The walls of a hard-top container are generally made of corrugated steel, while the floor is made of wood.It has two typical distinguishing structural features. On the one hand, it is equipped with a removable steel roof. In some types, this roof has points for accommodating forklift trucks, allowing the roof to be lifted by forklift truck. The roof weighs approx. 450 kg. In addition, the door header may be swivelled out.

These two structural features greatly simplify the process of packing and unpacking the container. In particular, it is very easy to pack and unpack the container from above or through the doors by crane or crab when the roof is open and the door header is swivelled out.

In the case of transport of an overheight cargo, the container roof may be left open and fastened directly to a side wall on the inside of the container, such that it occupies only very little stowage space.

Lashing rings, to which the cargo may be secured, are installed in the upper and lower side rails, the corner posts and the middle of the side walls. The lashing rings on the side rails and corner posts may take loads of up to 2000 kg. The lashing rings in the middle of the side walls may take loads of up to 500 kg, provided that the roof is closed.

Usual hard-top container dimensions are 20' and 40'.Frame and bottom cross members are made of steel profiles, while three different materials are used for the walls: