What is the difference between a cargo worthy and wind and watertight container?
A cargo worthy container is a used box that has passed a structural survey and is fit to carry cargo at sea again; a wind and watertight (WWT) container is a used box that keeps rain and wind out but carries no structural certification. Both are sealed against weather, so for storage that sits in one spot WWT does the same job for less, and cargo worthy is worth paying for when the box will carry heavy loads, be moved again, or be stacked.
Cargo worthy vs WWT container: what each grade means
Cargo worthy vs WWT container is the question behind most used shipping container listings, because those are the two grades a used box is sold under. Both come out of the shipping fleets after years at sea, both have rust, dents and faded paint, and both keep rain off what is inside.
Wind and watertight means no holes, doors that close and seal, and a roof that keeps water out. Nobody has surveyed the frame. See the 20ft used WWT and the 40ft high cube WWT.
Cargo worthy means a surveyor has checked the structure — corner posts, rails, floor, cross members and doors — and passed it as fit to load and ship again. In practice that is a straighter, sounder box. See the 20ft cargo worthy and the 40ft high cube cargo worthy.
A survey is a snapshot of the box on the day it was done, not a warranty for the next twenty years. Whichever grade you buy, walk it the day it lands; one-trip vs used has the five-minute check.
Which grade a Pine Belt buyer actually needs
For storage that stays put — a conex box behind the house in Petal, a feed room on a farm outside Laurel, a tool box at a hunting camp in Perry County — buy WWT. A sealed roof and sealing doors are what keep your things dry, and WWT has both. The survey on a cargo worthy box adds nothing to a container that will never see a ship or a crane again.
Buy cargo worthy when the structure matters. If you will load it heavy — pallets of inventory, engine parts, a shop full of steel — a surveyed floor and frame is the safer start. If you expect to move it later, by tilt-bed to a new lot or a second property, a straight frame handles the lifts and drops better. If you plan to stack containers, or cut doors and windows for a workshop, start with the stronger box. Heavy loads are covered in how much weight a container can hold.
Neither grade changes condensation. A cargo worthy box sweats in a Gulf Coast summer exactly like a WWT one, so the vents from the accessories page matter more to your stored goods than the grade does. See are containers watertight.
Before you buy either one in south Mississippi
Grade does not change delivery. A tilt-bed needs about 110 feet of straight run for a 20ft and about 130 for a 40ft, 15 feet of clearance overhead on the way in and 22 feet where the box is set down, and firm, level ground. After a week of rain, red clay and low pasture in the Pine Belt can stop a truck, and a failed drop is billable. Read delivery access first.
Both grades are priced by ZIP, delivered, from a daily supplier feed, so compare them side by side on the containers page — the gap between the two is the price of the survey. Your card is authorized, not charged, until we confirm the order and the delivery window, which is typically within a week or two. See containers for sale — delivered price by ZIP
Buying a container?
Longleaf sells used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft shipping containers, delivered by tilt-bed across the Pine Belt. Enter your ZIP for the delivered price — it comes straight from the supplier feed and already includes the haul. Locks, vents, shelving and lights are on the accessories page. We sell; we do not rent.
- 20ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $2,885 delivered
- 20ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $3,635 delivered
- 20ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $2,470 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft High Cube One Trip (new) — from $4,925 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,210 delivered
- 40ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $6,355 delivered
- 40ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,160 delivered
Keep reading
- How many cubic feet are in a 20ft shipping container? — 20ft shipping container cubic feet: about 1,170 inside a standard box and 1,320 in a high cube, what that space really holds, and sizing one in the Pine Belt.
- How much weight can a shipping container floor hold? — How much weight a container can hold: the cargo rating of a 20ft and 40ft shipping container floor, why point loads matter more, and why the pad fails first.
- Where can I buy a shipping container near Seminary, MS? — Shipping containers for sale in Seminary, MS: used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft boxes delivered to 39479 and Covington County, and the flood check to make first.
- Where can I buy a shipping container in Ellisville, MS? — Shipping containers for sale in Ellisville, MS: used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft boxes delivered to 39437 and south Jones County, plus the checks to make first.
- Where can I buy a 40ft high cube container in the Pine Belt? — 40ft high cube container for sale in the Pine Belt: used or one-trip, delivered by tilt-bed to your lot, and the 130 feet of run and headroom a 40HC needs.
Across the Pine Belt
Hattiesburg · Petal · Laurel · Ellisville · Purvis · Sumrall · Columbia · Collins · Seminary · Wiggins