The numbers that frame everything
A 20-ft container is a fixed 90 engines and a 40-ft a fixed 130 — those numbers do not move, whatever mix of models you choose, because they are our standard load, not a figure we renegotiate per order. What decides how many used engines fit in a container is not the box alone but what each unit is: we ship bare engines, so 130 of them sit comfortably inside a 40-ft's 26,730 kg payload with weight to spare, and the limit we actually work against is how many irregular units can be tiered, blocked and braced without crushing the row underneath. Exporters who ship engines with the gearbox still attached run out of payload far sooner, which is why you will see figures of 100 to 110 quoted elsewhere. Sea freight is charged per container, not per engine, so the 40-ft spreads the same freight bill over 130 units instead of 90.
That single fact drives most of the arithmetic in this business — and most of its mistakes.
Cheaper per unit is not the same as more profitable
The 40-ft looks better on paper every time: same handling, roughly double the engines, so the freight per unit falls hard. The number the paper leaves out is sell-through. A 40-ft that takes six months to clear at your counter has your capital sitting still in a warehouse, and the cost of that money quietly eats the freight saving.
The buyers who scale successfully almost all started with a 20-ft, learned which codes moved in which grade, and built the second container from evidence instead of hope.
The mix follows your customers, not our stock
Who buys from you decides the load. Counters and fleet workshops installing engines need complete, tested, ready-to-fit units they can stand behind — which is why everything ENGICOR exports is Grade A. Rebuild shops chasing Grade C and Core lots are a different trade, and not ours. A container built for the wrong customer does not become the right container at the destination port.
The engine codes follow the same logic: your market's taxi and fleet parc defines the volume families, and the pickup and SUV trade defines the higher-value units on top.
What a sensible first container looks like
The pattern that works, structurally: the bulk of the box in the one or two volume families your market runs every day — all Grade A; a middle tranche in a second family you believe in; and a small count of higher-value units — larger diesels, V6 petrol — to test what your counter will bear. No single unit should be one you would struggle to sell alone, because a first container is as much a market test as a shipment.
Then the second container stops being a guess. Reorder what moved, drop what sat, and only then consider the 40-ft.
What to send us for a quotation
Five things: destination port, container size, the engine codes your market asks for by name, whether your customers install or rebuild, and the families you want to test. With that we return a quotation naming the codes, quantities and per-unit photo sets — all Grade A — in writing, within one business day.
The mix is agreed before payment and the packing list ties every serial back to what was quoted — so what arrives can be checked against what was bought.
Price a container yourself
Build the mix you want in the online quoter — exactly 90 units in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft — and the FOB total reaches your inbox the same minute, at our published per-unit prices, every unit Grade A. Prefer to ask? Tell us the destination country and the codes you need and we reply within one business day, usually within hours, with photos.
Frequently asked
Can petrol and diesel go in the same container?
Yes, and mixed loads are common. They are declared under their own HS headings — 8407 for petrol, 8408 for diesel — which is routine paperwork we prepare.
Can I fill the remaining space with Core to lower the average cost?
No. ENGICOR exports Grade A engines only — Core and lower-grade fill are not part of our offer, whatever the average cost arithmetic says.
Can you just decide the mix for me?
We will recommend one based on your market and destination, and we will tell you when we think your request is wrong. But you confirm it: it is your counter, your customers and your capital.