Delivery
How Shipping Container Delivery Is Priced
Why delivery is quoted against the site rather than the mileage.
Delivery is not included in the container price, and it is not a flat rate. The two things that move it are distance and difficulty, and difficulty moves it further.
A straightforward delivery to a yard with a wide gate and a hard surface is one vehicle, one driver, twenty minutes on site. The same container into a domestic back garden may need a smaller vehicle, a longer visit, or a crane, and the price reflects that rather than the extra miles.
Rather than publish a mileage table that would be wrong for half of the deliveries it covered, we quote against the address and the access.
What changes the price
The container size. The distance. Whether the vehicle can reach the placement area directly. Whether a crane is needed. Whether the site is open when the driver arrives.
Check delivery to your ZIP code
Delivery is quoted against your address and site access, so the price depends on where the container is going and what the truck can reach.
Frequently asked questions
Why is delivery not included in the price?
Because it varies more than the container does. Two buyers of the same 20ft box can face very different delivery costs depending on access, and building an average into the price would overcharge one and undercharge the other.
Is delivery cheaper if I collect?
Yes. You can collect from any of our six depots — Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, Atlanta and Seattle — which removes the delivery charge entirely. Pickup orders include a 24-hour loading window; after that, storage is $15 a day.
Does a second container cost twice as much to deliver?
Usually close to it, because each container is a separate movement unless the vehicle can carry both. Multi-unit orders move on a lowboy or step-deck with a forklift escort where the load allows it, which is cheaper than two separate movements. The exact saving is confirmed on the quote..
What makes delivery more expensive?
Distance, and difficulty. Difficulty moves it further: a site needing a smaller vehicle, a longer visit or a crane costs more than extra miles do.
Getting a figure
Give us the delivery ZIP code and the container, and describe the access. The final figure depends on the destination and on what the vehicle can reach on the day, so it is confirmed on the quote rather than published as a flat rate..
Pricing model in use: delivery is priced by radial distance from the nearest depot. Within 100 miles it is the base rate. From 101 to 300 miles adds $2.50 per mile over 100; 301 to 600 adds $2.00 per mile over 300; 601 to 1,200 adds $1.75 per mile over 600. Anything beyond 1,200 miles is quoted individually.