Container Shipping to Nigeria — 20ft and 40ft, Door to Door.

A container is the cheapest way to move serious volume to Nigeria. Once your shipment passes roughly 15 cubic metres, booking a full container (FCL) usually costs less per cubic metre than repeated part-load shipments — and you get a sealed, sole-use container that nobody else’s cargo shares. Precebol Logistics books 20ft and 40ft containers from UK ports to Lagos every week, handles Nigerian customs clearance through our own Lagos office, and delivers inland to all 36 states.

20ft or 40ft — which do you actually need? A standard 20ft container holds approximately 33 cubic metres; a 40ft holds roughly 67, about double. The 20ft is the most commonly booked size for UK–Nigeria shipments and suits most business stock consignments, large family shipments, and 2–3 bedroom household moves. The 40ft makes sense for full household relocations, vehicles shipped alongside goods, and high-volume commercial loads. Unless you genuinely have the volume to fill a 40ft, a 20ft is almost always the more economical choice — our full breakdown is in the 20ft vs 40ft container cost guide.

Pricing. Indicative freight to Lagos starts from £1,100 for a 20ft container and from £1,600 for a 40ft — roughly £33 and £24 per cubic metre respectively. Final pricing depends on your UK collection point, your destination state in Nigeria, the nature of the goods, and whether you need inland delivery beyond Lagos. Seasonal surcharges apply at peak periods such as pre-Christmas and Ramadan/Sallah, so booking 6–8 weeks ahead locks in current rates.

You may not need a full container at all. This is where most companies stay quiet. If your consignment is under about 15 cubic metres, LCL — sharing container space with other shipments — is normally cheaper than paying for a container you cannot fill. We quote both, honestly, and tell you which one wins for your volume. Smaller consignments are better served by our sea cargo service at £18 per cubic foot, and urgent goods by air freight.

What can go in a container. Household furniture and appliances, commercial stock and trade goods, machinery and equipment, building materials, restaurant and salon fit-outs, and vehicles loaded alongside cargo. Vehicles must be left-hand drive — UK right-hand drive cars cannot be legally registered in Nigeria (see automobile shipment for vehicle-only bookings). Commercial consignments need the correct paperwork before they sail: Form M, and SONCAP or NAFDAC certification depending on what you are shipping.

Timings. Sea transit from UK ports to Lagos runs approximately 4–6 weeks. Door-to-door — including UK collection and loading, sea transit, port clearance in Lagos, and last-mile inland delivery — is typically 5–6 weeks, longer for the far northern states. Our Lagos team handles the clearance side directly rather than passing you to a third-party agent, and keeps your consignee informed from the moment the vessel berths.

Loading and consolidation in the UK. You can load your own container at your premises, or bring goods to our South London warehouse in stages and let us consolidate and load for you — useful if you are clearing a property or building up commercial stock over several weeks. See warehousing and storage for holding arrangements, or UK collection if you want us to come to you.