A 40ft container is a different buying decision to a 20ft, and not only because it holds twice as much. It needs an articulated lorry, roughly 14 to 15 metres of clear level ground, and a site that can take a crane arm swinging over it. Plenty of buyers reach delivery day before anyone raises that. Good suppliers raise it during the quote.
Seven made this list, assessed on the depth of their 40ft stock specifically: standard height against high cube, whether side opening and tunnel variants are held rather than merely mentioned, hire terms, conversion capability, and how clearly access is handled before dispatch. Pricing context helps too. Drewry assessed its World Container Index at $4,476 per 40ft container in September 2026, and when freight rates climb, new box prices here follow while used stock moves more slowly.
The seven at a glance
| Supplier | Strongest 40ft use case | Why it earns a place | The one-line take |
| 1. Universal Containers | Comparing standard, high cube and specialist variants on price | Eight 40ft variants listed with prices; in-house conversion workshop | Used 40ft from £1,450 ex VAT up to full side access, with figures shown. |
| 2. Cleveland Containers | Delivery from a nearby depot | 20+ UK depots | Best chance of a short haul, though pricing is confirmed by phone. |
| 3. Willbox | A 40ft plus welfare and office units | Around 90% UK coverage; runs its own lorries | Storage and accommodation on one order. |
| 4. S Jones Containers | Fleet owners needing repairs after delivery | 40+ years trading; mobile engineers nationwide | Modifications carried out on your site. |
| 5. TITAN Containers | Refrigerated 40ft storage on hire | ISO 9001 certified; trading since 1987 | 40ft ArcticStore units with remote temperature logging. |
| 6. Gap Containers | Export loads and one way shipping | Plated export stock; Kirkby, Merseyside | Shipping grade 40ft units, including reefers. |
| 7. Budget Shipping Containers | Price led buyers who want stock now | 200+ in stock; 16 hire depots; Felixstowe | Prices published per listing, with a wind and watertight guarantee. |
1. Universal Containers: the widest published 40ft line-up
Eight distinct 40ft variants listed with prices, from a used standard height unit at £1,450 ex VAT to a new high cube full side access container at £11,500 ex VAT.
Verdict: The first place to look while you are still deciding between standard height, high cube, tunnel and side access, because the price gap between them is visible rather than quoted.
Background: The range covers used standard height at £1,450 ex VAT, used high cube £1,500, new high cube £3,350, new standard height £3,625, high cube open top £5,250, double door tunnel £5,300 and high cube full side access £11,500. Hire is available in 40ft, and CAD drawings are agreed before fabrication starts.
What stands out: The specification detail behind each option. A 40ft standard gives 67.56 m3 of capacity against 76.17 m3 for a high cube on identical floor space of 28.34 m2, with door height rising from 2.261m to 2.566m. Compare Universal Containers 40ft shipping container range variant by variant.
The catch: Everything ships from one North West site. A buyer in Devon or Aberdeen should price the haulage before assuming the published figure wins in their postcode.
2. Cleveland Containers: depot coverage for a long haul item
More than 20 UK depots holding 40ft standard, high cube and side opening units for sale and hire, with pricing given on enquiry only.
Verdict: Distance is the enemy when you are moving a 12 metre container, and this is the network most likely to hold one close to you.
Background: The 40ft range spans standard height, high cube and full side access, to buy or hire, though only unmodified units can be hired. Options include ply lining, electrics, personnel doors and insulation. A standard 40ft is quoted at around 20 standard pallets or 24 Euro pallets, with roughly 66 to 67 cubic metres of internal volume.
What stands out: The pallet figures. Most suppliers quote cubic metres, which nobody thinks in, while pallet counts are how a warehouse manager actually sizes a decision.
The catch: No published prices, so comparison means making contact and waiting. The hire restriction also rules out a lined 40ft office on a short rental.
3. Willbox: one order for the container and the site setup
Headquartered in Southampton, with a depot network the company puts at roughly 90% UK coverage, fabrication handled internally, and lorries it owns outright.
Verdict: The practical choice when the 40ft forms part of a wider site setup rather than a standalone purchase.
Background: The product list runs from containers for sale and rental through to portable offices, canteens, shower blocks, toilets and changing rooms. Published access guidance is unusually specific: HIAB lorries are around 2.5 metres wide, but with outriggers deployed they can need over 5 metres of working clearance.
What stands out: Owning the trucks. On a 40ft delivery, keeping haulage and sale inside one business removes the gap where problems usually fall.
The catch: Accreditations are tied to four named sites rather than the whole network, so confirm which location is supplying you if certification forms part of procurement.
4. S Jones Containers: modifications after the container lands
Family managed with more than 40 years in the trade, HQ depot at Aldridge in the West Midlands, and mobile engineers working anywhere in Great Britain.
Verdict: Pick S Jones when the 40ft will be altered later, or sits somewhere that makes a return trip to a depot impractical.
Background: One of the earliest container depots in the country, holding 10ft, 20ft and 40ft stock in standard and high cube form, one trip and used. It also supplies bespoke lengths, multi store units and toppers that let a customer stack a second container above the first.
What stands out: Cutting a personnel door into a 40ft usually means a mobile team or a return trip on a low loader. Sending engineers to the container turns that into a morning of work.
The catch: Depot storage is available at the Aldridge site alone, and the standard catalogue is narrower than the fabricators, so unusual variants need specifying.
5. TITAN Containers: refrigerated 40ft space
A 1987-founded operator holding ISO 9001 certification, running depots throughout Britain and Ireland, with 40ft ArcticStore units that hold anything from -40C up to +45C.
Verdict: The specialist option when the 40ft has to hold temperature rather than simply hold volume.
Background: TITAN supplies dry ISO containers, portable offices and its ArcticStore line in 10ft, 20ft and 40ft, linkable into modular cold stores, with specialist models reaching -75C. HACCP monitoring is supported with remote datalogging, and a 40ft ArcticStore is quoted at 68.47 m3 internal volume with a tare weight of 4,650kg.
What stands out: That tare weight. At 4,650kg a refrigerated 40ft is around a tonne heavier empty than a dry unit, which changes the crane specification and sometimes the ground preparation.
The catch: This is a hire-led, specialist-led business. For a plain used 40ft dry container to buy outright, the volume sellers here will be cheaper.
6. Gap Containers: 40ft units intended to go to sea
Operating from Kirkby on Merseyside, with stock spanning plated ISO units in new and used grades, one way shippers, reefers, high cubes and open tops.
Verdict: The list to call from when the container has to satisfy a port, not just a yard.
Background: The grade spread runs the whole way down, from one way shippers to end of life stock, with hire, purchase and conversion all offered. Containers used in international transport fall under the Freight Containers (Safety Convention) Regulations 2017, which require a valid safety approval plate and periodic examination.
What stands out: Grade honesty. Listing end of life units openly lets a buyer who only needs a static store take the cheapest rung knowingly.
The catch: Pricing is by quotation and the conversion portfolio is lighter, so a 40ft destined to become an office is better specified elsewhere.
7. Budget Shipping Containers: stock, price and speed
A Felixstowe operation holding over 200 containers ready for dispatch, hiring from 16 depots, and showing a starting price against each 40ft listing.
Verdict: Worth a look when the decision is mostly about price and availability rather than specification.
Background: The company buys, sells and hires containers for export and storage. Export units are CSC plated and storage units carry a wind and watertight guarantee. Delivery guidance notes that a container lorry stands 14ft 6in high with a standard unit loaded and 15ft 6in with a high cube, and that HIAB vehicles cannot work off hardstanding.
What stands out: Those height figures. Overhead clearance causes more failed deliveries than width does, and publishing loaded vehicle heights lets a buyer check a gateway before booking.
The catch: Figures are quoted out of one nominated depot, so regional pricing varies and the headline may not be what lands on your invoice.
Access: what decides whether a 40ft works at all
A 40ft container needs roughly 14 to 15 metres of clear, level ground and an approach a lorry can straighten up on. If your site cannot offer that, two 20ft units are the better answer, and any supplier worth using will say so.
Ground conditions come first. Crane equipped lorries carry their weight at the front and sink into soft ground, so drivers refuse grass in all but the driest conditions. Concrete, tarmac or compacted hardcore with sleepers under the corner castings is the reliable set-up.
Overhead clearance is the usual failure. A loaded lorry stands around 14ft 6in, rising to 15ft 6in with a high cube aboard, and some hauliers will not lift within 20 metres of live overhead cables.
Standard or high cube is a conversion decision. For plain storage, standard height is enough. If the unit is becoming an office or workshop, the extra 305mm of internal height changes how the space feels once lining and insulation have eaten into it.
How this comparison was put together
We looked at UK suppliers holding genuine 40ft stock rather than ordering it in, and assessed them on documented evidence: the variants actually listed, published specifications and prices, hire terms, conversion capability, depot coverage and the quality of their access guidance. No container was bought from any of them, so treat this as a capability comparison rather than a road test. Access guidance carried extra weight, because failed deliveries and badly sited units are the expensive mistakes at this size.
Where to start
If you are still weighing standard height against high cube, tunnel or side access, begin with Universal Containers, because the variants and their prices sit side by side. If your site is remote, Cleveland depot coverage usually wins on delivered cost. For cold storage, TITAN. For export, Gap. Measure the approach before you commit.
