What does a storage container actually cost to buy?
The delivered price of a shipping container is set by four things: size (20ft or 40ft), grade (wind and watertight, cargo worthy, or one-trip), height (standard or high cube), and how far your address is from the depot that holds that box. Our prices on the containers page already include delivery to your ZIP, so the number you see is the number you pay — no haul charge added at the door.
What moves the number
Grade. A used wind-and-watertight box is the cheapest way to own a container, and for plain storage it is the right one. Cargo worthy costs a few hundred more for a box that has passed a structural survey. One-trip is near-new paint, floor and seals, and it costs the most. Our guide to one-trip vs used walks through what each grade actually means.
Size. A 40ft has twice the floor of a 20ft but is nowhere near twice the price, because the truck trip is the same trip. If you have the room — about 130 feet of straight run — the 40 is usually the better value per square foot. If you do not, the 20 is the only option at any price.
Height. A high cube adds about a foot of headroom for a modest premium. It matters if you plan shelving to the ceiling, a loft, or a workshop you will stand in all day. For boxes and tools it does not.
Distance from the depot. Containers around here ship out of depots on the Gulf Coast, and the delivery leg is priced on road miles from the one holding the grade you picked. That is why the same box costs a little more in one county than the next. Enter your ZIP on the containers page and the delivered price updates.
What is not in the price, and what is
In: the container, the tilt-bed delivery to your site, and a driver who sets it where you point. Out: anything on your side of the fence — a gravel pad, blocks to level it, permits where your city wants one, and a failed delivery. If the truck arrives and cannot set the box because the ground is soft or the run is too short, the trip is billable and a second attempt is charged again, so measure first. See how much room delivery needs.
Accessories are priced separately and ship by parcel: a lock box and puck lock, vents, shelving brackets, lights, a leveling jack. Most people want the lock and the vents on day one. They are on the accessories page with shipping already in the price.
How to compare quotes honestly
Most container sellers still make you phone for a price, and the figure they give is usually the box at the depot with delivery to follow. When you compare, ask every seller the same question: what is the total, delivered to this address, for this grade. A low depot price with a long haul can land above a higher delivered price from a closer yard.
We publish ours because the haul is the part people get surprised by. The prices on our site come straight from the supplier feed and update daily; nothing in these guides is a price, so always check the live number. 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
- Insulating a container office for Mississippi heat: furring, foam, what width is left, and permits — How to insulate a shipping container office for Mississippi heat and humidity: spray foam vs rigid board, the room left over, cooling, power and permits.
- Storing a boat on its trailer in a 40ft container on the Gulf Coast: width, height, vent and moisture — Storing a boat in a 40ft shipping container on the Gulf Coast: door width and height limits, trailer and T-top clearance, salt air, moisture and storms.
- 20ft vs 40ft: which container should you buy? — 20ft vs 40ft shipping container: how much each holds, why the 40 is the better value per square foot, and why the 130 feet a 40ft needs usually decides it.
- Which accessories make a shipping container usable: locks, vents, shelving and more — Which shipping container accessories to buy first: a lock box and padlock, vents, solar lights, no-drill shelving, a leveling jack and ramps, in order.
- Solar lights for a shipping container with no power run: what works and what to buy — Solar lights for a shipping container with no power: interior string and work lights, motion lights over the doors, the panel, and when to run a cord.
Across the Pine Belt
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