One of the most overlooked item on the planet is that of a 40 foot shipping container. While most people probably imagine that this type of item has very little use outside of shipping things to and from locations, that is obviously not true at all. There are so many great uses for storage containers and steel shipping containers. So here are some things you didn’t know storage containers!
The biggest container ships across the world are measured to be about 1,300 feet long. This is just about 400 meters or the distance around an Olympic running track with a maximum width of nearly 180 feet long. These ships are so large to properly hold the containers that are on them. This is important because they cannot afford to be lost out on their daily shipments.
A 40 foot shipping container can be used for many different purposes but only when properly tracked and managed. Nearly 675 shipping containers will be lost at sea every year. This is not good because when there is a lost 40 foot shipping container, it takes away a home or office from someone who needs it.
One of the most surprising facts that surround a 40 foot shipping container deals with the number of used storage containers out in the world. According to Billie Box, there are nearly 17 million shipping containers in circulation across the globe. Plus, the number of active shipping containers is currently at more than five million!
If shipping containers are taken care of with regular maintenance, they can last for a total of 20 years, according to Container Auction. This is why one of the uses for a 40 foot shipping container is as a home! Yes, this may sound surprising to some, but using a storage container as a home is a smart and efficient thing to do. It helps provide people with a home who probably could not afford one otherwise.
Almost 95% of the world’s cargo moves by ship. Due to higher costs, it still makes more financial sense to transport goods in high volume ships. A standard TEU container can hold around 3,500 shoe boxes, and a 40ft high cube can hold more than 8,000 shoe boxes. Understand that the size of a 40 foot shipping container helps make it a solid home. This is because it is able to provide a great amount of size for an alternative home.
There are around 17 million shipping containers in the world, with only 6 million of these in use. So approximately 11 million shipping containers are currently unused and could be converted into homes for people. One of the best parts about this is that it would help save a bunch of the commonly used materials that go into building a home.
Whenever a recycled shipping container is properly reused, it saves nearly 3,500kg worth of steel. So there is just one benefit of reusing a 40 foot shipping container during the course of your life. It will save all of the usual building materials like mortar, bricks, and wood, that will not be used to build the storage container home!
In Conclusion
Every single year, people ponder what will be the next step forward for people in the United States in regards to how they live. With the use of a 40 foot shipping container for a home, this could be it. This is a smart and efficient way to try and move towards providing homeless people with a great place to live!