40ft shipping containers deliver the lowest cost per square foot of secure, weatherproof space you can buy: 305 sq ft of floor and 2,390 cu ft of volume, rising to 2,700 cu ft in a high cube. That makes them the default choice for pallet racking, vehicle and plant storage, workshops and larger conversions.

The trade-off is access. A 40ft delivery vehicle is around 55 ft long and a tilt-bed off-load needs roughly 95 ft of straight, firm run, so an open commercial yard or hardstanding is usually required. Where access is tight, two 20ft units give the same floor area and more total payload. Read the delivery preparation guide before ordering, and the 20ft versus 40ft comparison if you are weighing the two.