When Is the Best Season to Ship Storage Containers?

In this globalized world there are certain areas that are vital to the normal functioning of society but only draw attention when they stop working. That is the case of storage container shipping, a complex ecosystem full of variables that keeps the world moving. Below is an analysis of the container shipping landscape, to determine when the best season is to use this service.

What is the best season for container shipping?

1. The first thing to note is that, right now, container shipping prices have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. For example, shipping a 20-foot container from New York to Barranquilla, Colombia, costs around 1,300 dollars. Sending the same container from Australia to Barranquilla costs roughly 2,900 dollars. Those prices are a long way from the sky-high rates we saw in 2020.
2. The second thing to keep in mind is that demand for physical goods has dropped considerably, especially because of the economic situation in Europe and the United States. Rising inflation, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the fear of a possible recession are also factors.
3. The third aspect to consider is the weather. Hurricane season, which runs from June to November, has a significant effect on ocean shipping.
4. The fourth aspect is that, because of low demand, there is an excess of cargo space. This is one of the main reasons for the price drop we are witnessing, but it is also the reason huge surpluses of containers are building up. That poses a major challenge for the logistics sector in the area of storage. In places such as the port of Houston, in the United States, fees are now being charged on empty containers that sit there too long. To understand this we have to go back to the pandemic, when a container shortage forced carriers to buy new units in Asia. Over time those extra units left the supply chain and started piling up, mostly in the United States and Europe. The expectation is that, as demand eventually picks up, the problem will resolve itself.
5. As we can see, the current situation has both positive and negative aspects that can work for or against us depending on our context. In terms of prices, it is clearly a good time to move goods (if we are the ones paying the freight). On the other hand, high inflation and current market conditions could discourage that investment.
6. It is not all bad news: this container surplus creates a great opportunity to buy them at very low prices. These huge steel boxes are not only for moving goods; as we see more and more, they are used to build everything from football stadiums and retail spaces to perfectly livable homes.

We can conclude that prices, like transit times, are set by external factors that change quickly. For that reason we cannot point to a single season as the best. What we can say, given the current circumstances, is that if your company has its demand covered, it is an excellent time to buy or ship containers with Econtainers. The interesting option of using containers as building blocks for innovative, affordable spaces is also wide open.

Container prices are down. See our new and used 20ft and 40ft shipping containers in stock.