Shipping container versus storage container

It is not always easy to tell the difference between the two types of containers as they are physically similar on the outside. However, it is necessary to distinguish the dry maritime container from the storage container. 

We are taking the part of voluntarily excluding, here, refrigerated containers also called reefers, specially designed to store products at a specific temperature, negative or positive and which do not offer comparable characteristics with storage containers. 

The dry maritime container

The maritime container meets very specific requirements linked to its main use: maritime transport. 

In order to accommodate different types of cargo and be stacked on 7 floors once filled, while remaining easily movable, it is robust, waterproof and mobile.

It is also designed: 

– to resist corrosion,

– withstand large temperature variations, 

– to receive heavy cargo (its floor is suitable for heavy loads) 

- to be easily handled, thanks to both its forklift passage and its ISO corners.

Sa lifetime in these extreme conditions of use is at minimum 15 years old. 

Dry containers are available in different sizes, standard or high cube (30 cm higher): 

10 feet, 20 feet, 20 feet High Cube, 40 feet, 40 feet High Cube et 45 feet High Cube 

There are other types of containers, called specific : 

20 feet double door, 40 feet double door, 20 feet open side, 40 feet open side, 20 feet open top, 40 feet open top, 20 feet flat, 40 feet flat, 20 foot tank, 40 foot tank . 

What all these shipping containers have in common is that they are mass produced and standardized to meet the specific standards of maritime transport but also rail and road, because maritime containers are required to travel regularly by barge, train and truck as well. 

This standardized production has the advantage of offering a production cost lower than the production cost of a storage container yet lighter and less resistant.

The storage container

The storage container as for it, is a product intended to be delivered directly to the customer after its production. He is not designed to be handled (so the smallest ones have no ISO corners) full or even beyond its final destination. 

Available in different sizes, it is especially widespread in 6, 8 and 10 feet, thus making it possible to meet demands for smaller storage areas. The smaller they are, the less wide they are (unlike the maritime ones which all have the same width, except the Pallet Wide), allowing them to be handled like “Russian dolls” (the 6 feet in the 8 feet in the 10 feet).

Apart from the robustness (therefore the design and the materials which make them up) and the dimensions, the biggest difference between these 2 types of containers lies mainly in the external appearance. 

While a storage container is sent directly to its owner and therefore has a new exterior, the maritime container when used to store has done - at least - a trip with cargo on board from China (where all shipping containers are manufactured), This is what we call a “1st trip” container. and these are containers which visually offer a exterior very clean and almost (but not) new, but there are also “Last voyage” shipping containers often called containers second hand offering an exterior reflecting what they experienced:  traces of corrosion, wear, repair but also handling. Of course the price of containers depends on their age: a first trip container will generally have a higher cost than a final trip. 

The price of containers is also linked to supply and demand and certain events (notably confinements linked to the COVID epidemic) directly influence their availability and therefore their price.

It is also important to specify that the 2 types of containers offer the same freedom, since they do not need a foundation or significant earthworks to install them, and remain today the 2 least expensive and fastest solutions to acquire storage space, in comparison with a “hard” construction, especially since they make it possible to cover a temporary storage need. 

Speed, flexibility and ease of implementation are characteristics common to both types of containers; it is still essential to anticipate transport and delivery from the start of your project.

En conclusion we see thatthere is no one container better than the other, there are just 2 completely distinct types of containers each offering different properties. 

An individual who will have a 'small' need for storage and for whom the appearance aesthetic will have all its importance will turn more naturally towards a storage container than a second-hand 20-foot marine displaying signs of use and wear! 

An open and needing storage will take into account, first of all, surface area or volume necessary for this need and will guide his choice towards one or the other type of container. 

Un “big” need for storage will be more easily filled by a maritime container, and depending on the importance or not of the aesthetic aspect, the choice will be made on a first or last trip. 

In fact there are as many storage solutions as there are projects, also for even more advice, contact our team who will be happy to to answer you and support you in choosing the storage container best suited to your project.