The COVID-19 global pandemic has created a new and unprecedented situation in the global market. It has enhanced e-Commerce and forced many businesses to shift their focus to online selling and marketing of their products. In some ways, it made shopping easier, it made more products more accessible, and generally, made shopping easier. But there is one thing many people don’t really consider when purchasing something online – the logistics involved in bringing the purchases you make to your front door.
Because most of the products you buy online come from other countries, a large majority of them from China to be specific, they are shipped over via container ship or airplane. Since air travel is significantly less prevalent in most of the world, we see a pattern where many manufacturers opt in to ship their products via container ship. Thus, we see a significant increase in demand for containers from these manufacturers. However, at the beginning of the pandemic, many factories and businesses shut down, including container factories. Orders got canceled, delivery of containers got delayed and the general supply of containers became stagnant.
A limited supply of containers and an increase in demand in containers tend to lead to higher prices of shipping containers. Many producers in China are having to pay higher premiums for containers and also for space on shipping lines in order to get their products across the ocean and into Europe and the Americas. They even resort to buying empty containers from the West so they can ship their own goods back. This tends to cause a trade deficiency where the West receives more imports than the exports it sends out.
Now, the general point of this story is to explain the fact that container prices are rising. Shipping container suppliers have been selling their sea can units for higher prices than ever before. And yes, this affects the market for both new and used shipping containers. If you are in the market for some units, please be prepared to see a difference compared to the prices you may be used to or have heard of in the past.
Our team at ATS Containers and our geographical spread gives us an advantage to stock large quantities of containers and offer competitive prices compared to others in the same industry. We have stock of new and used 20’ and 40’ containers, which are our most popular products. We also have a stock of rental containers, so if you are in need of any, please don’t hesitate to contact us for prices and more information.
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