Export & shipping
Container Loading & Capacity
Footballs are voluminous, not heavy. Container economics are decided by CBM, not tonnage — and the deflate-or-not decision changes your per-unit freight cost by 30–40%.
20ft vs 40ft HC — what fits
- 20ft standard (~33 CBM usable): 3,600–4,200 inflated size 5s, or 8,000–10,000 deflated.
- 40ft HC (~76 CBM usable): 8,500–9,600 inflated size 5s, or 19,000–23,000 deflated.
- 40ft standard (~67 CBM): ~10% less than the HC — most importers spec HC for footballs.
- Master carton (12 pcs inflated) footprint: roughly 60 × 45 × 45 cm — 0.121 CBM per carton.
Deflated vs inflated packing
Deflated (shipped flat with a separate pump kit, buyer inflates on arrival) more than doubles the units-per-container and cuts freight per ball to a third. Trade-offs: the buyer needs pumps and staff time, and retail-ready buyers cannot accept deflated stock. Deflate for wholesale, distributor and academy shipments. Ship inflated for retail-ready SKUs with hangtags and gift boxes.
Carton spec (retail-ready)
Standard master carton for 12 inflated size 5s: 60 × 45 × 45 cm, 5-ply corrugated, printed side panel with SKU, quantity, gross/net weight, country of origin and shipping marks. Inner box for premium SKUs: individual printed 25 × 25 × 25 cm box with hangtag. School and academy tiers ship in 6-pack cartons for easier hand-carrying.
Monthly production capacity (Sialkot)
- Hand-stitched line: 20,000–35,000 pcs per month per line.
- Machine-stitched line: 40,000–60,000 pcs per month.
- Thermal-bonded line: 15,000–25,000 pcs per month per press cycle.
- Peak season (May–September) capacity tightens; book slots 6–8 weeks ahead.
Cost per unit — the math
A typical Karachi → Rotterdam 40ft HC freight quote sits around $2,200–3,500 (rates move with fuel and season). At 20,000 deflated balls per container, that is $0.11–0.18 per ball in freight. At 9,000 inflated balls it is $0.24–0.39. On a $6 academy ball, the difference is 2–4% of your landed cost — worth the deflate decision.