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The container is only part of the bill. Getting a 20ft or 40ft steel box from the depot to your site can add a few hundred dollars or several thousand, depending on the distance, the truck and how easy your site is to reach.
This guide shows what shipping container transport costs in the US in 2026: typical prices by distance, per-mile rates for long hauls, how the truck type changes the price, which extra fees come up, and when it is cheaper to buy a container closer to home than to move one across the country.
Most container deliveries in the US are local. The supplier loads the container onto a tilt bed truck at the depot, drives it to your site and slides it off the back. The price depends mainly on the distance between the depot and your ZIP code. These are typical 2026 ranges for one container on a tilt bed truck with normal site access:
| Distance from the depot | Typical transport cost | Usual truck |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 miles | $350 to $750 | Tilt bed truck or trailer |
| 50 to 100 miles | $500 to $1,000 | Tilt bed truck or trailer |
| 100 to 200 miles | $800 to $1,600 | Tilt bed trailer |
| 200 to 300 miles | $1,200 to $2,000 | Tilt bed trailer or flatbed |
| More than 300 miles | Priced per mile, often $3.50 to $5 per mile, plus offloading | Flatbed or step deck |
The ranges are based on published 2025 and 2026 delivery prices from US container suppliers and adjusted for the diesel price in autumn 2026. Local prices usually include the truck’s drive back to the depot, which is why a short delivery still costs a few hundred dollars. Your quote depends on your exact address, the container and the access to your site.
Listings
Depot starting prices for the four containers buyers order most. Pick one, add your ZIP code and vetted local suppliers quote the container including transport to your site.
Depot prices updated October 2026Structurally sound, wind and watertight and fit for shipping. A safe all round choice for storage and job sites.
Shipped once from the factory. As-new condition for homes, offices and branded projects.
Extra foot of height for racking and bulky goods, at used container prices.
As-new high cube with clean paint and floors. The first choice for container homes, offices and long term use.
Starting prices at the depot, based on current inventory at major US container depots. Delivery, sales tax and local fees are extra and depend on your ZIP code. Your supplier confirms the final price in your quote.
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A delivery quote usually combines several parts, even if you only see one number:
Ask for a delivered price for your address that lists anything not included. The truck types themselves, and what your site needs for each of them, are explained in our guide to shipping container delivery.
| Truck type | When it is used | Cost notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tilt bed truck (rollback) | 10ft and 20ft containers on local runs | The usual choice for homes and businesses, unloading included |
| Tilt bed trailer | 40ft containers, or two 20ft containers at once | Unloading included, needs about 100 feet of straight access for a 40ft |
| Flatbed | Long distances and standard height containers | Cheaper per mile than a tilt bed, but you need a crane or forklift on site |
| Step deck (drop deck) | High cube containers on long distances | The lower deck keeps a high cube under the legal height limit |
| Truck with crane | Placing over fences, onto piers or on top of another container | Higher cost per trip, but no separate crane needed |
Height decides which trailer a long haul needs. A standard flatbed deck sits about 5 feet off the road, so a 9ft 6in high cube on a flatbed stands around 14ft 6in. Most states set the legal height at 13ft 6in, some western states at 14 feet, so a high cube on a flatbed needs an over-height permit and a planned route. On a step deck it stays around 13 feet and travels without a permit. That is one reason high cubes can cost a little more to transport over long distances.
A 40ft container needs a longer trailer, more room on site and a bigger truck, so local delivery usually costs somewhat more than for a 20ft. The difference is smaller than most buyers expect, because the time on the road and the fuel are much the same.
Two 20ft containers for the same site can often travel together on one tilt bed trailer, which cuts the transport cost per container. If you need two units, ask for a combined delivery.
Empty, a standard 20ft weighs about 4,600 pounds and a 40ft about 8,300 pounds, well within what a delivery truck carries. Weight only becomes an issue when a container is moved with goods inside. Our guide to shipping container sizes helps if you are still choosing between the two.
| Fee | When it applies | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Crane or forklift offloading | Flatbed delivery, or placing a container where a tilt bed cannot reach | Often $300 to $1,000 or more for a simple lift, larger truck cranes are billed by the hour |
| Dry run | The driver arrives and cannot deliver because of access, soft ground or nobody on site | Usually the trip and the return run |
| Waiting time | The truck waits beyond the normal unloading window | Billed by the hour |
| Tow-out | The truck gets stuck on soft ground | Around $300 to $800 |
| Over-height permit | A high cube on a flatbed instead of a step deck | Depends on the state and the route |
| Tolls and state lines | Toll routes or crossing into another state | Depends on the route and the supplier |
Most of these are avoidable. Measure the access, prepare firm and level ground and agree on a time when someone is on site. Our guide to shipping container foundations explains how to prepare the spot.
Fuel is the biggest moving part in a transport price. According to the US Energy Information Administration, on-highway diesel averaged about $6.20 a gallon in the week of October 5, 2026, roughly $2.50 more than a year earlier. Trucking rates have followed. DAT reported flatbed spot rates of about $3.55 per mile including fuel in mid-September 2026, of which about $0.95 per mile was fuel.
If you compare against delivery prices from older guides or last year’s quotes, expect today’s numbers to be higher. Container prices themselves have moved much less. Current depot prices are on our shipping container prices page.
Moving a container from one site to another means two trips for the truck: to your current site to load it and on to the new site to unload it, plus the drive back to its base. Expect at least the price of a local delivery from the pickup point, and more if the two sites are far apart.
A tilt bed truck winches the container up onto the bed, so most haulers want it empty or only lightly loaded, with anything inside tied down. Clear the area in front of the container, make sure the doors close and lock, and tell the hauler about any ground that has gone soft since the container was set down.
Past a few hundred miles, transport usually costs more than the price difference between two depots. An example with current depot prices: a used 40ft high cube starts at about $1,595 in Chicago and about $2,545 in Denver. Saving $950 by buying in Chicago sounds good until you price the roughly 1,000 miles to Denver: at $3.55 to $5 per mile, transport alone comes to about $3,550 to $5,000.
Container depots sit close to ports and rail hubs across the country, so there is usually one within reach. Our shipping containers near me finder shows the nearest depot hubs and starting prices for your state.
Containers for Alaska and Hawaii usually travel by ship or barge, so the price depends on the ocean freight route and the trucking at both ends. Shipping a container overseas is a different market altogether, priced per container from port to port, plus trucking to and from the ports. This guide covers transport by truck within the lower 48 states.
| Example | Container at the depot | Transport | Total before sales tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used 20ft from a Houston depot, site 40 miles away | about $1,045 | $350 to $750 | about $1,400 to $1,800 |
| Used 40ft high cube from Dallas Fort Worth, ranch 180 miles away | about $1,895 | $800 to $1,600 | about $2,700 to $3,500 |
| Used 40ft high cube bought in Chicago for a site near Denver | about $1,595 | $3,550 to $5,000 | about $5,150 to $6,600, against about $2,545 plus local delivery in Denver |
The depot prices are current starting prices from our listings. Your supplier confirms the final figure for your address in the quote.
Within about 50 miles of the depot, typically $350 to $750. Between 100 and 200 miles, around $800 to $1,600. Longer distances are priced per mile.
Local delivery usually costs somewhat more than for a 20ft, because a 40ft needs a longer trailer and more space on site. Long hauls are priced per mile, and high cubes travel on step deck trailers to stay under the height limit.
For long distances, expect about $3.50 to $5 per mile in 2026. US flatbed rates averaged about $3.55 per mile including fuel in September 2026. Short local deliveries cost more per mile, because loading, unloading and the return trip are spread over fewer miles.
Not for a standard container on a suitable trailer. A high cube on a flatbed exceeds the 13ft 6in height limit in most states and needs an over-height permit, which is why haulers use step deck trailers for high cubes.
You need a trailer rated for the weight, a truck that can pull it and a forklift or crane at both ends. Depending on the combined weight of truck and trailer, a commercial driver’s license may be required. For most buyers, delivery by the supplier costs less than renting the equipment.
Usually not. Most suppliers quote the container at the depot and add transport. Through shipping-containers.com, suppliers send delivered prices for your ZIP code, so you can compare the full cost.
shipping-containers.com is a marketplace, not a dealer or a builder. Send one request with your ZIP code and the containers you need, and vetted local suppliers respond with delivered prices. One request, multiple quotes, no fees. Compare sizes and grades on shipping containers for sale, or read what else adds to the bill in our guide to shipping container cost.
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Andreas Atrott is the founder of CUBX - shipping-containers.com and its sister sites shipping-containers.com.au in Australia and containerbasis.de in Germany. He has spent more than 15 years in the container industry, across sales, modifications, and custom builds, and shares what he has learned on his YouTube channel, Andy Knows Containers. That practical experience shapes how the platform helps US buyers match the right container to their project.
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