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Stacking Shipping Containers Safely for Efficient Storage

Shipping containers provide a variety of efficient solutions. From their days aboard sea freighters to their new lives as storage containers, cargo containers are meant to protect their contents while using as little space as possible. What better way to save space than stacking shipping containers on top of one another? It’s true — stacking cargo containers may not be a common practice, but it can be a huge space-saver for your storage. Curious? Read on to learn more.  Considering how you could benefit from stacking shipping containers for storage? Reach out to the experts at Rent-A-Container.     How Shipping Containers Are Stacked The idea of stacking shipping containers is enticing to the space-conscious, but to do it safely, you have to follow a few simple rules.   Use a Crane or Forklift to Stack Storage Containers Stacking cargo containers is going to require either a crane or an industrial forklift. Even a standard 20-foot shipping container can weigh more than two tons, so you’re going to need some heavy equipment to hoist one container on top of another.   Stack Containers with Corner Posts Aligned Stackable shipping containers come with four corner posts designed to bear most of the weight of the containers above them. While sturdy is standard with sea cans, they can buckle near the middle when they are stacked improperly. Even the strongest steel can’t stand up to multiple tons of weight all the time.   Smaller Containers Go Under Bigger Containers This may seem counterintuitive: You need to stack larger containers on top of smaller containers. Why? Because two smaller containers next to each other have more strong corner posts to rely on to hold the larger containers above. For example, if you have one 40-foot container and two 20-foot containers, the 40-foot container could give way near its weakest point — its middle — if you had the two 20-footers on top. Meanwhile, the two 20-foot containers have another set of sturdy corner posts near the midpoint of the 40-foot container above, so buckling is much less likely if they’re on the bottom.   Secure Stacked Containers with Twist Locks Once you have your containers stacked the way you want them, you need to secure them. The way you do that is with twist locks. These locks sit on the corner posts of the containers to secure the top container to the bottom one.   Stacking Cargo Containers: Which Types Are Stackable? Learning how shipping containers stack is one thing — but can you actually stack the containers you want to rent or buy?    Most Types of Containers Are Stackable Stacking shipping containers may sound complicated, but because these containers are so standardized, it’s actually easier than you might think. Most types of containers are stackable shipping containers. That includes 10-foot, 20-foot, 40-foot and 45-foot standard and high cube containers.   Shipping Container Stacking: It’s All About Quality With that said, note that quality matters when it comes to stacking shipping containers. If you have an older shipping container with a lot of rust or structural damage, it may be risky to stack any other containers on top of it. Newer containers are more likely to be able to stand up to the weight of one or more fully loaded containers.   How High Can Shipping Containers Be Stacked? This is one of the most common questions we get about stacking shipping containers. And it matters — stacking cargo containers too high can lead to disaster, and if you’re planning a shipping container office or home, you need to know how many floors you can safely manage.  How high shipping containers can be stacked depends on the quality of the units and how heavily you plan to load the upper containers. Generally, you can go as high as eight or nine stacked containers. But remember that you need to check with your local government to make sure local regulations allow stacking shipping containers to the level you have in mind.   Looking for Stackable Shipping Containers? Call Rent-A-Container Stacking shipping containers for storage may be a great space-saving decision, but it requires some planning. For help finding the stackable shipping containers to meet your storage or structure needs, reach out to the expert team at Rent-A-Container. We are here to answer your questions about shipping container stacking and more. Reach out by calling us at (800) 880-7061 or contacting us online. Shop Rent-A-Container!

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Different Types of Shipping Containers: One for Every Need

Renting and buying shipping containers shouldn’t be complicated. But when you set out to acquire containers for your business, the sheer number of types of shipping containers can be overwhelming. If you feel like you need a PhD just to figure out which type is right for you, Rent-A-Container is here to help.  We work hard to simplify the container rental and purchase process. To make it even easier, we have compiled this guide of everything you need to know about available shipping container sizes, types, conditions and styles . Read on for more information.  Get in touch with the helpful team at Rent-A-Container when you are ready to rent or buy a shipping container.     Shipping Container Sizes Shipping container sizes are more or less standardized across the shipping industry. While other sizes are certainly possible through modifications, the following are the common sizes you will have to choose from. 10 Ft. Shipping Containers If limited space is your main issue, this could be a great solution. These containers are 10 feet long and 8 feet wide. Offering a volume of 563 cubic feet, 10-foot shipping containers can fit nearly anywhere. They’re perfect for tool and small equipment storage. While they are more rare and more expensive than 20 ft. options, they can be a great solution for tight spaces. 20 Ft. Shipping Containers This is one of the most common shipping container sizes. Standard 20-foot shipping containers provide 1,170 cubic feet of storage volume, which is typically perfect for a one-bedroom apartment or single vehicle. 40 Ft. Shipping Containers With 2,350 feet of interior storage volume, 40-foot shipping containers are the largest of the commonly available containers. Two passenger vehicles or the contents of a two- or three-bedroom apartment should easily fit inside a 40-foot container. 45 Ft. Shipping Containers You won’t likely find a larger container than the 45-foot shipping container. These large containers ring in at just under 3,000 cubic feet of interior space, making them perfect for your largest storage needs.   Shipping Container Types by Condition In the storage container industry, the types of shipping containers can come in a variety of conditions. These shipping container conditions affect the price and tell you something about the history of a used container. Wind and Watertight Containers Wind and watertight containers are used containers that have passed inspection for being resistant to wind and water. That means they are great for storage of items that need to be kept out of the elements. Cargo Worthy Containers Cargo worthy containers are also used, but they are often the highest-quality used storage containers you can buy or rent. Although these containers will have some dents, rust and similar blemishes, they have been deemed capable of safely transporting* almost any type of cargo.  *NOTE: If you need to ship your container overseas, you will need a CSC survey to be completed which Rent-A-Container can complete for you – just ask our sales team. One-Trip Containers One-trip shipping containers are as close to new as you can get. They are usually manufactured overseas and take one trip to the country where you are purchasing them. These are often the most expensive containers. As-Is Containers As-is shipping containers may have significant defects or wear and tear. They are sold “as-is” at a lower price than most other containers. For those who can fix the containers themselves or who don’t need a lot of protection for their items, an as-is container may be the best value.   Shipping Container Heights Most of the types of shipping containers come in two heights: standard and high cube. Standard Shipping Containers A standard shipping container is 8 feet, 6 inches tall. You can get a standard-height container in all of the available shipping container sizes. High Cube Shipping Containers High cube shipping containers are a foot taller than standard containers, at 9 feet, 6 inches. These provide significantly more volume than standard containers and are perfect for accommodating taller items like work vehicles.   Types of Shipping Containers by Style Most of the above types of shipping containers can come in a variety of styles. We have listed some of the most common shipping container styles below. Double-Door Shipping Containers One of the most popular specialty shipping containers, double-door containers have a set of doors on both ends instead of just one. This allows access from either side of the unit, which allows for greater flexibility when loading and unloading. Open-Side Shipping Containers Open-side shipping containers have doors that open along the entire side of the unit. These are in addition to the standard doors on one end or the other. Side-opening containers allow for completely unrestricted access to any of the contents of the container at any time. Refrigerated Shipping Containers Refrigerated shipping containers are exactly what they sound like — they are perfect for storing or shipping goods that need to be kept cold. Insulated Shipping Containers Also called thermal shipping containers, insulated containers are useful when you need to keep goods from getting too cold. Open Top Shipping Containers Open top containers have removable roofs made of sturdy tarpaulin. Allowing full access to the container from the top can make loading and unloading with heavy machinery much easier. Flat Rack Containers The sides of flat rack shipping containers can collapse, leaving only the end walls standing. The sturdy end walls can secure oversized cargo like construction vehicles that wouldn’t fit into the container if all the walls were up.   Wondering What Type of Shipping Container You Need? Call Rent-A-Container Picking shipping container sizes is only the beginning of your journey. You then have to comb through all of the available types of shipping containers to find which one most closely fits your unique needs. Why not get help from a storage container expert?  At Rent-A-Container, our friendly and experienced staff can pair you with the perfect shipping container for sale or rent at competitive prices.  To get started, call

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2021 Welcomes the Continued Rise of Shipping Container Offices

When you choose an office for your business, you probably want something that is affordable, durable and spacious. If you’re dreaming big, you may even want an office that speaks to the nature of your company — something versatile and maybe even trendy. There’s a solution you probably haven’t considered. And it combines all of the traits most business owners find desirable in an office.  It’s a shipping container office. Shipping container offices — also called conex offices and storage container offices — are a growing trend in office construction due to their infinite customization options, low prices and portability. And 2021 is going to be a big year for them. In this post, we take a look at the benefits of container offices and how you can get in on the trend to build your perfect office. Looking for a shipping container office? Browse Rent-A-Container’s standard shipping containers for sale or rent.     Why Use a Shipping Container Office? Your office is a reflection of your business. It may be the first thing customers and clients see when they check out your company.  Your office should reflect your company’s desired image and core values.  Finding and funding a traditional office space is a challenge.  Shipping container offices for sale are a solution to that problem.  They are: Affordable Customizable Environmentally friendly Pandemic-friendly Let’s take a deeper look at some of the benefits of storage container office space.   Container Offices Are Cost-Effective Cost is probably your top concern when building or buying an office. Commercial office space can get pricey fast, depending on finishes, location and construction materials.  Shipping container offices offer a lower-cost option. Let’s look at the numbers.  The average price per square foot for single-story commercial office construction in the United States is $313.  A turnkey, prefabricated container office in a 20-foot shipping container yields 160 square feet. The price of a prefab container office can be around $17,000. That’s a little over $100 per square foot for a shipping container office — just one-third of the cost of traditional commercial office construction.   Storage Container Offices Are Customizable ISO containers are simple. They’re just sturdy steel boxes that come in standard and high cube heights.  When you use them for office construction, they’re essentially like building blocks.  Think of them as legos: any setup or combination is possible. Shipping containers can be laid out in single- or multi-story configurations that match exactly what you are picturing for your office. And that’s only the exterior construction.  The standardized dimensions lend themselves to a wide range of shipping container interior design customizations, too.  You can add doors, windows, interior walls and more — really, you can add anything you want   Shipping Container Office Space Is Environmentally Friendly As the world increasingly turns its attention to environmental concerns, having a green office space becomes more important for many companies.  Sure, you can invest thousands of dollars into energy-saving heating, cooling and lighting systems. That’s great.  But have you considered going green from the ground up with a shipping container office? That’s right — storage container offices are environmentally friendly.  Here are a few ways a container office can help your company go green:   Reuse and Recycle Instead of gathering rust in a dump or junkyard, a shipping container can find new life as a permanent office space.  Call it recycling or upcycling — it’s simply better for the environment if we reuse big metal items like conex containers.   Lower Energy Use Shipping container offices tend to be somewhat smaller than traditional offices, but they make efficient use of nearly every square foot of space.  With lower ceilings and efficient use of space, heating, cooling and lighting require a lot less energy. That means lower emissions in your day-to-day use of your new container office.    Sustainable Construction Because containers come prebuilt and more or less ready to be converted into office buildings, you save time on construction compared to traditional methods.  Less time building means less time transporting materials and powering huge machines. That translates to fewer carbon emissions.  Even greener, perhaps, is the fact that container offices are made of reused building materials.  One scientific study found that 82% to 87% of all greenhouse gas emissions from building construction come from producing the building materials themselves.  That’s not an issue when your container comes prebuilt.   Container Offices Promote Social Distancing The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the concept of social distancing into sharp focus for businesses that do their work in person.  Keeping employees far enough apart has been a challenge across various industries since the start of the pandemic and will likely continue to be a concern well into 2021 and the future. The basic problem to solve is figuring out how to de-densify spaces within your office. One affordable solution comes from the modular nature of shipping containers.  With a shipping container office, you can separate employees into separate spaces, meaning you never have too many people coming into contact with each other at one time.    How to Convert a Shipping Container into an Office If you’re sold on a container office, the next step is figuring out how to convert a shipping container into an office.  We have outlined a few simple steps to consider: Determine how big your container office needs to be. Then, consider how many 20-foot, 40-foot or 45-foot containers you will need to make an office that big and where they will need to be joined together. Plan the doors and windows of your container office. Where will the entry and exit points be? Keep in mind that you need to follow local building codes closely. Assign a function to each interior space. Consider the placement of bathrooms, cubicles and conference rooms to determine where you will need to install plumbing and electrical fixtures. Start building. Hire contractors or do it yourself. This is the part where you make your dream shipping container office

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10 Shipping Container Apartments That’ll Have You Booking Your Next Travel Destination

Creative children playing with blocks see unlimited possibility in what they can build. Squares become cozy houses. Rectangles become towering castles. Shapes become cities. That’s exactly the kind of endless possibility shipping containers have opened up in the world of apartment construction. These sturdy steel boxes that once traveled the seas on ocean freighters are now finding second lives as apartments all over the world. And the results are pretty cool. Because of the low cost, ease of construction and wide availability, shipping container apartments have made their way into short-term rental listings.  In this post, we will discuss the benefits of shipping container apartments and have a look at 10 incredible examples you can rent right now.  Storage Container Homes: Apartment-Style Shipping container apartments for rent across the United States and around the world offer a wide range of living experiences.  From tiny home containers to stately multi-level lodgings, shipping container floor plans run the gamut of home design.  And there’s a good reason for that: storage containers are affordable and infinitely customizable.   Inexpensive Shipping Container Apartments: A True Cost-Saver  Cheap shipping container apartments facilitate the dream of low-cost living. The cost of building a container apartment or home is much lower than the cost of traditional home construction.  Some simple math can bring this benefit of shipping container apartments and how much they can hold into focus. In 2015, the average cost per square foot for home construction was $103, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Meanwhile, a 40-foot shipping container — which yields 320 square feet — can cost around $3,500. That’s around $11 per square foot. While that much lower figure doesn’t account for some of the other costs of building a shipping container home—such as transportation, painting, electrical, etc.—it’s easy to see how the cost per square foot of a shipping container apartment will be much cheaper than the cost per square foot of a traditional apartment building.   Shipping Container Floor Plans Shipping container designs are limitless. If the low cost of a shipping container apartment doesn’t convince you, designed shipping containers might. These aren’t drab, four-cornered box apartments. To start, while shipping containers all have four sides, they come in various sizes.  Here are some of the standard shipping container sizes: 10-foot storage containers 20-foot storage containers 40-foot storage containers 45-foot storage containers That’s a lot of different sizes of containers to mix and match. And for each of those lengths, you can choose a standard height of 8 feet and 6 inches or a “high cube” height of 9 feet 6 inches (that’s akin to a high shipping container apartment ceiling). Because of ISO containers’ standardized construction and materials, you can easily join two or more shipping containers together and build impressive shipping container apartment buildings. And as you will see in the list below, adding doors, windows, porches, interior walls and more to shipping containers is common practice in shipping container apartment design.   10 Amazing Shipping Container Apartments for Rent Now that we have learned about the cost and customization benefits of shipping container apartments, let’s take a look at some incredible shipping container apartments for rent in the U.S. and beyond! (If you’ve been searching, “find a shipping container apartment building near me,” this next part is for you.)   Tiny Eco Friendly Modern Shipping Container/Atlanta, GA 1. The Shipping Container Modular Home Experience in ATL Prefab shipping container homes are perfect for those who want the modular home experience. But the thing about modular apartments is that they can be right in the heart of big cities without the major cost of traditional metro apartments.  This shipping container apartment for rent in Atlanta offers an eco-friendly vacation stay just a short walk from the Atlanta Zoo and the Beltline. Check out this eco-friendly, modern shipping container unit in good ole “hotlanta.”   NYC 1st Shipping Container Home/Brooklyn, NY 2. A Stylish Container Apartment With All the Amenities The container units at a Brooklyn shipping container apartment have a unique claim to fame: they were the first legally constructed apartments made entirely from recycled shipping containers in NYC. That bit of trivia isn’t all this container apartment offers, though. The L train and Williamsburg are a five-minute walk away from one-bedroom shipping container apartments in NYC.   Shipping Container Tiny house/Pleasant Hope, MO 3. A Country Container Home Getaway  Around 25 minutes from Springfield, Missouri, you will find the town of Pleasant Hope. Situated on a quiet farm just outside of that town is a cozy country getaway made entirely from storage containers.  Country storage container homes are an affordable way to live the simple life. Check out this country storage container apartment at The Stewart Settlement.  Blended perfectly with the outdoors, this shipping container floor plan offers space enough for a queen-size bed but opens up even further if you open the doors and enjoy the fresh air, outdoor grilling space and covered patio.   Modern Beach Container Home/Carolina Beach, NC 4. Container Apartment at the Beach Most shipping container apartments for rent today were once filled with cargo and traveling the oceans aboard massive ships.  Not all container units get to retire from their ocean-faring life to live on the beach, but the Conchs shipping container rental in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, does.  Pack your towels, surfboards and sunscreen if you plan to visit this beachside one-bedroom container apartment by the ocean.   Lake Vacation Rental/Claremore, OK 5. Shipping Container Apartment For Rent by the Lake The ocean is great, but a lake getaway can provide all the fun of the water without the crowds. And in the case of this shipping container home for rent in Claremore, Oklahoma, it can also provide a lot more space. This three-bedroom, two-story short-term shipping container rental sleeps eight and provides a balcony with a stunning lake view.   Container Cabin in the Catskills/Saugerties, NY 6. Catskills Shipping Container Cabin: Adventurers Only The Kaaterskill Wild Forest

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9 Advantages of Renting a Shipping Container Office

When you know you need office space for your business, you likely picture a gray and characterless four-story building with fluorescent lights, bluish carpet and that familiar dusty smell.  Or maybe you shudder at the thought of the price tag for something more extravagant — a glass and steel downtown high-rise with a coffee shop and a gym.  But there is another solution to your office space needs: renting a shipping container office. Tap here to learn about renting shipping containers from the expert providers at Rent-A-Container. In the market for a full-on purchase? You can also tap here to learn about buying shipping containers.      Shipping Container Offices Whether installed as commercial shipping container buildings or using sea cans for backyard offices, this trend is taking hold. Shipping container office benefits are numerous. These convenient and cost-effective office spaces can go toe-to-toe with the most affordable and the flashiest traditional offices. In this post, we examine 10 shipping container office advantages you simply won’t get with a traditional office space.    Advantage #1) A Shipping Container Office Benefits Your Bottom Line Among shipping container office benefits, this one may carry the most weight for business owners. It’s a fact: Renting a shipping container office is affordable. It’s likely a better deal than any traditional office lease you will find. Why? Because you can rent exactly the amount of space you need, put it where you want it and return it when you’re done.  The monthly cost of renting a shipping container is in the hundreds — not thousands. And while the shortest commercial lease you’re likely to find is around three years, you can rent shipping container offices for as little as three months.  That means you aren’t locked in to an expensive monthly bill should your needs change.    Advantage #2) Shipping Container Office Spaces Are Green You can find used shipping containers that have been converted into offices or are available for rent. These may have had a past life on overseas freight ships.  Instead of being thrown on top of the trash heap when they’re replaced, they’re cleaned and polished and put up for rent.  That saves space wherever they are left to waste away, prevents another shipping container from being manufactured and gives your business points for environmental friendliness. Bottom line? Upcycled shipping containers make for an eco-friendly office.   Advantage #3) Shipping Container with Multiple Offices? Can Do Shipping containers are designed to hold a lot of cargo. When they are converted into offices, the same principle applies. Your shipping container office can fit a lot inside of it — even multiple offices.  For example, a 40-foot shipping container yields around 320 square feet. That’s just one.  And you can join multiple shipping containers together and insert walls inside of them to create a multi-office complex.   Advantage #4) Bring Your Shipping Container Office with You Some jobs can be done from the same location at all times, but others require a bit more mobility — or at least they would benefit from it.  Want a little more oversight at the job site?  Need to move a few employees to a different campus for a time?  One of the biggest shipping container office advantages for business people that need solutions fast is their mobility.  You can have everything you need at your office, job site or wherever you need. And when you’re done, you can pack up and move on to the next spot.   Advantage #5) Shipping Container Office Benefit: Customizable to the Core Shipping containers may all be the same shape, but they come in all shapes and sizes when you rent them as office space. A shipping container office rental company can help you find any type of shipping container office you need.  Windows, doors, interior walls, insulation and more features can easily be added to your shipping container office at your convenience.   Advantage #6) Need More Offices? Get More Shipping Containers What if you signed a commercial lease for office space, moved in and found that your employees were packed in like sardines?  That would be an enormous, expensive problem to solve.  Now, what if you rented four shipping containers to use as offices and hired a fifth employee?  It’s simple — you would rent another shipping container office.  For new and/or growing businesses, one of the best shipping container office benefits is the ability to increase and reduce the amount of office space on demand.   Advantage #7) Like Your Rented Shipping Container Office? You Can Buy It If you rent a container office and find that the shipping container office advantages stack up nicely for your business, you can make the arrangement a little more permanent. Many shipping container rental companies offer shipping container offices for sale, too.    Advantage #8) From Container Office to Storage Space Say you have rented 20 shipping containers to use as offices and your business suddenly needs to downsize a bit. In a traditional office, empty offices would simply gather dust. But in a shipping container office, you can either return a rented unit, or convert unused units into something that closely resembles their original purpose: storage units.  That way, your business still uses this asset and you have the container on hand for when you need more office space in the future.   Advantage #9) Shipping Container Offices Last a Long Time Shipping containers are fairly simple structures. The modern day shipping container is essentially the same as it has always been: boxes made of steel. This simplicity gives them an advantage over some traditional offices.  Traditional offices, made of wood, brick and glass, require constant upkeep and maintenance.  Shipping containers, on the other hand, can easily last for more than 12 years and require just a bit of semi-regular cleaning without having any problems.  This is yet another way a shipping container office benefits your bottom line.   Helping You Enjoy the Advantages of Shipping Container Offices

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Understanding The Shipping Container Shortage and Prices in 2021

Due to COVID related supply and production delays, there is a global shortage of shipping containers. This shipping container shortage is leading to skyrocketing shipping prices and major delays.  E-commerce companies and many other businesses are starting to feel the financial strain of the shipping container shortage and higher prices, and many don’t understand what is going on behind the scenes to cause these problems.  So let’s take a closer look at the state of shipping container availability and prices in 2021, and alternatives to avoid the rising costs.     What Is Causing the Shipping Container Shortage? A recent CNBC news article detailed the 2021 shipping container shortage and price spike. Although the article focused mostly on how the shortage is affecting goods shipped from China, it did note that the general strain on the market was reaching the United States and Europe, too. The cause of the shortage? Put simply, it’s the global COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese trade and a lack of shipping alternatives.    COVID-19 and the Shipping Industry The coronavirus pandemic changed everything for the shipping industry in 2020. As the virus spread across the world like wildfire, nations slipped into months-long lockdowns. Everything was canceled — including orders for new shipping containers. Even the orders that were placed were delayed due to factory shutdowns and raw material shortages. As some parts of the world are starting to recover in 2021, trade volume is bouncing back in a big way. But the shipping industry is struggling to catch up to demand.   Chinese Trade and the Shipping Industry COVID-19 appears to have originated in China, but the country managed to implement safety practices that enabled a relatively quick recovery and a return to container production. As trade has bounced back, China has built up a trade surplus. The nation is sending a lot more goods to the U.S. and Europe than it is receiving from them. As a result, more containers are leaving China than are coming into the country. On the other hand, China and companies needing to export from China, have been aggressively purchasing shipping containers. These efforts, according to the CNBC article, have caused this shocking statistic: 75% of shipping containers leaving the U.S. for Asia are empty. That means shortages in the U.S. too as containers that would normally have been retired in the U.S. for storage are being sent back overseas empty.   Shipping Containers vs. Air Freight: Shrinking Alternatives The go-to alternative to shipping via seaborne shipping container is shipping via air freight. Although some planes are used only for shipping, much of the global air freight capacity comes from extra space in the underbelly of passenger planes.  So, what happens to air freight capacity when travel restrictions, lockdowns and fear of a deadly virus cause passenger air travel to crash through the floor? The main alternative to sea shipping, air freight shipping, is suddenly in a tight spot. Meanwhile, online shopping — as the alternative to in-person shopping — has surged over the last year. Online sales on Black Friday in 2020 increased by 22% compared to Black Friday 2019. Reported by the University of Michigan, those stats highlight how the pandemic has spurred more online shopping. Higher consumer shipping demand squeezes air freight even harder. As air freight capacity faces challenges on all sides, it becomes a less viable alternative to sea freight.   Effect on Shipping Prices and Retailers How has the shipping container shortage affected shipping prices in 2021? It has caused freight rates from China to the U.S. to triple since last March. The China-to-Europe route has seen a similar spike. This past December, Asia-to-Northern Europe spot freight rates were up 264% over the previous year. The CNBC report also noted a 145% increase in spot freight rates going from Asia to the U.S. West Coast. The usual spot rate hovers around $1,200 per shipping container. But currently, the going rate is closer to $6,000 per container. Shipping rates from the U.S. to other countries have also increased, but the jump was not quite as severe.   Shipping Container Delays With a shortage and high demand comes business opportunity. Many industry stakeholders have ordered new shipping containers, but like the goods waiting in warehouses to be shipped around the world, the production of these new units will likely encounter delays. A recent report from the Shanghai International Shipping Research Centre predicted that the shipping container shortage and supply chain delays are likely to last at least through the end of the first quarter of 2021. Those delays will last even longer for the storage side of the shipping container industry.   How ModuGo Can Help ModuGo works every day to provide the easiest shipping container purchase and rental experience in the industry. When global shortages and other factors limit supply and cause unheard of shortages, our mission becomes even more important. Here’s how we can help during this difficult time.   Match the Best Shipping Container Prices We know business owners and logistics professionals were tired of overpaying for shipping containers long before the container shortage of 2021 began. If someone else has a better price, let us know. You can have the best price and all of  the convenience our unique container renting and buying process offers.   Extensive Shipping Container Rental Options We realize that a purchase isn’t always in the books or the right logistical choice. If your operations would be better served by shipping container rentals, we’ve got great options. Shop online, reserve the unit (or units) you want to rent, agree to the terms and you’re ready to roll. We make it easy and fast for you to rent the right shipping container, for the right price in the right timeline.   Offer Help from the Experts When the shipping container market is this difficult to navigate, you need the easy approach to renting and buying shipping containers. Our customer service professionals are shipping container experts, and they are ready

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