
What is a container depot and can I buy a shipping container there?
A container depot is a location that manages the flow of goods for steamship lines. The depot will take goods to be consolidated into a container that will then be sent via a steamship line.
Container depots also maintenance and store cargo containers in addition to their role as a cargo consolidation point.
They typically also sell shipping containers that steamship lines no longer want in service.
If you are looking to buy a cargo container you can easily run a google search on container depots near port cities (ie Long Beach, Miami, Seattle etc...) and the odds are you can locate a number of phone numbers and addresses for a number of depots.
I would call and ask for their equipment sales department. These departments typically deal with the brokers you find online who sell shipping containers, so there is no guarantee you will get a killer deal.
They sell the brokers hundreds of containers compared to your one, however, you never know unless you call and ask. Sometimes you get lucky and you can get a killer deal.
I also found the below video that also touches on the subject and descibres the role of container depots in the supply chain process. He starts to talk about the depots at the 1:34 mark.