I keep hearing that a peace deal was signed with Iran. Does that mean the shipping situation is back to normal?

Not quite yet. The US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17 and the US lifted its naval blockade on June 18, which is genuinely good news. Ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz again, but as of early July only about 35 vessels per day are transiting versus the pre-war average of around 110. The strait was mined during the conflict, and the US Navy has said clearing those mines could take up to six months. War risk insurance premiums that peaked at eight times their normal rate are still elevated, and shipping executives remain cautious about routing vessels through the area. Shipping analysts at Xeneta estimate full normalization of traffic is at least three months away. The peace deal is the start of recovery, not the end of disruption.

Iran said something about charging ships to use the Strait of Hormuz. Is that real?

Iran has established a new body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, and Iranian officials have stated clearly that it will "definitely" charge fees for vessels transiting the strait once the 60-day toll-free window in the peace deal expires in mid-August. What those fees would be, and whether international law would permit them, is still being negotiated between Iran, Oman, and other Gulf states. The Brookings Institution flagged potential fees of around $2 million per transit. Even the threat of fees creates uncertainty that keeps shipping costs higher than they would otherwise be, which flows through into container prices over time.

The Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs. So tariffs are not really an issue anymore, right?

The Supreme Court struck down the original 2025 IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, but the administration moved the same day to replace them with a 15% global import surcharge under a different trade law. That replacement expires this month. The USTR has already proposed a new round of tariffs under Section 301, covering 60 trading partners at 10% to 12.5%, with a formal hearing on July 7. This new approach is on firmer legal ground and has no fixed expiration date. The cycle of tariff uncertainty is not over. A new round of deadlines means a new round of importers rushing to front-load shipments, which is one of the key factors tightening used container supply.

How do tariffs and front-loading affect the used container market? That connection is not obvious.

Here is how it works. Every time a tariff deadline approaches, importers rush to move as much cargo as possible into the US before the higher rates kick in. All those shipments need containers to load in China and Southeast Asia. That sudden surge in demand drives up used container prices in Asian depots by hundreds of dollars per unit. When Asian depot prices rise that much, shipping lines and leasing companies who own those boxes have a much stronger reason to send them back across the Pacific for another round of exports rather than selling them into the US secondhand market. A container that might earn $800 sitting in an American depot waiting to be sold can instead earn $3,000 on a repositioning voyage back to Asia. So the boxes that would normally become available for US buyers quietly disappear from the domestic supply pool. Demand from storage, construction, and agriculture keeps ticking along, but the supply coming in slows down.

What happened in Charleston? I saw something about a terminal closing.

On June 25, South Carolina Ports announced it is pausing operations at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston effective August 1. The Leatherman Terminal is a $1.2 billion facility that opened in 2021 as the first large new container terminal built in the US in over a decade. In the first 11 months of this fiscal year it handled 75,455 containers, which is less than 10% of what it was designed to handle. SC Ports cited declining import volumes, an uncertain trade outlook, and the need to cut costs. The National Retail Federation is forecasting import volume declines at major US ports through the rest of 2026. This story was covered by FreightWaves, the Maritime Executive, gCaptain, the Post and Courier, and the Journal of Commerce.

How does a terminal shutting down in Charleston affect used container prices in the rest of the country?

The US used container market is replenished by boxes that retire from active service as imports flow in. When fewer containers arrive at US ports overall, fewer units cycle into the secondhand market. A port authority pausing a terminal because import volumes have dropped to less than 10% of capacity is a concrete, highly visible signal that the supply pipeline feeding the used container market is getting thinner. It is not just a local logistics story. Fewer inbound containers nationwide means less future inventory of used boxes available for buyers in Dallas, Denver, or anywhere else.

Are there any other ongoing cost increases I should know about?

Yes. Since October 2025, the US Trade Representative has been charging fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels calling at US ports. As of April 2026 those fees are $153 per container for Chinese-built ships, rising to $250 by 2028. Since Chinese shipyards build the majority of the world's containerships, this adds a structural cost to moving cargo into the US that does not go away regardless of what happens with tariff policy or the situation in the Middle East. Some Chinese-owned carriers have already reduced their US port calls as a result. Fewer vessel calls means less container flow, which in turn means less used inventory over time.

Prices seem pretty reasonable right now. Should I just wait and see?

That is a reasonable instinct, and we are not going to tell you there is an emergency. Eveon's [Market Monitor](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/market-monitor) data shows the national average for a used 20ft container is $1,786 and a used 40ft is $2,187, both up 2.6% to 3.3% over the prior year. What we can tell you is that the conditions that supported stable pricing through the first half of 2026 are shifting. Lower import volumes, the redirecting of used boxes back to Asia, rising port fees, and sustained trade uncertainty are all pulling in the same direction. Waiting to see if prices drop further means waiting while the supply situation tightens and while the next tariff deadline approach drives more equipment back toward Asia. If you have a real project coming up in the next few months, buying today locks in current pricing and current availability. There is no obligation to rush, but the cost of waiting is starting to be a real number.

I need a container for storage, not for shipping. Do global shipping events really affect me?

They do, even though it is not obvious. Virtually all used containers in the US domestic market started out as import containers on trans-Pacific trade routes. When global shipping events reduce the number of containers flowing into the country, the pool of boxes available to retire into the secondhand storage market shrinks. The geopolitical events described above do not just affect shippers and importers. They affect anyone who buys used containers, because we all depend on the same supply chain.

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Why Used Shipping Container Prices Are Likely to Go Up

Global shipping disruptions, tariff shifts, and a paused SC port terminal are tightening used container supply. See what's driving prices up and how to buy ahead of the trend.

Eveon Containers

July 8, 2026

If you have been watching the news lately, you may have noticed that global shipping is going through one of its most turbulent stretches in decades. A peace deal in the Middle East, a rolling tariff saga in Washington, and a chain of knock-on effects across the world's busiest trade lanes are all pointing toward one outcome for the [used container](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/shipping-container-for-sale) market in the United States: tighter supply and higher prices. We track this market closely, not just to set our own pricing but because what happens in the Persian Gulf or in a federal courthouse ends up affecting the price of every box we sell. Here is what is going on right now, as of **July 7, 2026**. ## The Strait of Hormuz: Open in Name, Complicated in Reality The war between the United States, Israel, and Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, the day US and Israeli forces struck Iran. In the weeks that followed, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps mined the strait, boarded and attacked merchant vessels, and issued warnings barring passage to ships from the US, Israel, and their allies. The International Maritime Organization reported roughly 20,000 mariners and 2,000 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf. Traffic that normally runs at around 84 to 94 commercial transits per day dropped to just 2 per day by early June. For reference, roughly 20% of the world's oil and LNG normally flows through that waterway. On June 17, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the US and Iran in Evian. The US lifted its naval blockade on June 18. [Trump declared the strait open](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8mv6l6eezo). And indeed, ships began moving again. By late June, [PortWatch data](https://portwatch.imf.org/) showed around 27 transits per day, up from virtually nothing. As of this week, the figure is roughly 35 transits against a pre-war average of around 110. So, progress, yes. But not normalcy. What makes the current situation more complicated than a simple "it's open again" is what Iran is doing with its leverage. Tehran has established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a new body that requires commercial vessels to apply for passage permits and submit over 40 categories of information including cargo details, ownership structures, crew nationalities, and insurance. Iran has also introduced mandatory Iranian-approved insurance for all vessels and has stated it will "definitely" charge fees for transit once the 60-day toll-free window in the MOU expires. The MOU runs out in mid-August, and what happens after that is still being negotiated between Iran and Oman. Sal Mercogliano, the maritime historian and host of the YouTube channel [What's Going on With Shipping](https://www.youtube.com/@wgowshipping), covered this directly in his [June 17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbYOJuAueI) episode. He noted that the JMIC had downgraded the regional threat level to "Substantial" following the MOU announcement, but it was clear that the deal did not mean an immediate return to normal shipping. He highlighted that the Persian Gulf Strait Authority now runs its own passage permit process, effectively institutionalizing Iran's control over the waterway even during a supposed peace period. On the water, the situation remains unstable. On July 5, a cargo ship reported an armed attack off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, southwest of Hodeida. The Houthis, who halted their attacks on international shipping when a ceasefire with the US went into effect in May 2025, have since threatened to resume. A [WGOW Shipping episode from June 8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3QHjXk-04) covered the Houthi declaration of a complete blockade on Israeli-owned and Israeli-flagged vessels, a development that threatened to reactivate what Mercogliano described as a potential "triple shutdown" of the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandab, and the Strait of Hormuz simultaneously. There is also the practical matter of mine clearance. The US Navy has said clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines could take up to six months. [Shipping industry analysts at Xeneta](https://www.xeneta.com/blog/summer-high-volumes-low-how-much-will-frontloading-affect-the-next-6-weeks) estimate that full normalization of traffic is at least three months away. War risk insurance premiums that peaked at eight times their pre-war rate have begun to ease but remain elevated. Shipping executives gathered in Athens earlier this month were still cautious about routing vessels through the area. All of this means that the equipment imbalances built up over four months of disruption will take time to work out, regardless of what the diplomatic paperwork says. ## The Tariff Picture Has Changed Twice Since 2025 This story has a timeline that is easy to mix up, so it is worth laying out clearly. In April 2025, the Trump administration announced sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Rates on Chinese imports hit 145%. Most countries got a 90-day pause; China did not. Importers spent the rest of 2025 scrambling to front-load cargo before higher rates kicked in, which drove US container import volumes to their third-busiest year on record at the [Port of Los Angeles](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/locations/shipping-container-los-angeles). Then, on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the IEEPA tariffs were unlawful, finding the administration had overstepped its authority. The same day, Trump signed a replacement under Section 122, a rarely-used trade law that allows a president to impose emergency tariffs for up to 150 days. He started at 10% and raised it to 15%. That measure expires in July 2026. With the clock running out on that replacement, the administration spent June laying the groundwork for the next round. On June 2, the US Trade Representative proposed new tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act, covering 60 trading partners at rates of 10% to 12.5%, based on findings from a forced labor investigation. A public comment period closes this week, with a formal hearing on July 7. Section 301 tariffs do not have the same time limits as IEEPA or Section 122, so if finalized, these would be considerably more durable. The [CNN article from June 16](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/16/economy/trump-new-focus-on-tariffs) describing Trump's renewed focus on tariffs also noted a threat of 100% tariffs on French wine as the administration heads into the next phase of its trade agenda. For the [used container](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/resources/shipping-container-types-and-specifications) market, what this means is that importers continue to face persistent uncertainty. The [National Retail Federation's Global Port Tracker](https://nrf.com/) forecast US import volumes down 7.8% year-over-year in July and down 5.5% in August. The Port of Los Angeles processed [840,000 TEUs in May, up 17% year over year](https://portoflosangeles.org/business/statistics/container-statistics), but that figure largely reflects a burst of front-loading ahead of the July tariff expiration rather than sustained demand. When the next round of tariffs gets finalized, the same cycle is likely to repeat: a rush to import, followed by a drop-off, followed by a tightening of available used container supply. According to Eveon's own [Market Monitor](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/market-monitor) data, [used 20ft containers](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/used-20ft-shipping-container) nationwide are averaging $1,786 so far in 2026, with [used 40ft units](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/used-40ft-shipping-container) averaging $2,187. All three standard sizes are already trending modestly upward versus the prior 12 months, with increases of 2.6% to 3.3%. Supply has been adequate through mid-2026, but the conditions driving that stability are shifting. There is a less obvious but important supply side effect playing out right now that is worth understanding in some detail. Each wave of front-loading, whether ahead of the 2025 Liberation Day tariffs, the Section 122 replacement, or the current Section 301 round, creates an intense surge of demand for container equipment in China and Southeast Asia. Factories in Shanghai, Ningbo, Vietnam, and Malaysia need boxes to stuff full of goods headed to the United States before the next deadline hits. That demand has pushed used container prices in Asian depots up sharply. [Industry sources](https://kisunshipping.com/china-ocean-freight-rates-2026-spike/) tracking the [second-hand market in China and Southeast Asia](https://eightx.co/blog/asia-us-container-rates-surge) put recent price increases in the range of $600 to $700 per unit compared to levels from a year ago, driven directly by this competition for available equipment. That price spike in Asia changes the calculation for shipping lines and container leasing companies on the other side of the Pacific, meaning here in the United States. Under normal conditions, used containers that have [finished their active service life](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/news/market-insights/when-is-a-shipping-container-retired) get sold off domestically, which is how they end up on our lots and eventually in your yard or on your construction site. But when Asian depot prices are elevated and demand for boxes to fill is high, shipping lines and the large leasing companies that lease equipment to them have a much stronger financial incentive to [move those containers back across the Pacific](https://www.container-xchange.com/blog/empty-container-repositioning) instead of selling them locally. [Port Economics, Management and Policy (Notteboom, Pallis, Rodrigue, Routledge 2026)](https://porteconomicsmanagement.org/pemp/contents/part6/containers-and-ports/) uses illustrative figures to explain the principle: a container spending three to four weeks in the US hinterland through a normal import cycle earns its owner in the region of $800 in handling and drayage revenue, while that same container repositioned to Asia and loaded for a trans-Pacific voyage back to the US generates roughly $3,000 in ocean freight revenue over a similar timeframe. That is already a spread wide enough to make the decision straightforward. But those figures are a baseline illustration, not current market rates. According to the [Drewry World Container Index](https://www.drewry.co.uk/supply-chain-advisors/supply-chain-expertise/world-container-index-assessed-by-drewry) published on July 2, 2026, spot rates from Shanghai to New York are running at $7,902 per 40ft container and Shanghai to Los Angeles at $6,349 per 40ft container, both up significantly year-over-year. At those rates, the financial case for sending a box back to Asia rather than selling it into the US domestic market is considerably stronger than the textbook example suggests, and shipping lines and leasing companies are responding to that signal right now. In plain terms: the boxes that would ordinarily flow into the US used market are being redirected to Asia to support the next round of imports. Shipping lines are not in the business of selling containers when they can use them for another voyage. Leasing companies are under the same pressure. The result is a quieter but very real withdrawal of supply from the domestic secondhand market, while demand from storage, construction, and other non-shipping uses of containers in the US continues to hold steady. ## A Major US Port Just Idled Its Newest Terminal. That Is Not a Coincidence. All the above plays out in the real world in very concrete ways. The clearest recent example is what happened in [Charleston](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/locations/shipping-container-charleston), South Carolina. On June 25, South Carolina Ports CEO Micah Mallace announced that the port would be pausing operations at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal effective August 1. This is a $1.2 billion facility that opened in 2021 as the first major new container terminal built in the United States in over a decade. It was designed to handle up to 700,000 containers per year in its first phase, eventually expanding to 2.4 million TEUs annually once fully built out. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, it handled 75,455 containers. That is less than 10% of its designed capacity. SC Ports is consolidating all container activity at its two remaining Charleston terminals, Wando Welch and North Charleston. No reopening date has been announced. In its statement, the port authority cited "numerous headwinds, an uncertain trade forecast, and tempered volumes" as the reasons for the decision. SC Ports' total container volume for the fiscal year ending June 2026 was down roughly 5% compared to the year before. The [National Retail Federation](https://nrf.com/), which publishes the widely followed Global Port Tracker, has forecast that monthly year-over-year declines will continue through the rest of 2026. The news was reported by the [Post and Courier](https://www.postandcourier.com/business/sc-ports-charleston-leatherman-terminal/article_3307fc75-32d8-4523-83c2-d8b799e35491.html), [FreightWaves](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trade-uncertainty-leads-south-carolina-ports-to-temporarily-shut-down-container-terminal), [the Maritime Executive](https://maritime-executive.com/article/charleston-pauses-operations-at-new-terminal-citing-low-volume-high-costs), [gCaptain](https://gcaptain.com/south-carolina-ports-to-pause-leatherman-terminal-operations-as-trade-headwinds-mount/), and the [Journal of Commerce](https://www.joc.com/article/charlestons-leatherman-terminal-to-temporarily-halt-ship-operations-by-august-6243525), among others. What does a paused terminal in Charleston have to do with the price of a used container in [Dallas](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/locations/shipping-container-dallas) or [Denver](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/locations/shipping-container-denver)? Quite a bit, actually. The used container market in the United States is fed primarily by boxes that retire from active import service. When fewer containers arrive at US ports, fewer units eventually cycle into the secondhand market. A port authority pausing a terminal because volumes have dropped is not just a local business story. It is a signal that the pipeline replenishing domestic container supply is running thinner than it was a year ago. MSC, the terminal's primary tenant with five weekly services calling at Leatherman, is already being rerouted. One of those services is also being suspended entirely due to low volumes. The irony worth noting is that even as Leatherman goes dark, construction continues on its second berth. The port is betting that demand will return. But the timeline for that is not weeks; it is probably measured in years. ## Port Fees on Chinese-Built Vessels Are Already Built Into the Cost Structure There is a third factor that does not make as many headlines but has been quietly raising the cost of moving containers into the United States since October 2025. The US Trade Representative's fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels are now in their second year. As of April 2026, Chinese-built containerships face a charge of [$153 per container](https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations), on a fixed schedule that reaches $250 per container by 2028. Chinese-owned or operated vessels face a separate fee of $80 per net ton, also rising year over year. Since Chinese shipyards build the majority of the [world's container ships](https://www.xeneta.com/blog/ocean-container-shipping-rates-can-spike-unexpectedly-use-data-and-intelligence-to-understand-why-and-take-action), these fees affect most of the vessels that bring cargo into US ports. Some Chinese-owned lines have already reduced their US port calls. Others are passing the cost through to freight rates. Either way, it is a structural addition to the cost of replenishing US container supply, and it does not go away when tariff policy shifts or the Hormuz situation stabilizes. ## What This Means If You Are in the Market Right Now The good news is that the peace deal in the Middle East is real, and the Strait of Hormuz is at least partially open again. That matters. The bad news is that a signed MOU is not the same as a functioning trade route, mine clearance will take months, Iran is still pressing for transit fees after the 60-day window, and the Houthis resumed attacking vessels in the Red Sea as recently as this past weekend. On the tariff side, the current 15% global surcharge expires this month, and the administration is moving to replace it with longer-lasting Section 301 tariffs. The cycle of uncertainty, front-loading, and post-deadline slowdowns that characterized 2025 is not over. Prices on used containers are not going to spike overnight. But the factors that kept them stable through the first half of 2026 are starting to reverse. Modest price increases are already visible in our own market data. And when one of the largest ports on the East Coast idles a terminal because import volumes have dropped to less than 10% of capacity, that is not background noise. That is the supply situation announcing itself. If you have a project coming up, whether storage, construction, [agriculture](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/industries/shipping-containers-for-the-farming--agriculture-industry), or [manufacturing](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/industries/shipping-containers-for-manufacturing--eveon-containers), buying sooner rather than later puts you ahead of that trend. Our inventory is available at current pricing today, with delivery to [45+ locations](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/locations) nationwide in 3 to 5 business days.

Check Used Shipping Container Pricing and Availability

20ft Used Container

Dimensions

Length
20'
Width
8'
Height
8' 6"

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Contents of a 3-bedroom house
4000 pairs of shoes
10 pallets (each carrying 60 boxes)

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40ft Used Container

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40'
Width
8'
Height
8' 6"

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Contents of a 5-bedroom house
Large farm machinery
20 pallets (each carrying 120 boxes)

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40ft Used High Cube Container

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40'
Width
8'
Height
9' 6"

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Contents of a 5-bedroom house
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20 pallets (each carrying 120 boxes)

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Container Market Update: Your Questions Answered

Not quite yet. The US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17 and the US lifted its naval blockade on June 18, which is genuinely good news. Ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz again, but as of early July only about 35 vessels per day are transiting versus the pre-war average of around 110. The strait was mined during the conflict, and the US Navy has said clearing those mines could take up to six months. War risk insurance premiums that peaked at eight times their normal rate are still elevated, and shipping executives remain cautious about routing vessels through the area. Shipping analysts at Xeneta estimate full normalization of traffic is at least three months away. The peace deal is the start of recovery, not the end of disruption.
Iran has established a new body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, and Iranian officials have stated clearly that it will "definitely" charge fees for vessels transiting the strait once the 60-day toll-free window in the peace deal expires in mid-August. What those fees would be, and whether international law would permit them, is still being negotiated between Iran, Oman, and other Gulf states. The Brookings Institution flagged potential fees of around $2 million per transit. Even the threat of fees creates uncertainty that keeps shipping costs higher than they would otherwise be, which flows through into container prices over time.
The Supreme Court struck down the original 2025 IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, but the administration moved the same day to replace them with a 15% global import surcharge under a different trade law. That replacement expires this month. The USTR has already proposed a new round of tariffs under Section 301, covering 60 trading partners at 10% to 12.5%, with a formal hearing on July 7. This new approach is on firmer legal ground and has no fixed expiration date. The cycle of tariff uncertainty is not over. A new round of deadlines means a new round of importers rushing to front-load shipments, which is one of the key factors tightening used container supply.
Here is how it works. Every time a tariff deadline approaches, importers rush to move as much cargo as possible into the US before the higher rates kick in. All those shipments need containers to load in China and Southeast Asia. That sudden surge in demand drives up used container prices in Asian depots by hundreds of dollars per unit. When Asian depot prices rise that much, shipping lines and leasing companies who own those boxes have a much stronger reason to send them back across the Pacific for another round of exports rather than selling them into the US secondhand market. A container that might earn $800 sitting in an American depot waiting to be sold can instead earn $3,000 on a repositioning voyage back to Asia. So the boxes that would normally become available for US buyers quietly disappear from the domestic supply pool. Demand from storage, construction, and agriculture keeps ticking along, but the supply coming in slows down.
On June 25, South Carolina Ports announced it is pausing operations at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston effective August 1. The Leatherman Terminal is a $1.2 billion facility that opened in 2021 as the first large new container terminal built in the US in over a decade. In the first 11 months of this fiscal year it handled 75,455 containers, which is less than 10% of what it was designed to handle. SC Ports cited declining import volumes, an uncertain trade outlook, and the need to cut costs. The National Retail Federation is forecasting import volume declines at major US ports through the rest of 2026. This story was covered by FreightWaves, the Maritime Executive, gCaptain, the Post and Courier, and the Journal of Commerce.
The US used container market is replenished by boxes that retire from active service as imports flow in. When fewer containers arrive at US ports overall, fewer units cycle into the secondhand market. A port authority pausing a terminal because import volumes have dropped to less than 10% of capacity is a concrete, highly visible signal that the supply pipeline feeding the used container market is getting thinner. It is not just a local logistics story. Fewer inbound containers nationwide means less future inventory of used boxes available for buyers in Dallas, Denver, or anywhere else.
Yes. Since October 2025, the US Trade Representative has been charging fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels calling at US ports. As of April 2026 those fees are $153 per container for Chinese-built ships, rising to $250 by 2028. Since Chinese shipyards build the majority of the world's containerships, this adds a structural cost to moving cargo into the US that does not go away regardless of what happens with tariff policy or the situation in the Middle East. Some Chinese-owned carriers have already reduced their US port calls as a result. Fewer vessel calls means less container flow, which in turn means less used inventory over time.
That is a reasonable instinct, and we are not going to tell you there is an emergency. Eveon's [Market Monitor](https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/market-monitor) data shows the national average for a used 20ft container is $1,786 and a used 40ft is $2,187, both up 2.6% to 3.3% over the prior year. What we can tell you is that the conditions that supported stable pricing through the first half of 2026 are shifting. Lower import volumes, the redirecting of used boxes back to Asia, rising port fees, and sustained trade uncertainty are all pulling in the same direction. Waiting to see if prices drop further means waiting while the supply situation tightens and while the next tariff deadline approach drives more equipment back toward Asia. If you have a real project coming up in the next few months, buying today locks in current pricing and current availability. There is no obligation to rush, but the cost of waiting is starting to be a real number.
They do, even though it is not obvious. Virtually all used containers in the US domestic market started out as import containers on trans-Pacific trade routes. When global shipping events reduce the number of containers flowing into the country, the pool of boxes available to retire into the secondhand storage market shrinks. The geopolitical events described above do not just affect shippers and importers. They affect anyone who buys used containers, because we all depend on the same supply chain.