Container price in India

Container prices by size and condition

Price from is a low market price: a quarter of the sellers of that container ask it or less, read on IndiaMART and TradeIndia on 20 October 2026; with fewer than ten sellers, it is the middle of the prices found, so at least half of them are at or below it. Typical is what half of the sellers ask or less. Both are the same figures as on each container’s page; grey rows rest on fewer than five sellers, too few for a firm price. Ask for delivered quotes: it is free and without obligation, up to 5 partner sellers who cover your PIN code reply with a delivered price, and Asia Containers does not sell containers.

Empty container price

An “empty container” in a listing is a box sold empty, almost always a used one: its price is that of a used box. On 20 October 2026, a used 20 ft container was priced from ₹1,04,000, typically ₹1,20,000, and a used 40 ft from ₹1,55,000, typically ₹1,80,000. Empty, a 20 ft box weighs about 2,230 kg and a 40 ft one 3,700 kg (container sizes and weights).

Reefers, open tops, flat racks, 10 ft and as-is boxes

How the asking prices spread, for the containers with at least 15 sellers

Used 20 feet shipping container₹1,20,000116 sellers · 20 Oct

Half of the 116 sellers ask between ₹1,04,000 and ₹1,40,000; a quarter ask less than ₹1,04,000. 9 sellers outside the range drawn.

Used 40 feet shipping container₹1,80,00080 sellers · 20 Oct

Half of the 80 sellers ask between ₹1,55,000 and ₹2,00,000; a quarter ask less than ₹1,55,000. 6 sellers outside the range drawn.

Used 40 feet high cube container (40 HC)₹1,90,00027 sellers · 20 Oct

Half of the 27 sellers ask between ₹1,58,000 and ₹2,22,000; a quarter ask less than ₹1,58,000. 1 seller outside the range drawn.

Bars: number of sellers by asking price in the reading of 20 October 2026; darker bars hold the middle half of sellers. The weekly line replaces them from the third reading. ₹1 L = ₹1 lakh = ₹1,00,000. How the survey works.

What the price includes, and what it leaves out

GST. Of the 54 listings with an exact price we checked, 49 do not say whether GST is in the price (it is included in 4 and added on top in 1). The rate on containers is 18%, so one figure can stand for two prices almost a fifth apart. Ask “inclusive of GST?” and have the answer written on the quote. Dealers in used boxes sometimes charge GST on their margin only: see how GST applies to containers.

Delivery. A box is usually priced where it stands, in the seller’s yard. For a trip within a few hundred kilometres, the seller quotes the trucking with the box: ask for it in the same quote. For long trips, one shipping line’s published door-delivery tariff from the port of Mundra, mostly dated January 2026, comes to ₹74 to ₹93 per km for a 40 ft box from 439 km: Mundra to Delhi NCR costs about ₹87,000 to ₹1,06,000. A 20 ft box costs less to move, but not half: typically 61–87% of the 40 ft rate, in a shipping line’s 2026 trucking tariff between ports and inland depots. As an example, a used 20 ft box at its typical ₹1,20,000 would need about ₹31,500 to ₹56,500 of trucking from Nhava Sheva to Hyderabad (694 km, an estimate), plus GST if the price leaves it out, before unloading. The transport cost page explains these rates, and the delivered price estimate adds them to the box for the main cities.

Unloading. The truck needs a crane, a side-lifter or a tilt bed to set the box down, and a firm, level spot to receive it. Ask who provides the lifting and whether it is in the delivery price. See preparing the site.

Changes to the box. Paint, an extra door, windows, a lock box or a ramp are priced on top. Offices and homes built from a container are a different product: modified containers.

Why container prices vary, and what to check

Used 20 ft boxes were asked ₹80,000 to ₹3,50,000 on 20 October 2026, but half of the 116 sellers asked between ₹1,04,000 and ₹1,40,000. Three things explain most of the gap; the grade written in a listing explains less than it seems.

The grade written in the listing. Sellers who call a used 20 ft box cargo-worthy ask ₹1,20,000 (46 sellers), about the same as those who give no grade, ₹1,20,000 (79 sellers). The word is the seller’s: the box itself, its plate, its floor and its roof, sets what it is worth. “Cargo-worthy” means it can still carry goods at sea and should have a valid CSC plate; “wind and water tight” means it keeps the rain out but may no longer be fit for shipping; “as-is” means sold with its defects, as seen. The container grades guide shows how to check each one on the spot.

Where the yard is. By area, the typical price of a used 20 ft box ran from Mumbai region and Chennai (₹1,07,500) to Hyderabad (₹1,40,000). A box bought far from your site can save on the price and lose it again on the truck: compare delivered prices, not yard prices.

Cabins sold under the name “container”. On IndiaMART and TradeIndia, 216 of the 1,058 priced listings we read in the container categories on 20 October 2026 were prefab cabins or converted units, not shipping containers. Signs of a cabin: a price per square foot; PUF or sandwich panels; a new box in “galvanised” or “colour coated” sheet marked “made in India” with no CSC plate (a few Indian factories do build real ISO containers: see shipping container manufacturers in India); an outside height of about 10 ft (a high cube is 9 ft 6 in). A real shipping container has a CSC plate on the door and an 11-character number painted on it, four letters then seven digits (for example ABCU 123456 7).

Special boxes. A reefer’s refrigeration unit sets most of its price: a used 40 ft high cube reefer is priced from ₹5,50,000, against ₹1,58,000 for a used 40 ft high cube dry box. Ask for the unit’s make and year and a recent pre-trip inspection (PTI) report: see reefer containers.

New container price: how much more than used?

A new or one-trip 20 ft box is priced from ₹2,25,000 (4 sellers on IndiaMART), against ₹1,04,000 for a used one. A new 40 ft box is priced from ₹3,45,000 (2 sellers) and a new 40 ft high cube from ₹3,00,000 (2 sellers), against ₹1,55,000 and ₹1,58,000 used. Few sellers price new boxes: ask importers to quote by batch before you decide.

“One-trip” means a box built new, usually in China, that made a single voyage with cargo to reach India.

New is worth it when the box will be on show (a shop, an office, a café), when it must last for years without rust repairs, or when it will carry valuable goods at sea. Used is enough for storage on a site or a farm, where a dry, lockable box matters more than its looks: see the used containers for sale in India, every size with this week’s asking prices.

Buy or rent?

The lowest monthly rents listed are ₹14,000 for a 20 ft and ₹18,000 for a 40 ft (3 listings with the period written), plus transport both ways; rents are often quoted before GST and for a minimum period, so ask both. At those rents, 9 months equal a used 20 ft at its typical price, and 10 months a used 40 ft. For a few months on a site, renting is simpler; beyond that, buying usually costs less, and the box can be sold again. See rent or buy a container.

Checking a quote against the market

1. Put quotes on the same basis: yard price or delivered, GST in or out, unloading included or not.
2. Compare with the typical price for your size and condition in the first table. A price far below the price from needs a reason: an as-is box, a cabin, or an old listing.
3. Ask for the container number, the grade and a photo of the CSC plate in writing, with pictures taken that day, and see how to inspect a used container.
4. Ask two or three sellers. The quote form sends one request to up to 5 partner sellers who cover your PIN code, with your consent.

Check the seller too, before any payment: see buying a 20 ft container safely.

Where these prices come from

Every week we read the asking prices that sellers post on IndiaMART and TradeIndia: 1,058 priced listings on 20 October 2026, of which 394 were kept once cabins, converted units, unclear sizes, repeats and doubtful prices were left out. Each seller counts once in a median, and no seller is named. A smaller survey of 54 listings with an exact price, on sellers’ own pages and directories, checks the GST status and fills in the containers that few marketplace sellers list. Each container then gets one price, the same on every page of this site.

Filters, thresholds, dates and the file of all figures: how the price survey works.

Questions buyers ask

What does a container cost in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or Hyderabad?

The table shows the areas with at least five sellers this week. For another city, put your PIN code in a quote request: partner sellers who cover it reply with a delivered price. The used containers for sale page has the asking prices by grade as well.

Which container size for storage or a site office?

A 20 ft box gives about 13.9 m² of floor (33.2 m³), a 40 ft about 28.3 m² (67.7 m³). Which shipping container do I need? matches each use with a box and its price, and container dimensions and weight gives every size.

What does a 10 ft container cost?

A used 10 ft box is priced from ₹1,67,000 (5 sellers): more than a used 20 ft, for half the space, because few are sold. Some 10 ft units are cut down from a 20 ft box and lose their CSC approval until they are recertified: ask whether it is an original 10 ft and look at the welds. See 10 feet containers.

What does a container house cost?

Our test keeps a converted container only if its listing gives a price for one unit, a use and a length, says it was converted from a shipping container, and shows no sign of a prefab cabin. No home listed in our surveys passed it: most container houses sold in India are prefab cabins, which this site does not price. A 40 ft office did, at ₹4,00,000 (container office). A real container home starts from the box, a used 40 ft high cube from ₹1,58,000, and the fit-out comes on top: see the container house page and the container house price guide.