Buying a New “One-Trip” Shipping Container in the UK: 5 Suppliers Compared on Price, Warranty and Paperwork

“New” is a slightly misleading word in the container trade. Almost no container sold in the UK has never been used. A “new” or “one-trip” container was built, usually in China, loaded with cargo, shipped to Europe once and then sold off. Done properly, it arrives with straight panels, clean paint, a sound floor and years of life ahead of it. Done badly, it’s a scuffed box with a premium price.

So the useful questions aren’t “who sells new containers?” (nearly everyone does) but: what does the warranty cover, is the safety plate valid, what colour can I get, and how much more am I paying over a good used unit? We compared five UK suppliers that publish enough to answer those questions. Prices were checked on 22 October 2026 and exclude VAT.

Why pay for one-trip at all?

A used 20ft storage container typically costs £875 to £1,250. A one-trip 20ft costs £1,750 to £2,100. The extra £700 to £900 buys you three things:

Appearance. Matters in a garden, a car park or anywhere customers see it.

Life left. Used storage stock is often ten or more years old. Cleveland describes its used grade as “typically 10+ years old”. One-trip describes voyage history rather than a fixed age; confirm the manufacture date and current condition.

One-trip describes a single cargo journey, not a fixed maximum age. Ask for the individual container’s manufacture date and recent condition photographs.

A clean base for conversion. If you plan to insulate, cut windows or paint it, starting with straight, rust-free steel saves money later.

If none of those matter, a good used container is the better buy.

1. Containers Direct: the longest warranty we found

Depots including Knowsley, London, Southampton, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Felixstowe · Price on request

Containers Direct publishes a three-year warranty on its new 20ft containers, the longest stated figure we found among suppliers giving one, and includes a lock box. It calls these units “new once used”, meaning they arrived in the UK after a single cargo trip. It also builds new containers in the UK, including non-standard widths, which none of the others here do.

The catch: 20ft prices didn’t display on its site when we checked, so you’ll need a quote to compare.

2. Portable Space: plated for shipping, sold in colours

Suffolk, with satellite stock across Great Britain · One-trip 20ft £1,850 · High cube £3,500

Portable Space says its new containers are plated for shipping. In other words, they carry a CSC safety approval plate, the document needed if a container is going back to sea under the Freight Containers (Safety Convention) Regulations 2017. One-trip 20ft units are £1,850 in green or blue. Its 40ft one-trips ran from £3,335 to £3,750 depending on colour when we checked. It runs its own crane-lorry fleet and delivers to Northern Ireland as well as Great Britain.

The catch: we didn’t find a stated warranty period on its 20ft page. Ask.

3. Universal Containers: detailed specifications and conversion options

Irlam, Greater Manchester · One-trip 20ft £1,875 · 10ft one-trip £2,700 · 40ft new from £3,150

Universal Containers’ one-trip product page lists the construction materials, floor thickness, colour codes and optional fittings. It says the containers are built to ISO standards in China before a single cargo trip to the UK. They’re Corten steel with a 27mm marine plywood floor, a factory-fitted lock box and forklift pockets, and come in standard green (RAL 6007) or blue (RAL 5010/5013) or a custom colour. Each comes with a CSC certificate valid for five years from manufacture. Confirm availability when requesting a delivered quote.

The options list is long: internal racking, ply lining with 50mm insulation, an anti-condensation coating, a basic electric pack, a small ramp and air conditioning from £2,500. It offers business finance through Bathgate Business Finance over one to five years, subject to assessment, and carries out conversions in-house.

The catch: its sales information mentions a structural-defect guarantee but gives the specific terms on request. Category FAQs and product listings also show different starting prices. Confirm the delivered price and guarantee in writing.

4. Budget Shipping Containers: the lowest one-trip price

16 depots · One-trip 20ft £1,795 · 40ft high cube one-trip £2,595 · 10ft one-trip £2,650

Budget’s one-trip 20ft at £1,795 was the lowest published price we found, and its one-trip page states a 12-month wind and watertight guarantee. Seaworthy units carry what it describes as a minimum six-month CSC plate. Its 40ft high cube one-trip at £2,595 was also notably cheaper than other listings.

The catch: a six-month plate is enough to get a container to its next port, not to keep shipping it for years. If export is the plan, ask how long the plate actually has left.

5. Container Container: published prices in the north east

Sadberge, Darlington · One-trip 20ft £2,095 · One-trip tunnel £2,795

The national trading name of Parsons Containers publishes one-trip 20ft prices in green or blue at £2,095, plus a tunnel version (doors at both ends) at £2,795. It’s not the cheapest here, but for buyers in the north east and Cumbria, a short haul from the A66 depot can outweigh £200 on the list price.

The catch: delivery is quoted on request, and the high cube one-trip was listed without a price.

Side by side

Not on the list but worth a call: Cleveland Containers, whose clearance page listed a one-trip 10ft at £2,550 and which describes new-container warranties of up to 60 months on some pages.

Six things to check before you pay for “new”

Ask for the container number, manufacture date and recent photographs. Confirm both age and condition; one-trip alone does not establish either.

Ask how long the CSC plate has left, if it matters to you.

Get the warranty in writing. What does it cover: leaks, doors, floor?

Check the colour on delivery. Paint touch-ups from transit are normal. Big scrapes aren’t.

Open and close the doors and check the seals before the driver leaves.

Compare the delivered price. The haulage difference between suppliers can be bigger than the box difference.

Keep the container number, manufacture date, relevant CSC information, guarantee terms and condition evidence together. CSC validity matters when the unit is intended for shipping.

Our method

We compared UK suppliers that publish one-trip prices or terms. We looked at price, stated warranty, CSC plate information, colours and depot coverage, all from public websites on 22 October 2026. The order reflects the buyer protection each supplier publishes (warranty first, then safety plate information), with price as a tie-breaker. It’s not a judgement on product quality, which we haven’t tested. “Not stated” means we couldn’t find it on the page, not that the supplier doesn’t offer it. Prices exclude VAT and change often.

Product and source documents: Universal; Universal 2; Universal 3; Universal 4; Universal 5; Universal 6; Universal 7; Universal 8