20ft Bulk Container Guide: Specs & Uses for Grain, Powder & Granules

When shipping raw materials like grain, sugar, or malt, packaging them into thousands of small sacks is often a waste of time and money. Enter the 20ft Bulk Container.

Visible in most shipping booking systems simply as "20 Bulk", this specialized container allows you to treat the steel box itself as one giant storage silo. At TraceContainer.com, we often see these units moving agricultural and industrial raw materials across the globe.

This guide covers the unique features, dimensions, and best uses of the 20ft Bulk Container.

What is a Bulk Container?

At first glance, a 20ft Bulk Container looks exactly like a standard 20ft Dry Van. However, it has two critical design differences meant for loose, flowable cargo:

1. Roof Loading Hatches: Unlike standard containers, bulk containers have 3 circular manholes or rectangular hatches on the roof. This allows cargo to be poured in from the top (gravity fed).

2. Discharge Hatches: The front doors feature small "letterbox" hatches. When the container is tipped up at the destination, the cargo flows out through these chutes.

What Cargo is Best for Bulk Containers?

These containers are designed specifically for dry, non-hazardous, free-flowing payloads. If you can pour it, you can likely ship it in a bulk container.

Common Commodities:

• Agriculture: Malt (for beer), Barley, Wheat, Corn, Soybeans, Coffee beans, Sugar.

• Industrial: Cement powder, Plastic granules (resin), Fertilizers, Soda ash.

Warning: These are not for liquids. For bulk liquids, you should use an ISO Tank or a Flexi Tank, both of which we also cover in our container series.

The Major Advantage: Cost Savings

Why choose "20 Bulk" over "20 Standard"? 

The answer is efficiency.

1. No Packaging Costs: You eliminate the cost of purchasing thousands of gunny sacks, jumbo bags, or pallets.

2. Maximized Volume: Bags and pallets create "dead air" space. Bulk loading fills every corner of the container, allowing you to ship more product per container.

3. Speed: Loading via a silo chute is significantly faster than forklifting pallets one by one.

How is it Loaded and Unloaded?

Loading (The Gravity Method): The container stays on the truck chassis. A silo pipe is connected to the roof hatches. The commodity is poured in until the container is full.

Unloading (The Tipping Method): The truck chassis lifts the front of the container (like a dump truck). The discharge hatches on the rear doors are opened, and the cargo flows out onto a conveyor belt or into a receiving pit.

Lining the Container

To keep food-grade cargo (like sugar or malt) clean and free from contact with the steel walls, shippers usually install a Polyethylene Liner (often called a "Dry Bulk Liner") inside the container before loading. Think of it as a giant Ziploc bag that fits inside the container.

Track Your Bulk Shipment

Bulk cargo is time-sensitive. Whether you are moving Malt for a brewery or Fertilizer for the planting season, delays cost money. Use TraceContainer.com to track your bulk units across ocean and land.

> Track My Bulk Container