buying a shipping container

Should I Buy or Lease a Shipping Container for My Business?

Shipping containers are endlessly useful for shipping cargo, storage– anything you can think of really. So is it more worth it for your business to buy or lease a shipping container? Here we discuss the pros and cons of buying vs leasing your shipping containers.

What if you could solve all your storage issues while boosting your profits. Doesn’t this sound like a dream come true?

However, you don’t have to limit such a solution to your dreams. You can make it into a reality by using shipping containers for your business.

That brings a new question, though. Are you better off buying a shipping container or leasing it for your business? Or are you better off exploring other solution?

Don’t worry: US Construction Trailers has you covered with our comprehensive guide to the pros and cons of shipping containers!

Shipping Container CostOne Time Cost

If you’ve looked into other ways to improve your business, you’ve probably noticed they have something in common. Most of these ideas have some kind of ongoing cost associated with them.

Certain things like outsourcing to different teams or buying certain technology packages may have ongoing benefits. However, we can’t ignore that it also has ongoing costs as well.

Shipping containers are the complete opposite. They represent a one-time cost, and after that, you’ll reap the various benefits of the shipping containers for years.

On top of that, there is an entire investment market for shipping containers. If you no longer need your containers after a few years, you can pretty easily sell them to other parties.

It’s Cyclical

When you’re pondering making any kind of new investment for your company, it’s worth examining how often you’ll benefit from the investment. When it comes to shipping containers, it all depends on your business.

For most businesses, shipping is relatively cyclical. That is, there are certain seasons where you are shipping plenty of items and other seasons where you ship barely anything at all.

So, with this in mind, is it worth it to buy or lease a shipping container? Ultimately, we think the answer is “yes.” This is tied into that “one time cost” business: even if you primarily benefit during only a couple of seasons a year, you’ll reap years of benefits for a simple investment.

Long Lifespan

We’ve already alluded to this a few times, but let’s be explicit. Part of the charm of shipping containers is that they offer a long lifespan for your investment.

Earlier, we mentioned the idea of investing in technological solutions for your business. And the downside of such solutions is that it seems like you are having to invest in some new version of the technology each and every year.

When it comes to shipping containers, what you see is what you get. Many people using these containers for five years or more, meaning that you’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of such a purchase.

Improved Efficiency

So far, we’ve focused on the fiscal realities surrounding a shipping container. However, it’s worth emphasizing how adding containers to your business can improve your efficiency in a number of ways.

This is because even in the absence of the containers, your business still has to figure out how and where to store items, ship them, and so on. Shipping containers remain the most efficient and easy-to-use way of doing this.

In this way, the containers practically pay for themselves. If you don’t use the containers, you lose out on untold amounts of time and money as you seek to find alternative solutions that your business may not be equipped to handle.

International Relations

Any time that you are pondering buying something, it’s worth thinking about who is selling. And in this case, that is almost always international companies.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course. In an increasingly global economy, you’ll be doing more and more business with various international customers.

However, there can be problems with language barriers, time zone differences, and so on. Put simply, it can be tougher to deal with international clients than ones closer to home.

Of course, you can always have your cake and eat it, too. There are some good and reliable companies much closer to your own that you can trust to provide the shipping solutions that you need.

Finance Shipping ContainersEasy to Finance

It’s easy for a slick salesman to talk a good game when it comes to the idea of adding some new product or service to your company. That’s why you always need a blunt person to ask the obvious question: “how are we going to pay for this?”

Fortunately, shipping containers are a dream when it comes to any kind of business investment. They are sold for a relatively low cost, and the value that you’ll get out of using them means that they practically pay for themselves over a long enough timeline.

And you have options when it comes to payment as well. These containers are easy to finance if you want to own one outright. And if you want to “try before you buy,” there are a variety of attractive leasing options!

It’s Futureproof

We’ve used the word “investment” quite a bit so far. However, that’s a word that tends to make people a little uncomfortable a times.

The reason why is clear. Most investments feel like a lot of risks: something that is a sure bet today may feel like wasted money tomorrow.

However, shipping containers are one of the few investments that were a sure bet yesterday and today. And they’ll be a sure bet tomorrow as well!

Improvements in intermodal transportation, as well as improvements in global trade around the world, mean that having the ability to store and ship items on that global scale are more important than ever.

Why sacrifice your bottom line when a simple investment can help you constantly expand it?

Buying a Shipping Container: The Bottom Line

Now you know some of the key benefits of buying a shipping container. However, do you know a good, reliable vendor who can meet all your shipping needs?

At US Construction Trailers, we specialize in taking care of all your trailer and container needs. To begin shopping for all of the steel containers that you need, come and get a quote from us today!

 

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