One-Trip vs. Used Containers: Condition Grades Explained

A one-trip container made exactly one overseas voyage carrying cargo before being pulled out of shipping service and sold for storage use — it's not new construction, but it's the closest thing to it. Minimal wear, no working history beyond that single trip, and it's the only grade we back with a 30-year warranty.

Once a container leaves shipping service after multiple trips, it gets graded on what kind of shape it's actually in. Cargo Worthy (CW) is our highest used grade — structurally sound, weather-tight, with only light cosmetic wear — and it carries a 10-year warranty. Wind & Watertight (WWT) means exactly what it says: sealed against wind and water, though it may show more dents, rust spots, or other cosmetic wear, which we disclose up front; WWT units carry a 5-year warranty. As-Is is priced to match its actual condition — we'll walk you through exactly what's wrong with a specific unit before you buy, and it doesn't carry a warranty.

"Cargo Worthy" is the industry-standard name for the top used grade, and we use it because it's the term people already recognize as a step up from Wind & Watertight. But we don't hand it out based on a supplier's paperwork — when we've bought containers pre-labeled Cargo Worthy elsewhere, plenty turned out no different from a standard Wind & Watertight unit once we actually looked them over.

So we buy our used inventory and grade every container individually, ourselves — not based on how the supplier sold it. Plenty of units listed as Cargo Worthy turned out to be no better than Wind & Watertight once we looked them over, and it works the other way too: some units sold as Wind & Watertight are good enough that we grade them up to Cargo Worthy. Same familiar grade names, but the grade you get reflects what we actually saw, not what a supplier's listing said.

On a 20', here's what the difference actually costs: about $3,800 for one-trip, $2,800 for Cargo Worthy, $2,500 for Wind & Watertight, and $2,300 for As-Is. That's roughly $1,500 between the newest and cheapest option — for the same exterior footprint and the same interior space.

If you're storing anything sensitive to moisture — documents, electronics, furniture — or want the container looking good next to your house, one-trip or Cargo Worthy is worth the premium. General equipment, tools, or farm storage rarely needs more than Wind & Watertight. As-Is makes sense when the container itself is secondary — a job-site lockbox you don't care about scuffing up, or when budget is the deciding factor and what's inside doesn't mind a little cosmetic wear.