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Shipping 275 vs. 330: The Truckload Numbers
A 53-foot dry van holds about 80 IBCs whether they are 275s or 330s, because the limit is floor space and weight, not bottle height. Here is what that means for your freight cost, and the specific cases where the 330 actually saves money on shipping.
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The trailer geometry
A 53-foot van has roughly 480 square feet of floor space. A GMA pallet position is 13.3 square feet. That gets you 36 floor positions; double-stacked you get 72. Most carriers will allow 80 with careful loading — the extras come from staggered or slip-sheet arrangements.
When the 330 wins
When you are buying or selling by the unit and want to consolidate more product into the same truck. Eighty 330s deliver 26,400 gallons; eighty 275s deliver 22,000. If your truckload is cube-limited (volume), not weight-limited, the 330 is a 20% revenue per trip improvement at the same freight cost.
For most chemistries above water density, gross weight will hit the trailer limit before pallet positions do, and you cannot fit 80 full 330s on a single truck without exceeding gross vehicle weight. Run the math for your specific product.
When the 275 wins
Lower vertical clearance requirements at receiving docks, simpler stack math, and a slightly cheaper unit price. For most general-purpose shipping the 275 is the default.
Continue reading
- ← Older: Valves on IBCs: What to Specify and Why (January 9, 2024)
- → Newer: The Stack Math: How to Load Totes Safely (March 28, 2024)