What Can a 40’ Shipping Container be Used For?

So, you have your eye on a 40-foot shipping container? It’s important to make sure it meets your needs, from space constraints to weight restrictions. Such containers can serve many purposes ranging from storage and shipping to housing or any other unique need. They’re great for housing larger equipment and goods. They’re also ideal for stationary use, so if you plan on moving the container around, you may want to look at smaller, more mobile sizes. That’s why they’re great for long-term storage needs.

Forty-foot containers come in two sizes: standard and high cube. In a nutshell, 40′ standard containers are typically 8’6″ high, while high cubes are usually 9’6″ high. The high cubes are quite popular, mostly due to the fact that they’re taller than the standard by a full foot. This gives you more room to store your equipment. On the other hand, you can’t readily move a high cube of this size on a flatbed truck, which is do-able with the standard size.

Let’s go over the uses for each:

Standard 40’ Containers

• Perfect for storage of documents, inventory, equipment and feed.
• Can be used as a workshop or for storage, protecting you and your products from weather-related damage. You can even push two containers together and add a roof for more space.
• Can be moved around when empty; however, there are weight requirements: Most trucks can pick up containers weighing up to 25,000 pounds, so if you go over that, you’ll have to resort to a crane.

40′ High Cube Containers

• Can be used for commercial, industrial or rural storage applications.
• Good for transporting all types of general (dry) cargo, especially light, voluminous cargoes and over-height cargoes.
• Can be used for office space.
• May carry high volume, but lighter goods such as consumer goods, cotton, furniture and electronics. These take up a lot of space but they are lighter.
• Can basically be used for storing and transporting anything that the standard can hold, except with an extra one foot of space at the top.

Containers like these are great for traditional uses, but they can also be customized with anything from windows and skylights to electrical/lighting and HVAC to result in a great makeshift construction site office or even a hunting/fishing shack!

Got questions before booking one or the other? Just give Cargo Containers a call at (855) 622-5671.