Containers for Shipping and Storage- Sales and Pricing

People have used ships for more than five thousand years. Ancient Egyptians were the only ones who knew how to make hulls. Ever since that pivotal moment, as civilizations evolved, so did the hull to a ship. People started to use them for transport. They traded livestock and food. Eventually, they were used for war.

But, since history repeats itself, ships are now mostly used for transport. The new, modern pivotal moment that inspired this was the invention of cargo containers. These large steel boxes contribute a lot to the progress of our time. They make trading and transporting goods easy, fast and flexible around the world. In this article, you’ll find out how.

The best things about shipping containers

This new invention exceeded expectations around the world. It’s a simple metal box, what is so special about it? Well, many things. Before them, marine transport was a long and unnecessarily complex process. Everything that needed to get on board the ship needed to be checked, then classified and sorted inside. Even though getting the cargo from one place to another was quick, the procedures took a lot of time. Then, the miracle of shipping containers changed everything. Click here to read more about the subject.

Since the design is straightforward and compact, a lot of them can fit onto one boat. They can be stacked one above another, and side to side. If you’ve ever seen a crane at work on a port or a dock, you might have noticed that this process is a lot like Tetris. Loads of aluminum boxes get stacked one above another. This by itself helped to reduce manpower and shorten the time for boarding.

Furthermore, since a lot of cargo can be transported at once, this reduced costs. Combine this with the quicker process, and you have an economy that is blooming. Transporters benefited a lot from large economies. This made way for more docks and ports to be built all around the world. Thus, the global trade improved and got less expensive.

The only downside to this whole process was that a lot of people lost their jobs. The labor force that was employed prior to the development got fired. The entire process became motorized, and the semi-skilled workers were negatively impacted.

The two main types of containers

Two of the most used container types are the 20-foot type and the 40-foot type. Since their invention, a lot of rules have been added. As with any major development, everyone who partakes in the trade with them must follow the standards set by the ISO. This stands for the International Organization for Standardization. They identified the 20-foot containers as TEU. This stands for Twenty-foot Equivalent Units. On the other hand, the 40-foot ones got the name FEU, which stands for Forty-foot Equivalent Units.

Why do people buy them?

Many people choose to buy these containers. Currently, there is a trend to create houses or living spaces in these steel boxes. Of course, this isn’t nearly as popular as getting them to transport goods. The best thing about them is that they are very cheap. A 20-foot container costs about 2,100 dollars if you get it used. And, if you want an entirely new one, they go up to 3,000 bucks.

But, if you want one that’s twice the size, you’d have to pay twice the price. The 40-foot ones cost around 2,500 dollars if you get them used and approximately 5,600 to get them new and in perfect shape. Of course, this all depends on the location where you buy them from. Read more by following this link: http://shippingcontainersale.org/

Why are they so cheap?

This comes down to the simple design. Cargo and shipping containers are basically large steel boxes that have doors. They are made from metals such as aluminum or steel. But, in recent years there has been an increase in fiber reinforced polymer production.

All containers start out as a big roll of metal. This then gets unrolled and cut into metal sheets that serve as the sides. There are specialized factories that do this with automated systems. After they’re cut, the metal sheets get sanded to remove all dirt and sand from them. As soon as they’re clean, they get corrugated. This improves their overall strength and durability in the long run.

However, the doors of the containers are made separately, after which they get melded together. As soon as all of the parts are good and ready to go, the boxes get assembled. When this process is completed, every new product is tested.  The main thing they check is water tightness. No one wants a new container only to find out that it leaks.

How much does it cost to transport a container after you buy it?

If you’ve decided to buy one, then the cost of shipping will be included in the price. Depending on where you are, the cost of the transport can vary. Of course, if you want to get them from somewhere that’s near you because it will be a lot cheaper. Most often, the regular price for a 20-foot container transport is 400 dollars.

On the other hand, transporting a 40-foot one can stretch up to 800 bucks. Since the prices usually include unloading, it’s a fair price. They also cover distances that are up to 300 miles. With simple math, this translates into around a dollar and a half per mile for a 20-foot container. But, this goes up to $2.60 for moving a 40-foot one per mile.

Getting one internationally, however, is a lot more expensive. This can range from $2,000 and up. A great tip here is to allow the company that transports it to you to store goods in the container. Make sure to get it from a reputable dealer in this situation. There are many deceiving companies, and you wouldn’t like to get scammed.