What is the cheapest way to ship a container?

The cheapest way to ship a shipping container is to buy a repurposed container and to limit its size to a maximum length of 20 feet. Repurposed containers tend to be made locally in the United States, whereas new containers are most likely to be produced overseas in China.

A 20-foot-long container costs approximately $400 to ship, while a 40-foot container costs nearly twice as much to ship, as of 2015.

The cheapest method of shipping a shipping container to the United States is to rent it to other shippers for the voyage. This passes the shipping cost directly to the renter and allows the customer to ship the container for practically no charge.