Frequently Asked Questions

 Containers come in standard sizes so they can easily be moved from ship to train to truck. The most common sizes are 20' containers and 40' containers.  All containers are 8" wide.  Standard containers are 8,5' tall.  Some containers are 1' taller and are called high cubes.

 Containers have many names. ISO, cargo and shipping container are terms generally used when shipping containers commercially overseas. Connex or conex is a military term for the same thing. Storage container is just one more term for the same thing. However some people use storage container to include non-shipping containers like PODS. But in general, all of those terms are for the same thing. 

 Specialty containers are just that—containers that fit a certain need. Most of these containers are only available in either one-trip/"new" condition or cargo-worthy condition because they aren't that common. For information on different specialty containers and pictures, see our Container page. 

 Our containers are in "wind- and water-tight," "cargo-worthy," and "one-trip" condition. Basically we run the range from used containers that are suitable for dry storage all the way up to beautiful containers that are here fresh from China. For more details on the different conditions and what they mean, check out our Specifications page. The page has a gallery of different containers marked so you'll know which is which. 

 A one-trip container is a container that was manufactured in China, filled with goods and then shipped to the US with the intent of being sold right away as a "new" container. While they are technically not new (they were used once to get them here), but they are as new as we can get here in the US. One-trip containers generally will be a solid, neutral color. They do not have shipping line markings of them and are free from rust and large dents. Because they have made one trip here on a ship, they may have some minor blemishes. See pictures of one-trip containers on our Containers page. 

 Ratings like A, B, and C are subjective ratings that container companies give to containers. What constitute an "A" grade at one company may be a "C" at another. For that reason, we do not use them. We use industry categories: wind and water tight, cargo-worthy, IICL and one-trip containers. 

 If you want to ship something overseas, you have 2 options: you can use the shipping line's container or you can get your own. If you want to keep the container once it gets to its destination, buying your own container may be the right choice. If you do that, you will need a container that is cargo-worthy. Used containers that are in cargo-worthy condition are structurally sound enough to make the trip to its destination without any issues. When you ship a container overseas, be sure that your container is cargo-worthy and be sure to get a survey, which is a certificate that shows the container is cargo-worthy. Shipping lines will require the survey before they allow the container on the ship. 

 Container pricing is based on a lot of different factors—where will the container be going? Where is the closest container we have to that location? Is there another location in the region that might offer better pricing? What size and condition do you want? All of those factors mixed together with the fact that containers are a commodity, so pricing changes constantly, all come into play when calculating a price quote. No software can compare with having a human calculate the best pricing for your needs. 

 All container sellers are asked this frequently. When did your buddy buy that container? 10-15 years ago? Even then, they were more than $1000. Containers have gone up in cost over the past few years. There was a shortage of them for a few years during the Recession, but availability and pricing has been getting better since then. However, we will probably never go back to the $1000 container. The reason? They are worth more than that. Even if you scrapped a perfectly fine container, with current steel prices, a container is worth more than that. Now add in that the steel is set up in a nice, dry container and the value is more than the scrap value. 

 No and no. There aren't too many of them, despite old internet stories to the contrary. Shipping lines use containers for about 7-10 years before they sell them. That means that even though you see a stack of containers sitting at a port or rail yard, they are not necessarily empty or available. Shipping lines store them to ship their customer's goods to the next location. Ports and rail yards do not own these containers, the shipping lines do. Shipping lines do not sell to individuals, so you need to purchase one through a container vendor.