Container Sales Involves More Than Container Sales

What comes to your mind when you hear the term container sales? Probably you think of a shop stacked with all kinds of containers like pet bottles, paper cartons, tin cans, and all the other containers you store stuff in. In this article, however, we discuss another type of container, the shipping container carried by large trailers that you see on the road and at dockyards.

These containers come in numerous varieties. There are the plain 20'x8'x8.5', 40'x8'x8.5' and 45'x8'x9.5' popular sizes, and half sizes and custom sizes. There are dry van containers used to pack cartons, sacks, bales, etc; reefer containers that have climate control facilities; bulktainers used to ship bulk materials or heavy machinery; tank containers used to pack liquids and dangerous stuff; roll-on containers into which difficult-to-handle cargo can be rolled in and out; and so on.

The abovementioned items are all shipping containers that require certification under the Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) as standardized by International Maritime Organization (IMO). This certification testifies to the suitability of the containers for "continued safe handling and transportability in the commercial intermodal transport environment".

Container sellers can sell you new or used containers with CSC certification. But container sales are not restricted to shipping containers. We look at some of the offerings you will find at container sales yards.

Storage Containers

These are containers that might have been retired from shipping functions. They could also be from the large quantities of empty containers that tend to accumulate at places where inward flow of containers always exceed outward flow. This happens because there are more imports than exports, and it is uneconomic to ship empty containers back.

Such surplus containers are excellent for storage of household articles, boats, equipment, or anything else you want to store. Self-storage facilities use containers extensively as they offer closed spaces that can be under the lock and key of the hirer.

Container Houses, Offices and Shops

Container sales companies typically offer remodeled containers for various purposes. One major use is as temporary or longer-term living accommodation. The containers are fitted out inside to provide livable interiors with windows and doors, and living facilities like fold up beds and furniture, kitchen units, toilets and storage shelves. Power can be made available through solar panels and equipment.

Instead of fitting out for living accommodation, the containers can also be fitted out as offices, canteens, market stalls or for other similar functions. It is also possible to incorporate a multi-level structure, either by having smaller levels or by stacking containers over one another.

One major advantage of container houses, offices and shops is their mobility. They can be easily moved around using trucks with container handling equipment. You can thus move the living quarters to different worksites; your market stalls to different markets or entertainment venues, and so on.

We have seen only a sampling of how containers can be modified and converted for different kinds of uses. The possibilities are huge, and if you want any kind of structure that can be easily moved around, or accommodated in a compact space, container modification could be your answer.

Container sales thus involve much more than selling containers.