International Logisticsen
TEU / TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit)
Standard unit of measurement for containerized transport corresponding to a 20-foot container.
TEU / TEU — Twenty Feet Equivalent
The TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) or EVP in French (Équivalent Vingt Pieds) is the standard unit of measurement used in containerized maritime transport. A TEU corresponds to a standard 20-foot (6.1 m long) container.
Equivalences
- A 20-foot container = 1 TEU
- A 40 foot container = 2 TEU
- A 40 foot High Cube container = 2 TEU
Usage
The TEU is used to measure the capacity of container ships (the largest exceed 24,000 TEU), port traffic (Le Havre handles around 3 million TEU/year), global containerized trade statistics and freight rates in some cases.
Market context
Global containerized trade represents approximately 850 million TEU per year. Fluctuations in freight rates, often quoted per TEU or per 40-foot container, have a direct impact on import costs.