Shipping Container Prices

Two oddities worth explaining. The 10 ft costs almost as much as a 20 ft despite half the space — tens are not made in volume; most are cut down from 20 ft units, and the fabrication work costs money. And the 40 ft is often barely more than the 20 ft used: forties are plentiful at import-heavy ports, so per cubic metre they are the cheapest steel you can buy.

Distance from a port. Containers pile up where imports land. A used 20 ft that costs $1,300 in Houston or Los Angeles can cost $2,400 in Denver — the difference is pure trucking.
Trade imbalance. The US imports far more boxes than it exports, so surplus units accumulate at destination ports and depress local prices. Export-heavy regions see the opposite.
Steel prices. A new container is roughly 2–4 tonnes of Corten steel; when steel futures move, one-trip prices follow within months, and used prices drift after them.
Season. Demand peaks in spring and early summer (construction, moving season); patient buyers do better in late autumn and winter.

A 20 ft storage container rents for $75–150 per month in most US markets. Against a $1,200–2,500 purchase price, the breakeven lands at roughly 18–30 months — rent for anything shorter, buy for anything longer. Buying also leaves you an asset: a WWT container that keeps its roof and gaskets sound loses value slowly, and resale typically recovers half or more of the purchase price years later.

The table’s columns span a 2× range for the same physical box. One-trip means effectively new; cargo-worthy means certified for ocean shipping; WWT means dry but uncertified — sufficient for static storage and the best value if the unit will never sail again. The full breakdown of what each grade certifies, and what to inspect before believing it, is in the container grades guide; the inspection itself is covered step by step in buying a shipping container.