What is a twenty-foot equivalent unit?
A twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is the standard unit of measurement for container capacity. One TEU is equivalent to one 20ft container (1000 cubic feet). A 40ft container equals 2 TEUs. Shipping line capacity and port statistics are typically expressed in TEUs. For example, the average container ship is around 4500 TEU, but some are larger than 20,000 TEU.
Also known as: 20ft container equivalent
