment: how many containers, and what goes into each | Carton loading → multi-container allocation, or pallet loading → multi-container allocation / mixed allocation |
Ask one question first: is this cargo palletised? If it is, use pallet loading; if it is not, use carton loading. Then tick every container type you might use, and run the calculation — the result tells you how much fits in each, and how far short the ones that do not fit fall.
The free trial runs single-SKU container capacity on 20GP / 40GP / 40HQ / 45HQ. A full account adds all five carton-loading modes, pallet loading with its four container modes, rule-based and optimized layouts, custom pallet sizes, custom payload limits, the 3D loading view, calculation history and shareable results.