Sourcing glossary
TEU
Also known as: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, FEU, Forty-foot Equivalent Unit
Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, the standard measure of container capacity: one 20ft container is 1 TEU and one 40ft container is 2 TEU, also called 1 FEU.
TEU is how shipping lines and ports count volume, for example a vessel's capacity or a port's annual throughput. For an importer it mainly appears in freight quotes and market reports: rates are usually quoted per container (20ft, 40ft or 40ft high cube), while indexes sometimes quote per TEU or per FEU.
Remember that a 40ft container counts as 2 TEU but usually costs much less than two 20ft containers, which is why larger FCL orders often use 40ft or 40ft high cube boxes. See LCL vs FCL for container sizes and when a full container pays off.
Related terms
Part of Shipping & Logistics.