--- title: "Loading a shipping container?—?Part II" id: "229" type: "post" slug: "loading-a-shipping-container-part-ii" published_at: "2017-02-22T12:11:39+00:00" modified_at: "2025-08-19T10:11:26+00:00" url: "https://locus.sh/blogs/loading-a-shipping-container-part-ii/" markdown_url: "https://locus.sh/blogs/loading-a-shipping-container-part-ii.md" excerpt: "Key Takeaways (Volumetric Packing Benchmarks) I hope you all enjoyed the first read in the series of write-ups on the Lattice 3D packing. Locus has since, been busy improving the core 3D packing algorithm, adding more features and tuning its..." taxonomy_category: - "Dispatch Management" taxonomy_post_tag: - "3d Bin Packing" - "Cargo Loading" - "Logisitcs" - "Shipping Container" - "Truck Loading" --- #### [Dispatch Management](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/dispatch-management/) # Loading a shipping container?—?Part II [Team Locus](/author/team-locus/) Feb 22, 2017 3 mins read ## Key Takeaways - Advanced 3D packing algorithms achieved 80-88% volumetric efficiency for standardized container loads, demonstrating significant improvement over traditional methods. - The MinOverhangs optimization feature maintains high packing density (86%) while ensuring load stability, addressing a critical operational challenge in container loading. - Real-world tests with diverse cargo sizes showed consistent performance, achieving 77-81% volumetric efficiency across different logistics scenarios. - Locus’s Lattice engine optimizes container utilization while considering multiple constraints, reducing required containers by up to 8% compared to conventional packing methods. ## (Volumetric Packing Benchmarks) I hope you all enjoyed the [first read](https://locus.sh/blogs/loading-a-shipping-container-part-i/) in the series of write-ups on the Lattice 3D packing. Locus has since, been busy improving the **core 3D packing algorithm**, adding more features and tuning its hyper parameters. We will visit all of these in a dedicated, follow-up article. Until then let’s get into some specifics and numbers. I am sure you will be intrigued by it. Here are some volumetric packing benchmarks that we obtained for the latest production version of the **packing engine**. The benchmarking runs are performed on diverse datasets. Datasets differ from each other mainly w.r.t. variance in the length, breadth, height (L, B, H) attributes of packable cuboids. Also, some are single container packing plans while some are multi-container packing plans. We ran two kinds of packing runs on the engine?: 1. Basic and 2. MinOverhangs. > **Basic type** of runs optimise the raw volumetric packing performance. > **MinOverhangs type** of runs minimize overhangs to give stable packing while striving to maintain the volumetric packing efficiency. Let’s do a quick survey of the results that we obtained. *Locus192* is a set of synthetically generated 192 cuboids and a cuboid container for which perfect (100%) packing is pre-guaranteed. A quick, under 2-min run yielded 80% volumetric packing. We have seen packing as high as 88% on longer runs on this dataset. A quick MinOverhangs run on the same dataset yielded stable stacking and pleasantly surprised us with a 86% volumetric performance. Locus192 *Items860* is a dataset of 860 cuboids and a cuboid container. This dataset is drawn from a leading FMCG manufacturer and has much higher variance in the L, B, H axes compared to *Locus192*. Raw volumetric packing performance is 81%. MinOverhangs and LIFO (last-in-first-out) optimised runs gave a mild reduction in the packed volume but nonetheless a healthy value for the industry. Items860 *MultiTruck* dataset is from a line-haul, [3rd party logistics](https://locus.sh/business-sectors/3pl-transportation/) company and has the highest variance in the L, B, H axes. We achieved a 77% average volumetric packing performance across 3 vehicles packed. A total of 110 items were packed into these vehicles. *MultiTruckLIFO* is a LIFO optimised run of the same dataset with which we achieved comparable performance. MultiTruck (only showing the first truck) *MPV205* is also a synthetic dataset picked from operations research literature in the public domain. It was automatically generated by a test data [generator program](http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/opre.48.2.256.12386) . It consists of 205 cuboid boxes of high L, B, H variance. The Lattice engine managed to pack these cuboids into 130 cuboid bins. The original deterministic heuristic algorithm uses 141 bins to pack 205 boxes. We were able to save 11 bins, compared to the deterministic algorithm, in a long (~1500 s) packing experiment that was run to optimality. MPV205 packed into 130 bins by Lattice [https://locus.sh/#request-access](https://locus.sh/#request-access) Stay tuned for some further insights on our 3D packing engine. Feel free to reach us at [Locus](https://locus.sh/) for any further information. Looking out for 3D Bin Packing Problem Solutions? Locus is Here [Schedule Demo!](https://locus.sh/#schedule-demo) This post was authored by: **Pushkar Paranjpe** MEET THE AUTHOR Team Locus Written by the Locus Solutions Team—logistics technology experts helping enterprise fleets scale with confidence and precision. ### Related Tags: [3d Bin Packing](https://locus.sh/blogs/tagged/3d-bin-packing/) [Cargo Loading](https://locus.sh/blogs/tagged/cargo-loading/) [Logisitcs](https://locus.sh/blogs/tagged/logisitcs/) [Shipping Container](https://locus.sh/blogs/tagged/shipping-container/) [Truck Loading](https://locus.sh/blogs/tagged/truck-loading/) [https://locus.sh/blogs/how-intelligent-retail-logistic-management-works/](https://locus.sh/blogs/how-intelligent-retail-logistic-management-works/) #### [Dispatch Management](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/dispatch-management/) ## [How Intelligent Retail Logistics Management Works – White Glove Furniture Delivery Company Success Story](https://locus.sh/blogs/how-intelligent-retail-logistic-management-works/) [Team Locus](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/team-locus/) Feb 12, 2017 Key Takeaways The last few years have been pivotal for startups all over the world. New ideas crop up everyday with the goal to simplify things across all sorts of industries. Quite often, these ideas and businesses are life changing and one of the defining factors of their financial success is the mastery of the logistics […] [Read more](https://locus.sh/blogs/how-intelligent-retail-logistic-management-works/) [https://locus.sh/blogs/gst-a-game-changer/](https://locus.sh/blogs/gst-a-game-changer/) #### [Dispatch Management](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/dispatch-management/) ## [Gist of GST: Is India Inc. Ready?](https://locus.sh/blogs/gst-a-game-changer/) [Piyush Sharma](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/piyush-sharma/) Mar 30, 2017 Key Takeaways Finally, India seems to be taking strides forward in order to roll-out the hugely anticipated goods and services tax, or GST, by the self-set deadline of 1st July, 2017. Experts have not shied away from terming the new sales tax regime as the most significant economic reform since the economic liberalisation led by […] [Read more](https://locus.sh/blogs/gst-a-game-changer/) ## Loading a shipping container?—?Part II - Share - [Print](javascript:window.print()) - [Download](#) - [Schedule a Demo](https://locus.sh/schedule-demo/) ### Is your team spending more time on fixing logistics plan than running the operation? - Agentic transportation management from order intake to freight settlement - Route optimization built on 250+ real-world constraints - AI-driven dispatch with automatic execution handling 20%Cost Reduction 66%Faster Planning Cycles [Schedule a demo](/schedule-demo/) Insights Worth Your Time #### [General](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/general/) ## [Locus 2026 US Consumer Survey: Generative AI isn’t Just Changing How Consumers Shop, it’s Breaking the Demand Patterns US Retail Was Built On](https://locus.sh/blogs/generative-ai-shopping-effect-retail-fulfillment-operations-locus-q2-2026-consumer-survey/) [Ishan Bhattacharya](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/ishan_locus/) May 29, 2026 #### [General](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/general/) ## [Embedded vs Bolted-On AI: The Architecture Question European Logistics Buyers Are Asking](https://locus.sh/blogs/embedded-vs-bolted-on-ai-european-logistics-platform-architecture-business-benefits/) [Aseem Sinha](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/aseem_locus/) May 21, 2026 #### [General](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/general/) ## [Hybrid Fleet Management: How Owned, 3PL, Gig, ICE, and EV Capacity Actually Operate at Most Enterprises](https://locus.sh/blogs/three-workforce-fleet-reality-owned-3pl-gig-drivers/) [Aseem Sinha](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/aseem_locus/) May 7, 2026 #### [General](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/general/) ## [US Returns Hit $850 Billion in 2025: Why US Retailers Are Restructuring Reverse Logistics in 2026](https://locus.sh/blogs/850-billion-us-returns-ai-routing-reverse-logistics-2026/) [Ishan Bhattacharya](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/ishan_locus/) May 7, 2026