TEU是英文Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit的缩写。是以长度为2O英尺的集装箱为国际计量单位，也称国际标准箱单位。通常用来表示船舶装载集装箱的能力，也是集装箱和港口吞吐量的重要统计、换算单位。
　　TEU = TWENTY-FOOT EQUIVALENT UNIT 20英尺标准集装箱（即：长20英尺 X 宽8英尺 X 高8英尺6吋)
　　据有关统计，截至2007年年底，全球各类型集装箱船舶达8649艘、载箱能力1244万TEU、船队总运力2600万TEU、集装箱保有量约为2623万TEU，2007年各类集装箱年产销量为392万TEU。

　　The twenty-foot equivalent unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains and trucks.

　　There is a lack of standardisation in reGARd to height, ranging between 4 feet 3 inches (1.30 m) and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m), with the most common height being 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m). Also, it is common to designate 45-foot (13.7 m) containers as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU.