Indonesian Coffee 20FT vs 40FT FCL: 2025 Loading Guide

A practical, field-tested guide to choosing 20ft vs 40ft for floor‑loaded 60 kg green coffee sacks from Indonesia in 2025. Real bag counts, legal payload caps, VGM math and a simple break‑even formula that buyers actually use.

We ship a lot of Indonesian green coffee in full containers, and the same question comes up every season. When should you book a 20ft and when does a 40ft or 40ft high cube make more sense for 60 kg sacks. Here is the short answer you can use today, based on what we load out of Medan, Surabaya and Bali.

The experiment setup and methodology

We looked at our last four harvest cycles of floor‑loaded, jute‑bagged 60 kg green coffee. No pallets. No liners. No reefer. We included standard Arabica and Robusta SKUs like Sumatra Mandheling Green Coffee Beans, Blue Batak Green Coffee Beans and Robusta Lampung Green Coffee Beans (ELB & Grades 2–4). We excluded roasted and soluble coffee entirely.

We measured three things for 20ft, 40ft and 40ft HC. 1) Practical bag count that stays legal on Indonesian roads to port. 2) Damage and compression rate. 3) Cost per kg outcomes at typical ocean rate multipliers.

The coffee and the load are identical

All comparisons assume the same 60 kg jute sacks. Typical filled sack footprint 70–75 cm by 100–110 cm. We load in interlocked “brick bond” patterns with slip‑sheets only when spec’d by the buyer. Our target stack height respects current ODOL enforcement on the Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak corridors.

Head‑to‑head comparison you can act on

Loading complexity. 20ft is faster. It takes 45–70 minutes to floor‑load 300–320 sacks with a trained crew. A 40ft at 420–460 sacks takes 90–120 minutes. Winner. 20ft for speed. 40ft if you need fewer lifts per ton at destination.
Stack flexibility. 40ft has more room to correct bag shape and interlock. That reduces topple risk on long hauls. Winner. 40ft.
Cost per kg. This is where the decision gets real. If a 40ft ocean rate is more than 1.3–1.4 times your 20ft rate, and you can only load 400–460 sacks by weight, 20ft usually wins on cost per kg. Winner. It depends. See the break‑even rule below.
Compliance to Indonesian road weight in 2025. Both must respect ODOL. In practice we cap 20ft around 19.2–21.0 t net and 40ft around 23.5–25.2 t net depending on route and scales. Winner. Tie if you plan bag counts correctly.
Handling at destination. Fewer units to devann helps larger importers. Winner. 40ft for importers with labor constraints.
Total landed cost predictability. 20ft is less sensitive to destination axle weight limits. In many markets a 20ft can run overweight margins better than a 40ft. Winner. 20ft for conservative planning.

Real numbers for 2025 planning

How many 60 kg bags fit in a 20ft container?

Practical range we load in Indonesia. 300–320 bags. That is 18,000–19,200 kg net. This keeps you inside typical ODOL enforcement and reduces bottom‑row compression.
Physical max by volume. You can push higher by volume, but you will hit road and payload caps before you hit space. We do not recommend it for export lanes to Tanjung Priok.

How many 60 kg bags fit in a 40ft container?

Practical range we load in Indonesia. 400–460 bags. That is 24,000–27,600 kg net. Most Jakarta and Surabaya road legs will force you nearer 400–440 bags if the lane is tightly enforced. Check your lane.
40ft high cube. HC gives you more headroom but not more legal payload. For 60 kg sacks that are dense, HC rarely changes the legal bag count. It helps only if you run lighter 30 kg micro‑lots or specify tall dunnage stacks. For floor‑loaded 60 kg sacks you usually do not need 40HC.

What is the legal max payload from Indonesia in 2025?

ODOL enforcement tightened again through 2024 and continues in 2025 around Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. In our operations this translates into the following working caps for coffee to port.

20ft. Target 19.2–21.0 t net. Typical sweet spot is 320 bags at 19.2 t.
40ft. Target 23.5–25.2 t net. Typical sweet spot is 400–420 bags at 24.0–25.2 t. These ranges keep trucks within common gross vehicle weight limits and pass weighbridges with margin. Always confirm your exact route and time of day with your forwarder, because local enforcement can vary.

The simple break‑even rule that actually works

Use this on any lane. Let m be your 40ft ocean rate divided by your 20ft rate. If your 40ft can carry more than m times the net kg of your 20ft plan, 40ft is cheaper per kg. If it carries less, 20ft wins.

Example. Your 20ft plan is 320 bags. Your 40ft rate is 1.35 times your 20ft rate, and you can legally load 420 bags on your lane.

40ft capacity ratio. 420 ÷ 320 = 1.3125.
Rate ratio. m = 1.35.
Compare. 1.3125 < 1.35. 40ft carries less relative weight than the rate premium. 20ft is cheaper per kg.

Flip it. If your 40ft rate is 1.25 times your 20ft rate and you can load 420 bags, 1.3125 > 1.25. The 40ft wins.

Add destination constraints. If the consignee requires a strict payload cap on the dray, run the same math with the lower of origin or destination limits. That is the real world number.

If you want us to run this with your live rates and lanes, just send your route and target bag counts. We can sanity‑check in minutes. Need a quick answer for a booking today. Contact us on whatsapp.

Floor‑loading patterns that work and why

I have seen more damage from poor interlocking than from tight packing. Here is the pattern we train crews on for 60 kg sacks.

Row base. Start with a 7‑6 alternation along the length. Seven bags across feels tight in a 20ft. Six bags gives space to interlock. Alternate every row to lock corners. Turn every second bag 90 degrees to the previous.
Brick bond. Offset each layer by half a bag length. Keep an even face so the next layer seats without hollows.
Stack height. 9–10 layers in a 20ft and 10–11 in a 40ft, depending on bag loft and jute thickness. Avoid the temptation to squeeze the last layer at the doors. Deformed top rows shift in transit.
Door safety. Finish with a square face and a cross‑strap or lightweight net for the first row behind the doors. Crews at destination will thank you.

Practical takeaway. A clean 320‑bag 20ft load usually ends with a flat, stable door face. If you see an uneven face, you probably forced the count. Back off by 10–20 bags.

VGM SOLAS. How to calculate it for coffee

VGM is the certified gross mass of the packed container. You can use Method 1 or Method 2. Most exporters in Indonesia use Method 1 with a weighbridge.

Method 1. Weigh the packed container on a calibrated scale. That number is the VGM.
Method 2. Sum the mass of every item packed plus dunnage and add the container tare. Example for a 20ft. 320 bags × 60 kg = 19,200 kg. Dunnage and slip‑sheets 80 kg. Container tare 2,200 kg. VGM = 19,200 + 80 + 2,200 = 21,480 kg. Round as the carrier requires and transmit before cutoff. Common mistake. Forgetting to add slings, kraft, or corner protectors in Method 2. It is small per item but it adds up.

Real performance data after 90 days

Across 37 FCLs shipped in late 2024 and early 2025 from Sumatra and Java to EU and US ports.

Average net in 20ft. 19.1 t. Average bag count 318.
Average net in 40ft. 24.3 t. Average bag count 405.
Damage rate at strip. 0.12 percent for 20ft vs 0.15 percent for 40ft by bag count. The difference was almost entirely from over‑tall stacks at the doors on three 40ft loads. These results align with what we recommend above. Conservative counts protect quality and protect your schedule.

Winner for different buyer types

Specialty micro‑roasters importing 10–15 tons. Pick 20ft. A clean 300–320 bag load of Arabica Java Ijen Grade 1 Green Coffee Beans or Arabica Bali Kintamani Grade 1 Green Coffee Beans is usually cheaper per kg and quicker to devann.
Importers buying 22–25 tons per SKU. 40ft can work if your rate multiplier is 1.3 or less and your lane allows 400–420 bags. Run the math before booking.
Commercial roasters and instant manufacturers. If you need 25+ tons and can get a favorable 40ft rate, consolidate into 40ft. If rates spike, split into two 20fts and keep road‑legal payloads.

Migration guide if you are switching sizes

From 20ft to 40ft. Re‑run rate ratio math. Confirm the ODOL window to port. Reduce layer height at the doors by one row. Book a slightly longer loading slot.
From 40ft to 20ft. Expect 20–45 percent less net weight. Update the packing list and VGM template. Confirm capacity on the next vessel since you will now have two units.
Documents. Update the draft BL net weight and bag count early. It avoids late cut‑off edits.

Quick answers to common questions

At what bag count does a 40ft beat a 20ft on cost per kg. When bag_count_40ft ÷ bag_count_20ft is greater than your 40ft rate ÷ 20ft rate. If your lane allows 420 vs 320 and your 40ft rate is 1.25x, 40ft wins. If your 40ft rate is 1.35x, 20ft wins.
Do I need a 40ft high cube for bagged green coffee. No for 60 kg sacks. HC does not lift legal payload. Standard 40ft is fine unless you have mixed bag sizes or tall dunnage specs.

If you want a lane‑specific loading plan for a product like Sumatra Lintong Green Coffee Beans (Lintong Grade 1) or a seasonal lot such as Bali Natural Green Coffee Beans, we are happy to share our bag maps. Or you can browse our current green coffee lineup and shortlist SKUs for your next FCL. View our products.

Key takeaways you can use today. 20ft. 300–320 bags. 40ft. 400–460 bags on most Indonesian lanes. Do the rate ratio math before you book. Respect ODOL to Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. Keep door stacks conservative. Get the VGM right the first time. That is how you protect quality and margin on every container.