---
title: "container forklift: Definition and Meaning | NPSA"
description: "A container forklift is a forklift used to lift or load containers."
url: https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/container-forklift
publisher: National Portable Storage Association (NPSA)
phone: "(816) 960-6552"
email: info@npsa.org
---

Delivery equipment

# container forklift

A container forklift is a forklift used to lift or load containers. It may lift an empty container by its forklift pockets, or it may drive into a container to load pallets. Heavy-duty container handlers are a different class of machine.

## Why it matters

The term covers more than one job. A yard forklift with long tines can lift an empty 20 ft box by its pockets. A smaller forklift can drive into a container to load pallets, if the floor can hold its wheel loads. Heavy container handlers and reach stackers move loaded boxes in ports. A common mistake is to use a forklift that is too small or has short tines. Another is to lift a loaded container by the pockets. Check the machine's rated capacity, tine length and the box weight before any lift. Floor loads for wheel traffic also matter. Follow the container maker's limits.

[Read: Container delivery equipment: Tilt-bed, roll-off, side-loader, and crane trucks](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/guides/container-delivery-equipment)

Definition source: [containerhandbuch.de](https://www.containerhandbuch.de/chb_e/stra/stra_03_01_00.html)

## Related terms

[### forklift pocket A forklift pocket is a slot in the bottom side rail of a container. Forklift tines slide into it to lift and move the box. Twenty foot containers often have them. Many 40 ft containers do not. Check the maker's limits before any lift.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/forklift-pocket)[### reach stacker A reach stacker is a vehicle that handles intermodal cargo containers in terminals and ports. It has a telescopic boom that lifts, carries and stacks loaded containers several high. It grips them by the corner castings. It is built for heavy, high-volume yards.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/reach-stacker)[### tare weight Tare weight is the weight of an empty container or vehicle. Subtract it from the gross weight to find the weight of the goods inside. On a shipping container, it is not set by the ISO standards. It depends on how the container was built.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/tare-weight)[### payload Payload is the weight of cargo a container can carry. It equals the maximum gross weight minus the container's own empty (tare) weight. Carrier specs list payload next to tare weight for each container size and type, so buyers can compare them side by side.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/payload)[### container yard A container yard is an area where shipping containers are stored, staged and moved between trucks, rail and ships. In shipping, a container yard sits at or near a port, rail terminal or inland depot and holds both loaded and empty containers.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/container-yard)[### 20 ft container A 20 ft container is the standard short ISO shipping container. It is about 19 feet 10 1/2 inches long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet 6 inches tall on the outside. It is the most common size in portable storage and counts as one twenty-foot equivalent unit.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/20-ft-container)

[All 220 terms](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary)

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