How to Buy New Shipping Containers from China
The three routes: manufacturer, marketplace, procurement company. What each costs you in money and risk, and the checklist to run before any deposit leaves your account.
Read the flagship guide →
What containers cost and why it moves
New Shipping Container Prices in China
What drives the factory price of a new container, and the current market ranges.
Guide 0320FT Container Price in China
The current 20GP factory range, and why 20ft production slots are scarce.
Guide 0440HC Container Price in China
The current 40HC factory range and the cost components behind it.
Monthly ReportChina New Container Market: August 2026
Factory ranges, lead times and direction, plus Southeast U.S. depot wholesale and retail pricing, published monthly.
Four ways in, compared from experience
Best Ways to Buy Containers from China
Which buying route fits which buyer, by volume and use case.
Guide 06Alibaba vs Direct Factory vs Procurement Company
What each route actually gets you, and where each breaks down.
Guide 07Shipping Container Manufacturers in China
How the manufacturing landscape is structured and how to verify a plant.
Guide 16Buying from European Depot Stock
In depot, arriving or gate-buy: how the European list works and what each state costs you.
The paperwork and the vocabulary
CSC Container Certification Explained
What the CSC plate certifies, who issues it, and why shipping lines require it.
Guide 09What Is an SOC Container?
Shipper-owned containers, and what owning the box changes for you.
ReferenceContainer Terminology, Explained
20GP vs 20DV, 40HC vs 40HQ, SOC vs COC, CW vs WWT, tare, MGW, demurrage and detention, each defined the way we use them.
Getting the box to you
First-hand answers on the hard cases
Why 20HC Containers Are Rarely Shipped
Thin production runs and slot economics, and why carriers rarely move them.
Guide 12Why Used 20HC Side-Door Containers Are So Expensive
Why the used market barely has them, and what that does to the price.
Guide 13Side-Door Containers: Why They Are Difficult to Ship
Why open-side units rarely come from depot surplus, and what delivery takes.