Craigslist Storage Containers (2024)

FAQs

Why is there a shortage of storage containers? ›

Understanding The Shipping Container Shortage and Prices in 2021. Due to COVID related supply and production delays, there is a global shortage of shipping containers. This shipping container shortage is leading to skyrocketing shipping prices and major delays.

Possible ideas for these containers include selling them, such as in a garage or yard sale, or through Craigslist or something similar, or donating them to a charity or similar organization that could use them.

A cargo-worthy container typically has few rust spots and dents, and its doors open and shut smoothly. The container's floor should be in a reasonably good condition and the understructure must be stable.

Buying a Storage Container: A Long-Term Investment

Purchasing a container is a long-term investment. It is an asset your business can own, leverage, use and sell. That helps your business build value in the long term.

No End in Sight for the Shipping Container Shortage

Experts predict that the shipping container shortage is likely to continue well into the future. Distributors, logistics professionals and most businesses will need to prepare for ongoing disruptions as shipping containers remain in short supply.

As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all. As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren't needed.

CW–Grade Shipping Containers

They are considered “cargo worthy” which means the condition is deemed suitable for cargo transportation under CSC criteria, so they are a great option to store your stuff. Most of our CW-grade containers meet the following criteria: The container is used but still certifiable condition.

A 20-foot shipping container is a standard size, generally carrying up to around 30,480 kilograms (67,200 pounds), including the weight of the container itself. The empty container typically weighs about 2,300 kg (5,070 lbs), so the cargo weight should be around 28,180 kilograms (62,130 lbs) or less.

If you plan to use your container to transport or international shipping then its important to have a valid csc plate on the container.

Fortunately, putting a shipping container on private land is entirely possible, generally speaking. First, you need to establish what the intended use of the new building will be and whether you will need to apply for planning permission.

Are container prices dropping? ›

Container freight rates oscillated dramatically between January 2023 and March 2024. Freight rates slumped to their lowest level on the 26th of October 2023, when the going rate for a 40-foot container was only 1,342 U.S. dollars.

Most container leasing companies typically depreciate their containers over a 10-12 year period before retiring them permanently. However, the general consensus regarding lifespan for containers which are not in heavy use (such as those used in storage facilities) is an average of 25-30 years.

Low Production of New Containers

Production of new shipping containers is also incredibly low. Older shipping containers are scrapped at a rate that far exceeds the building of new ones, causing inventories to plummet. Even as production ramps back up, it will likely take a year or more for capacity to normalize.

Multiple factory closures resulted in a large number of containers being left at ports. In order to balance out the cost of ocean rates, carriers reduced the number of vessels out at sea. This majorly slowed down imports and exports and resulted in empty containers not being picked up.

While there was a shortage of containers at the height of the Covid pandemic, the global economy is now facing the opposite problem: too many containers. On top of falling freight rates, data shows container depots — used to house containers after they are unloaded — are now filling up or full.

In short, increased demand for physical goods – as well as China's massively growing export market – has made shipping containers scarce, and shipping more expensive, harder to come by, and more bottlenecked.