Hauling is a fit problem before it is a logistics problem: the largest box must clear both your grid and the destination.
Container sizes are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 SCU; ships and locations each set their own ceiling.
Sites differ in cargo infrastructure — freight elevator, cargo centre, loading dock or nothing but a kiosk.
Completion requires the correct elevator at the correct location, not merely arrival.
Where you are going
Contract Manager
Read total SCU, largest box and every stop.
16 SCU-capped outposts
The tightest recorded container caps in the game.
24 SCU-capped outposts
The industrial middle tier.
Cargo centres
Full cargo infrastructure, 32 SCU capable.
Delivery elevator
The only place a delivery actually completes.
What you need and why
Total SCU is irrelevant if a single container exceeds the grid ceiling.
No substitute listedMoves and positions containers; heavier boxes need a stronger beam.
No substitute listedPartial-load failures are the most common contract loss.
Alternative: Write down total SCU, largest box and every stop.Multi-stop contracts drift longer than planned.
Alternative: Take single-stop local work.Most outpost stops are unmonitored and outside armistice.
Alternative: Restrict routes to station-to-station work.What to look for
The number that decides whether the contract is possible at all.
16, 24 or 32 SCU depending on the site — check both ends of the route.
Freight elevator, cargo centre, loading dock or bare kiosk changes how long the stop takes.
Contract cargo and personal trade goods are indistinguishable once stacked.
Confirms delivery; proximity to a terminal does not.
When it goes wrong
Check the box size against your grid ceiling — 8 on a Vulture, 16 on a Cutlass Black or Nomad, 24 on a Caterpillar or Reclaimer, 32 on a Freelancer MAX or Hull C. Do not force it.
The site probably caps below the box size. Fourteen recorded outposts stop at 16 SCU and another thirty-two at 24.
Confirm you are at the contract-assigned terminal, then re-check the manifest before loading anything.
Every contract box must be on the marked destination elevator and sent. A box in the warehouse or on an adjacent elevator does not count.
Land somewhere safe, restack and lock every container before continuing.
Many outposts only have a commodity kiosk. Expect to move every box manually and budget the extra time.
Departure checklist
□Read total SCU, largest box and every stop.
□Check your grid’s max container size.
□Check the container cap at both pickup and delivery.
□Confirm which terminal type each stop has.
□Call the assigned freight and verify labels.
□Load largest first and lock every box.
□Keep ramps and crew paths clear.
□Deliver to the exact assigned elevator and wait for the tracker.
- 01
Learn the two size ceilings
Cargo comes in containers of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 SCU, and two separate limits decide whether a run works. First, your ship’s grid: a Drake Vulture takes nothing over 8 SCU, a Cutlass Black or C.O. Nomad nothing over 16, a Drake Caterpillar or Aegis Reclaimer nothing over 24, and a MISC Freelancer MAX or Hull C will take the full 32. Second, the location: sites have their own maximum container size, and it is often smaller than your ship’s. Neither limit is advisory — an oversized box simply will not lock.
- 02
Check the destination’s container cap
This is the fact that saves the most wasted flights. In the vendored facility records, fourteen remote outposts cap at 16 SCU — Bueno Ravine, Canard View, Chawla’s Beach, Dinger’s Depot, Feo Canyon Depot, Jackson’s Swap, Last Landings, Rustville, Sacren’s Plot, Scarper’s Turn, Seer’s Canyon, Slowburn Depot, Sunset Mesa and Watcher’s Depot. Thirty-two more cap at 24 SCU, including every Shubin Mining Facility (SAL-2, SAL-5, SM0-10/13/18/22, SMCa-6/8), the Rayari research outposts (Anvik, Cantwell, Kaltag, McGrath), the Wala ArcCorp Mining Areas (045, 048, 056, 061, 157), several HDMS outposts, Ashland, Fallow Field, Terra Mills HydroFarm and The Golden Riviera. Only the stations, the five cities and a handful of larger outposts handle the full 32 SCU. Note that the HDMS network is genuinely split — Anderson, Hadley, Norgaard, Pinewood, Ryder, Stanhope, Thedus and Woodruff sit at 24, while Bezdek, Edmond, Hahn, Lathan, Oparei and Perlman take 32.
⚠ A 32 SCU box is not a "big ship" problem, it is a "both ends" problem. If either the pickup or the delivery location caps below the box size on the manifest, the run stalls regardless of how much hold you brought. - 03
Read the manifest against the grid
Open the contract and read three things: total SCU, largest single box and every intermediate stop. Compare the largest box against your physical grid, not the advertised capacity — a 576 SCU Caterpillar still refuses a 32 SCU container. Screenshot or note the manifest before you start moving boxes; partial loads are the most common way an otherwise successful route fails.
- 04
Know which terminal type you are looking for
Not every site handles cargo the same way. Freight elevators are recorded at 46 terminals and are the standard contract interface. Seventeen locations have a full cargo centre — Baijini Point, Port Tressler, Everus Harbor, Seraphim Station, Megumi Refueling, Gaslight, Checkmate Station, Orbituary, Ruin Station, Levski, all four Gateway stations and Terra Gateway. Thirteen of those also record a loading dock for direct ship-side transfer. At an outpost with none of these, the interaction is a simple commodity kiosk and you handle every box yourself.
- 05
Call and verify the freight
At pickup, use the contract-assigned terminal and elevator, then wait for the correct cargo to appear before touching anything. Verify labels and counts against the manifest — the wrong elevator or one missing box invalidates the delivery even if everything else arrives. Contract cargo and your own trade goods look identical on a grid, so keep them physically separated.
- 06
Load largest first, keep paths clear
Place the biggest containers first against stable grid points and lock each one before moving to the next. Preserve ramps, doorways and crew paths — a blocked ramp on a multi-stop contract costs more time than the loading did. Recheck the manifest before lift-off rather than discovering the shortfall at the destination.
- 07
Deliver to the exact assigned elevator
At the marked destination, use its assigned elevator, move every contract box onto it, and send it. Then wait for the tracker completion notice. A box sitting near a terminal, in a warehouse, or on the wrong elevator is not delivered, and the contract will not settle on proximity.
Field notes
↳ Two ceilings, always: your grid’s max box size and the destination’s max container size.
↳ Vulture 8 SCU, Cutlass Black and Nomad 16, Caterpillar and Reclaimer 24, Freelancer MAX and Hull C 32.
↳ Fourteen recorded outposts cap at 16 SCU — check before accepting anything with big containers.
↳ The HDMS outposts are split between 24 and 32 SCU caps; do not assume they behave the same.
↳ Partial loads can fail the whole contract even when most cargo arrived.
↳ Screenshot the manifest before moving a single box.
Watch the route
Video mechanics can age between patches. Use the written route above as the current checklist.
Research sources
Route text is independently summarized and cross-checked against these references.
Star Citizen Wiki — Cargo ↗UEX Corp — facility container-size records ↗UEX Corp — vehicle container-size records ↗RSI — Patch notes ↗
