Container maths for vacuum imports: why the carton decides your margin

The carton is your real price lever

Two stick vacuums, same power class, same wholesale unit price, different cartons. The straight-tube build ships four units per 705 × 561 × 375 mm carton at 13.5 kg gross and loads 1,904 units into a 40-foot container. The folding-tube build ships three units per 430 × 345 × 590 mm carton at 9.7 kg and loads 2,412. That is 508 additional sellable units on the same freight invoice — roughly 27% more inventory for the same shipping cost, before any negotiation about unit price has taken place.

Work the numbers in this order

First, units per container. Second, freight per unit (total freight and charges divided by units, not by cartons). Third, landed unit cost, including the destination charges your clearing agent actually quotes. Fourth, retail price at your intended margin. Most importers do this backwards — they chase a two-dollar unit price reduction and accept a carton that costs them eight dollars per unit in freight. Ask for the loading table with the quotation, and ask for it in writing for the exact mix you intend to order, not for a single model in isolation.

Mixed containers: the risk tool nobody prices correctly

A mixed container of two corded plus two cordless models spreads one freight bill across two price bands and gives your buyers two categories to reorder from. The cost is a more complex loading diagram and a marginally higher packing cost. For a first order the trade is almost always worth it: you learn which band reorders without paying for a second container to find out. Ask us for the loading plan on your actual mix and we will return the units-per-container figure, net and gross weights and the carton count.

The three things that break a loading plan

Three details derail plans after they are agreed. Colour-box dimensions changing late (a reinforced box for a heavier machine changes the count). Accessory kits added after the carton was specified (the kit needs its own volume). And palletisation at destination rather than origin (a pallet plan can reduce units per container by 8–12%). Confirm all three before the PI is signed, and put the loading table inside the PI so it is a contract term rather than a spreadsheet.