20ft New Shipping Container

excl. VAT · incl. VAT: €2,319.31

What one trip really means when you buy a 20ft new shipping container

Almost every 20ft new shipping container sold in Europe is what the trade calls a one trip unit. The box is built in Asia, where the manufacturing capacity sits, and rather than sail west empty it is sold as cargo space for a single loaded voyage. It arrives here having been packed once, sealed once and discharged once. Legally and commercially it is a used container the moment that voyage ends. Practically it is the closest thing to a factory fresh box that anyone in Europe can buy without paying to ship air across the world.

Understanding that distinction matters, because it sets your expectations correctly. A one trip box is not showroom perfect. It will usually have a few small scuffs on the paint from lashing gear, some handling marks near the corner castings, and a set of shipping line markings or a plain factory colour. What it will not have is the deep pitting, the previous patch welds, the tired gaskets or the water stained floor that come with a decade of container service. The gap between a one trip unit and a genuinely old box is far wider than the gap between one trip and untouched.

Verified dimensions and weights

The number that catches people out: the door opening

Look carefully at the two door figures. The opening is 233.81 cm wide against an internal width of 235.20 cm, and 227.99 cm high against an internal height of 238.99 cm. The width difference is small and rarely a problem. The height difference is over eleven centimetres, and that is the figure that ruins plans.

It happens because the door header sits below the roof line and the door sill sits above the floor. Anything that has to go in through the doors, a machine on a stillage, a vehicle, a tall cabinet, has to clear the door height, not the internal height. If your load is close to the limit, measure the item on the transport it will arrive on, including the pallet or skid, and compare it to 227.99 cm rather than to 238.99 cm. Once past the doors, the extra internal height is yours to use for stacking or for services in the ceiling void.

Why a factory fresh finish is worth paying for

The obvious difference between a new and an older box is cosmetic, but the differences that cost money are underneath the paint. On a one trip unit the steel has not yet been through repeated cycles of wetting, drying and salt exposure, so the factory coating is intact rather than patched. The door gaskets are still supple and seat properly, which is the single biggest determinant of whether a container stays dry. The locking bars are straight, the cams have not been forced, and the hinges have no play in them.

The frame is square, and squareness is quietly important. A box that has been dropped, racked or stacked under load can end up slightly twisted, and a twisted box has doors that need persuading and a floor that does not sit flat on its bearers. Starting square means the unit stays easy to open for years, and it means a conversion built inside it will not be fighting a wandering datum from the first day.

Why converters and fabricators start with new steel

If a container is going to be cut, welded, insulated, lined and finished, the value of buying new goes up sharply rather than down. There are several reasons for this, and they all come back to hidden cost.

• No unknown history. Nobody has to guess what the last cargo was, whether a spill soaked into the floor, or whether a wall panel was patched over rust that was never removed. That matters most in office, welfare and habitable conversions.
• Predictable cutting. Cutting a window or a door opening into sound, uniform panel steel is straightforward. Cutting into a panel with old repairs and variable thickness is slower and the finished edges are harder to make good.
• Clean surfaces for insulation. Spray foam and adhesive backed systems bond reliably to intact factory coating. On a corroded or flaking interior the preparation work can cost more than the price difference between a new and used shell.
• Uniform appearance across multiple units. When several boxes are joined or placed side by side, one trip units in a matching colour look like one building. Used boxes look like several boxes.
• Reliable geometry. Modular fit out relies on the shell being square. Kitchen runs, partition walls and window frames all assume it.

None of this makes used a bad choice for plain storage. It simply means that the more work you intend to do inside the box, the more sense it makes to start from a 20ft new shipping container rather than to buy the shell cheaply and spend the saving on remediation.

The floor

New dry boxes leave the factory with a laid timber or bamboo laminate floor on steel cross members, screwed down and sealed at the edges. On a fresh unit that deck is flat, dry and free of the staining and delamination that older floors accumulate. For storage that means you can run a pallet truck over it from day one. For a conversion it means you have a level substrate to build off, rather than a repair job before the real work starts.

Container flooring supplied for international transport is treated against pests. If the unit is destined for food handling, for a workshop with sensitive processes or for a space people will occupy for long periods, discuss the floor early. The usual answer is an overlay, a sealed screed or a replacement deck, and it is far cheaper to plan for that at the point of order than to retrofit it later.

Paint, colour and keeping the finish

Containers are built from weathering steel with a multi coat factory paint system on top. Corten style steel forms a stable oxide layer that slows corrosion where the coating is broken, which is why containers survive so long in harsh conditions, but the paint is still what does most of the work. On a new unit the coating is unbroken and the sensible maintenance regime is simply to touch up scratches before they spread.

Colour is worth raising at the quotation stage. New units come in a limited range of standard factory colours, and repainting to a specific shade is a separate operation with its own preparation, primer and cost. If the box is going somewhere visible, or has to match existing units, ask what colours are available on the specific stock offered rather than assuming any shade is possible.

Gross weight, tare and what to tell your transport

The maximum gross weight of 30,480 kg is the certified figure for the loaded box, and the net or tare weight of 2,300 kg is the empty box. The difference between the two is your cargo allowance, and a quotation or the CSC plate on the unit should confirm it in writing before you plan a heavy load.

For most buyers the tare is the number that gets used most often. It tells the crane operator, the hiab driver or the heavy forklift operator what they are lifting on the day of delivery, and it is what governs whether a given vehicle can place the unit where you want it. An empty 20ft box is a straightforward lift for the right equipment and an impossible one for the wrong equipment, so share the tare figure with whoever is doing the placement before they quote.

Planning with 13.84 m² and 33.16 m³

The interior floor space of 13.84 m² is the figure to use for anything laid out in plan: racking runs, workbenches, a two desk site office, pallet positions. Two standard pallet rows down the length with a working aisle is a common arrangement, though the exact fit depends on your pallet size and on how you intend to load.

The volume of 33.16 m³ is the figure for bulk. Treat it as a ceiling rather than a target. Real world fill rates are lower once you allow for aisles, for the fact that stacked goods do not tessellate perfectly, and for the reduced door height. If you are comparing container sizes on cost per cubic metre, compare on realistically achievable volume rather than on the rated figure, or you will consistently over estimate what fits.

Siting a new unit so it stays that way

The external footprint is 605.79 cm by 243.79 cm and the external height is 259.11 cm. Access planning has to allow for the delivery vehicle as well as the box, so check gateway widths, turning space, overhead cables and branches in advance. Decide before delivery which way the doors should face, because turning a placed container is a second lift.

Set the unit on four firm, level bearing points under the corner castings. Do not bed it directly onto soft ground or grass, where trapped moisture will attack the underside cross members and where uneven settlement will slowly rack the frame and stiffen the doors. Leave enough clearance for air to move underneath. A new box set down properly will still look and work like a new box in several years; a new box dropped onto mud will not.

Deciding between new and used

The honest test is how much of the container you will end up seeing and how much work you intend to do to it. For a plain lockable store at the back of a yard, condition matters more than freshness and a sound used box is good value. For anything visible, anything customer facing, anything that will be cut and fitted out, and anything you expect to keep for a long time, a 20ft new shipping container removes a set of unknowns that are expensive to discover halfway through a project.

Is a 20ft new shipping container really new if it is a one trip unit?

A one trip box has been built, loaded once, shipped once and discharged once, so technically it has been used. In practice it has none of the pitting, patch welds, tired gaskets or stained flooring that come with years of service. Expect minor handling marks and shipping line markings rather than showroom perfection, and expect an intact factory coating and a square frame.

Why is the door opening smaller than the internal height?

The door header sits below the roof line and the sill sits above the floor, so the opening is 227.99 cm high against an internal height of 238.99 cm. That difference of over eleven centimetres decides what you can physically get inside. Measure tall items including their pallet or skid against the door figure, not the internal figure, and only then plan how to stack.

Why do conversion companies prefer new containers?

A new shell has no unknown cargo history, uniform panel steel that cuts cleanly, intact coating that insulation bonds to, a square frame for fitting out and a consistent colour across multiple units. On a used shell the stripping, treating and repair work needed before fit out can easily exceed the price difference, so buying cheap often costs more.

What weights should I give my transport company?

Give them the tare weight of 2,300 kg, which is what will actually be lifted on the day, plus the external dimensions of 605.79 cm by 243.79 cm by 259.11 cm. The maximum gross weight of 30,480 kg applies to the loaded unit and matters for planning cargo, not for placement. Confirm access width, turning space and overhead clearance beforehand.

How much can I realistically fit inside?

The rated volume is 33.16 cubic metres over 13.84 square metres of floor. Treat the volume as a ceiling rather than a target, because aisles, imperfect stacking and the reduced door height all take a share. Plan racking and pallet positions from the floor area figure, and compare container sizes on realistically achievable volume instead of the rated number.

Can I choose the colour?

New units come in a limited range of standard factory colours, and a specific shade normally means a separate repaint with its own preparation, primer and cost. If the container will stand somewhere visible or has to match existing units on site, ask which colours are available on the specific stock being offered before the order is confirmed rather than afterwards.