7 Benefits of Renting a Shipping Container

Many households and businesses may find themselves in need of a safe and secure way to store or transport items. As long as this need is short-term, then shipping container rentals may be ideal for your purpose.

You can rent a shipping container when moving houses, transporting inventory, storing equipment, or setting up a remote office. With their versatility, containers provide a cost-effective, secure, and convenient way to address your temporary or seasonal needs for a portable and sturdy structure. Even if you’re planning to purchase one in the future, you can still consider renting to better understand the ideal size and essential customization features before investing your money.

Depending on your need for a storage container, you may choose to rent one for the following benefits:

1. Ideal for short or one-time events

For temporary, one-time, or seasonal events, renting a shipping container may be the better financial or logistical choice. Even for longer-term use, like up to one year, renting can still be convenient for other reasons mentioned below. These include maintaining cash flow, low monthly cost, no liability, lower taxes when considered as a cost rather than an asset, and so on.

There are different short-term uses for shipping container rentals, including:

• Secure storage unit. If you have expensive tools, inventory, equipment, seasonal gear, and other materials outside your home or office, storing them in unstable structures increases the risk of theft and vandalism. Storage containers are not only secure, but also extremely sturdy to withstand harsh wind, heavy rain, snow, and other severe weather conditions. This gives you peace of mind that your items are safe.

• Easy and safe transport. Moving your possessions, inventory, and other items in low-quality boxes or bins can be more expensive in the long run if they get damaged during transit. Keeping your items in a container for transport will help minimize damage and losses during transit, especially for long trips.

• Moving. When relocating, you can use your container to store belongings until you settle in the new home. Since they’re portable, you can move your unit as much as needed.

• Events. You can rent a different size container, depending on the scale of the event at different times of the year.

• Remote office or accommodation. If you have a project in a remote area for a specific period, you can consider renting a modified container for the duration of accommodation, serving as an office, or fulfilling any other specific need.

2. Supplement owned assets

Buying a custom-built container makes sense if you plan on using it for a long time. However, there may be some events or occasions that require a bigger footprint. In such situations, you can supplement your existing assets with a shipping container rental to fulfil the arising temporary needs. Rented containers come with a range of optional add-ons that you can use to serve your needs nearly as well as your customized purchased units.

3. Convenient and easy to use

Moreover, renting a shipping container is a much easier process compared to buying one. You can swap the containers for different sizes, depending on your changing needs. It’s faster to rent and easy to set up. This is because you don’t need to establish a solid foundation at first unless you intend to keep it for a longer time. When you don’t want to use it, there’s no hassle in finding a place to store it during off-seasons.

4. To assess the ideal size and space requirements

Although you can estimate the amount of space required to carry out the work, many people often need to readjust their items/functions to fit the smaller or larger container better. If you’re buying a container for long-term use, this can be a major hindrance to your vision for space utilization in the future.

There are many different sizes of shipping containers, though it’s quite challenging to determine the ideal size for your project before actually utilizing it. Shipping container rentals give you the freedom to reconsider the best size of the container after the rental period, so you can choose a different size that is better suited for your needs when renting again.

Although this is considered an advantage, we recommend that you seek professional help from your shipping container rental company to find the right unit size the first time, especially when considering a longer-term rental. If you get the wrong size when renting, your provider can simply swap them for you. Purchasing one would require you to sell the wrong unit first before replacing it, which is quite troublesome.

5. Cost-effective

As an individual, household, or business looking to use a shipping container for the longer term but on a tight budget, then renting may be the best option rather than tying up your valuable cash. Although shipping containers are not expensive, unless purchased brand new, they still require a significant initial investment compared to renting one. This large one-time cash input can be a challenge for many small businesses, or not worth it for households considering longer-term use.

In order to preserve cash flow and save credit, renting a container may be the best option at a fair monthly cost. This is particularly attractive for business customers looking to rent a container to manage projects for their clients, since the monthly rental fee can be billed to their clients as a project cost, allowing them to maintain short-term cash flow.

6. No maintenance, liability, or disposal hassles

ISO shipping containers are considered fixed assets if purchased. This means finding a suitable place to keep them when not in use, taking the necessary measures to maintain them, and eventually disposing of them when you don’t need them anymore. While shipping containers are long-lasting with minimal maintenance, they can start to appear dated and weathered due to the elements. Renting gives you the option to swap your container for a newer one to help maintain your good image.

Moreover, container rental companies remain liable for any damages to your container and the contents for the entire duration of the lease while it is on the facility’s grounds. If you want the container to stay on your property, you can also get optional vandalism protection for your unit to avoid paying for any damages out of pocket.

7. Tax benefits

Most small business owners and large corporations can enjoy multiple tax benefits from leasing a shipping container as opposed to purchasing one as an asset. This is because your tax situation may cause the lease to be categorized as a deductible expense.

Final Note

Shipping container rentals are ideal for users looking for short-term, seasonal storage, or other use. People looking to buy can still utilize the rental period as a trial time to reassess the size and specifications to identify the necessary modifications before purchasing one. Whatever your need, you can always consult the experts for assistance in identifying the best unit size for a pleasant experience.

For more information, please call Sigma Container Corporation at 1-877-225-7762 or contact us here at our website.