Most of us are familiar with the common types of shipping containers often seen in loading bays or on the back of ships, trucks, and trains. These large steel boxes are designed to store and ship cargo over long distances. They’re water tight, corrosion resistant, and made with strong frames to protect wares and weather all kinds of extreme conditions out at sea.

And it’s these attributes that make shipping containers so useful for a wide variety of other purposes. For transporting all type of goods, including perishable foods and oversized wares, to business fronts and accommodation, shipping containers come in all different shapes and sizes. But as convenient as this may be, it can also be confusing. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, all these options might be a lot to take in.

With Shipping Containers Australia, the options are endless, but so is the helpful advice. Whatever your next project entails, Shipping Containers Australia can direct you to exactly what you need – even if what you need is a fully customised container built from scratch!

Just check out some of the shipping container types below to get a basic idea, and if you need any more help deciding on the perfect container for you, simply get in touch!

  • Standard Shipping Containers

    Standard shipping containers, or general purpose shipping containers, are the most common type of containers for sale. They’re typically available in three sizes and used to store or transport goods. The standard size, which is the most popular container sold around the world, is the 20ft version. However, standard containers go all the way down to 6ft in some cases, with the largest being 40ft shipping containers.

    This is the shipping container at its most basic, making it perfect for all your standard shipping and storage needs. But it’s also a perfect starting point for a wide range of DIY projects. Its sturdiness, weather resistance and security make it ready to go as a safe shed for all kinds of valuable equipment.

  • Refrigerated Reefers

    A ‘reefer’ is the nickname given to refrigerated shipping containers – containers designed specifically for storing or transporting temperature sensitive cargo, like food and other perishable items that need to remain cold during transit. Whether you’re importing frozen goods, or just need a stationary cooling room for a catered event, the refrigerated shipping container is the way to go.

    If your goods need protection from temperature fluctuations, but don’t necessarily need refrigeration, you might prefer an insulated container. These are designed to keep items at a stable temperature, either cold or hot, and are great for transporting fragile items such as plants, food, and other perishables.

  • High Cube Containers

    When your sizing requirements are outside of the standard general purpose range, you might consider something like a high cube shipping container instead. High cubes are designed with an extra foot of headroom, which may not sound like much, but this can mean quite a difference in cubic capacity, with only a marginal difference in payload. They feature swinging heavy-duty doors that open up to 270°.

  • Open Top Containers

    The open top container is another option for those with bulky or awkwardly sized cargo. Open tops feature a removable roof panel allowing easy access when loading bulky items that can’t fit through conventional doors. They can be loaded with the help of a crane, and their thick PVC material roof still offers all the necessary protection against the elements.

    Open tops are often used in construction projects as well as landscaping and gardening work requiring soil removal or delivery of large rocks and boulders. 

  • Double Door Containers

    When you need as much access to your shipping container as possible, the double door container makes things twice as efficient. Double door shipping containers offer two separate entry points from either side, making loading and unloading quicker, or allowing two different spaces within the container to be utilised separately. These types are often used in construction sites or retail stores.

  • Side Opening Containers

    Another way to improve accessibility to your cargo is with a side opening container. Rather than having doors on the shorter ends, side opening styles have larger doors that run lengthwise across the container. With well-packed standard containers, it can sometimes be difficult or time consuming to reach goods that were packed first, but with side opening containers, you get a much broader access point.  

  • Flat Rack Containers

    When it comes to loading styles, the flat rack container is by far the most versatile. All four walls of these shipping containers are fully collapsible, allowing them to expand their capacity while still maintaining structural integrity. They’re ideal for carrying heavy machinery or equipment too large to fit inside regular container doors, yet too fragile for open top transportation methods such as crane lifts or forklifts. 

  • Modified Shipping Containers

    Most types of shipping container can be modified in a variety of ways, but the most common container for modification is the standard or general purpose type. They can be customised to become an office, classroom, shed, studio, living space, cafe, restaurant, animal shelter – basically anything you can think of!

    With some of the largest modification centres in the country, the engineers at Shipping Containers Australia convert containers by installing all kinds of accessories, such as plumbing for ablution blocks, electrical systems for business fronts, and air conditioning for worksite facilities. If you have anything specific in mind for your next project, you can browse a wide range of pre-modified options, or have your own modified container designed from the ground up.

  • Specialised Shipping Containers

    There are some uses for shipping containers which require a more specialised design. Specialised shipping containers include containers designed specifically for storing or transporting dangerous goods. For worksites that handle certain hazardous materials, there are strict rules and regulations that must be adhered to. In these cases, Shipping Containers Australia provide containers that ensure full compliance, so your workplace remains safe and legal.

    Specialised shipping containers also include things like attached trailers, extra-large containers used to transport ocean freight, aeroplane containers, disaster simulation containers for training purposes, and containers for storing live ammunition.

  • Used Shipping Containers

    Lastly, if you’re on a budget, or you’re just in need of something simple, you might be happy to know that there are plenty of second-hand containers that were previously owned and are now available at a discounted price. All types of shipping container from Shipping Containers Australia are built to last, and often when their original purpose is fulfilled, they are repurposed.

    So, whatever you need a shipping container for, you can find any new or second-hand containers to buy or hire at Shipping Containers Australia. If you have any more questions about the different types, just get in contact on 1300 284 896, or fill in the free online quote form.