What to Expect From Your Shipping Container Delivery

A new shipping container loaded onto a truck

Congratulations on purchasing a shipping container! The purpose of this guide is to ensure that your shipping container delivery is smooth and easy. We’ll go over the most important and sometimes overlooked aspects of having a shipping container delivered so that you and your delivery driver have the best experience possible.

Let’s get started!

What does a shipping container delivery look like?

Who will deliver my shipping container?

We outsource all of our container deliveries to local third-party trucking partners sourced by our first-rate logistics team. The drivers we partner with are experts at delivering containers and have completed hundreds of deliveries to a variety of different location types. Once we’ve assigned a trucking partner to your delivery, the driver will work with you to ensure a safe and efficient delivery.

What type of truck will be used?

We typically arrange delivery on either “tilt-bed” or “rollback” trucks. Alternatively, if you have your own crane we can arrange your shipping container on a flatbed truck, which can be more cost-effective.

How to Prepare: What You’re Responsible For

It is your responsibility to ensure that your site is safe and accessible for the driver to deliver your container. In the case that the driver is not able to offload the container at your preferred location, the driver will offload the container at the nearest suitable possible spot.

If you do not have a safe and appropriate spot for the container or wish to send it back based due to spacing issues, we will refund you the purchase price, subtracting a 10% re-stocking fee along with any fees already incurred.

In order to be fully prepared, please make sure that you read the below checklist.

1. Ensure enough space for maneuvering

Before your delivery driver arrives, make sure that the truck will have enough space to maneuver. To successfully deliver your shipping container, our carriers require a 120ft line of straight space, 14ft total width, and 14ft of clearance height. It is critical that the entire space is completely free from wires, branches, fences, and other common obstructions.

2. Ensure the access road is safe

Delivery trucks are heavy as is, and when loaded with a shipping container they have an even more increased risk of getting stuck if the surface is not firm. Below you can find the required surface types that a delivery truck will need.

Acceptable:

  • Dry compacted gravel/dirt
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete

Not Acceptable:

  • Loose dirt
  • Wet gravel/dirt
  • Mud
  • Sand
  • Soft grass
  • Snow and ice
  • Steep inclines or sloping surfaces
  • Drains
  • Ditches
  • Trenches

3. Ensure the delivery surface is hard and even

When choosing the location where the container will be placed, keep in mind that it needs to be hard and level in order for the container to function properly. If the weight is not evenly distributed to all four corner castings, the door frame could bend or be damaged, leading to problems with opening and closing the doors properly.

The recommended surface is either concrete or asphalt. We also recommend placing wood blocks, iron plates, or similar under the corners to support them and keep the container level.

If you’re not sure about where to place your container, read our guide on container placement here.

Additional Requirements

As general housekeeping, do a check of your property and ensure the area the truck will be driving and offloading the container is free of any obstacles that might damage the truck or prevent the container from being placed. This includes low-hanging tree branches, rocks, debris, and the like.

The Day of Delivery

Meeting your Driver

Your delivery driver will call you in advance to make sure everything is ready for delivery. With that being said, it’s imperative that you are available to be contacted on delivery day.

The driver will meet you and inspect the delivery location prior to offloading the container. For safety reasons, it is up to the delivery driver to decide whether the site is suitable for the delivery truck.

When the driver has determined the delivery site is safe and accessible, they will proceed to offload the container within the 30 minutes allocated.

Time Allocated

Our trucking partners impose a 30-minute time cap to unload the container and complete the delivery after arriving at your site. Any additional time taken will be subject to an overtime fee as follows:

  • USD $50 per hour commenced for 20ft containers
  • USD $100 per hour commenced for 40ft and 45ft container

Inspecting the Container

When the container is delivered, you’ll be asked to make a quick inspection of the container before it is offloaded to ensure it is in the intended condition.

For “wind and watertight”, “cargo-worthy”, and “new” containers, we guarantee that the containers comply with the following:

  • No holes or leaks (“wind and watertight”)
  • Doors that open and close properly
  • Floors are free of holes

What to Look For:

1. Check Doors

The container doors should be in working condition, and able to open and close without using excessive force. If there are any issues with the doors, be sure to first apply oil, grease, or WD40 on the hinges.

2. Check for Holes in the Steel

To inspect for holes, go inside the container (with doors closed but not locked) and look for any light coming in. If any amount of light enters or is visible, this would indicate a small hole. In most cases, this can easily be corrected by applying a small amount of epoxy.

3. Check for Holes in the Floor

Inspect the floors and verify that there are no holes. Keep in mind, It is typical for the floor to have scratches or gouges from forklifts lifting cargo in and out. Should there be any issues, the floor can also be repaired with steel patches or remedies.

Once you have verified that the container is in acceptable condition, no further action is required.

Issues with your Container Delivery

Unable to Complete Delivery

In the rare event that the driver concludes it is unsafe to deliver to your desired site, they will deliver to the nearest alternative location.

If no alternative delivery location can be agreed upon or you choose to reject the delivery, we will return the container to the depot. In this case, we will refund you the purchase price, minus a 10% re-stocking fee and any fees already incurred.

More Questions?

If you have any questions about shipping containers ranging from placement to container care, be sure to consult our blog where we regularly write on a variety of shipping container related topics.

If you’d like to contact us, we’re happy to help with whatever you need. Please contact us at +1 888-356-2954 or help@boxhub.com.

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