How to Load a Shipping Container: Weight Distribution & Securing (India Export Guide)

A container that arrives with shifted, crushed or rusted cargo almost always failed before it left the country — in how it was loaded and how each pallet inside it was secured. For Indian exporters, where the load passes through a CFS or ICD, sits in monsoon humidity, and crosses weeks of ocean swell, "load it tight and shut the doors" is not a plan. This is the method that actually protects the cargo.

The 8 steps to load an export container

1. Inspect the container before anything goes in.
2. Plan the stow — weight distribution and unloading order.
3. Load heaviest at the bottom and over the container's strong points.
4. Keep the centre of gravity central.
5. Fill voids with dunnage so nothing can move.
6. Secure and lash the load against shifting.
7. Manage condensation for the sea leg.
8. Make sure every pallet was strapped before it was loaded.

Step 1 — Inspect the container first

Reject a container that fails any of these: holes or daylight visible from inside, a wet or damaged floor, broken door seals, lingering odour, or previous-cargo residue. A single pinhole in the roof lets monsoon and sea spray ruin a full load. Confirm it is clean, dry, structurally sound and that the doors seal fully.

Step 2 — Plan the stow before you load

Make a simple stow plan — even a sketch — before the first pallet goes in. It should account for:

• Weight distribution along the length and width.
• Centre of gravity, kept central.
• Unloading order at the destination (last in, first out).

Loading to a plan, instead of improvising, is the difference between a balanced container and one that is dangerously heavy at one end.

Step 3 & 4 — Weight distribution and centre of gravity

This is where most overweight-axle fines and tip-overs come from.

• Place heavier, denser cargo on the bottom, lighter on top.
• Spread weight evenly across the floor — do not concentrate it in one half. A common rule: no more than ~60% of the cargo weight should sit on either 50% of the container's length.
• Keep the centre of gravity central — laterally and longitudinally — ideally within about ±5% of the mid-point. An off-centre load makes the container unstable on the chassis and on the ship.

Step 5 — Fill voids with dunnage

Empty space is movement waiting to happen. Fill gaps so cargo cannot slide or topple:

• Inflatable dunnage bags between pallets or rows.
• Wooden beams, foam blocks or cardboard for smaller voids.
• The goal: a tight block of cargo that behaves as one mass, with nothing free to shift when the ship rolls.

Step 6 — Secure and lash the load

Heavy and tall items must be physically restrained:

• Lashing with polyester/textile straps or ratchet straps to the container's lashing points.
• Load bars and bracing across the width to stop forward and backward movement, especially behind the doors.
• Pay special attention to the door end — the last metre is where unsecured cargo falls out when the doors open at destination.

Step 7 — Manage condensation ("container rain")

On a sea voyage, temperature swings make moisture condense inside the roof and drip onto the cargo — "container rain" — a major cause of rust and mould on Indian exports. Mitigate it with:

• Desiccant (container drying bags/poles) sized to the cargo and route.
• Dry dunnage and dry pallets loaded in — never trap moisture inside.
• Moisture-resistant securing: PET strap and plastic or treated wood, not rust-prone steel.

Step 8 — The part that happens before the container: strap every pallet

A container is only as secure as the units inside it. If individual pallets arrive at the CFS already loose — boxes shifting, stretch film stretched but the stack sliding on the pallet — no amount of lashing inside the container fixes it. The load has to be a set of solid, immovable blocks before it is ever stuffed.

That means each pallet is strapped down to its base with consistent tension before it leaves your floor:

• Use PET strap for export — it absorbs the shock of ocean movement and resists rust, where steel snaps and corrodes.
• Apply repeatable tension on every pallet so there is no weak unit in the container. Hand tension drifts; a machine that calibrates digitally does not. Mobile ChainLance systems such as the ErgoPack 726X apply a set tension up to 2,500N and seal sealless, so pallet #1 and pallet #400 going into the container are identical — and the ErgoPack GO and manual-crank ErgoPack 700 automate the strap routing for facilities that keep their own sealing tools.

For the full method on the pallet itself, see how to pack a pallet for shipping and the material choice in PP vs PET vs steel strapping.

Common container-loading mistakes

• Improvising without a stow plan — leads to off-centre, overweight loads.
• Concentrating weight in one half — axle fines and instability.
• Leaving voids unfilled — cargo slides and topples at sea.
• Ignoring the door end — the last metre falls out on opening.
• No condensation control — rust and mould on arrival.
• Loading loose pallets — the container cannot fix a pallet that was never strapped properly.

Container-loading checklist

• Container inspected: clean, dry, sound, sealing doors
• Stow plan drawn, unloading order considered
• Heaviest cargo low; weight spread evenly (≤60% per half)
• Centre of gravity central (±5%)
• Voids filled with dunnage
• Load lashed and braced; door end secured
• Desiccant in; dry dunnage and dry pallets only
• Every pallet strapped to its base with PET at consistent tension

Load to this standard and the container that leaves the ICD is the container that opens — at the destination, with the cargo exactly where you put it.