20ft Shipping Container
Approx. 33.2 m³
The standard 6.06 m ISO dry container: 33.2 m³ of volume, up to 28 t of payload, and the easiest size to move by road almost anywhere in the world.
Europe
Shipping Containers for Buyers in France
Road delivery across France from Benelux and German depots, with the origin chosen by where in France the container is going.
- New & used
- Single & bulk orders
- Road delivery
- Delivered pricing
France is a straightforward road delivery, and the choice of origin matters more here than in most countries because of the distances involved. For the north and the Paris basin, supply out of the Antwerp or Rotterdam area usually wins; for Alsace, Lorraine and the east, a German origin is often better; for the south and the Mediterranean coast, the road leg is long enough that we compare options rather than assume.
Intra-EU supply means no customs formality, so the quotation is the container plus the road movement plus whatever the site access requires.
What decides the delivered price into France
- Where in France — the origin is selected against the destination, not against any fixed starting point
- Vehicle type — tilt-bed where there is run-off, crane truck where there is not
- Access — gate width, turning circle, overhead clearance and ground bearing
- Quantity — multi-unit deliveries to one address amortise the transport leg substantially
- VAT identification number — required for intra-EU B2B treatment, so provide it with the RFQ
Common requirements from French buyers
Storage and site use dominate: 20ft and 40ft containers in wind-and-watertight grade for yards, farms, construction sites and workshops. Conversion demand runs to one-trip 40ft High Cube.
For long or awkward loads that will be loaded by forklift along the length, an open side container is worth pricing against a standard box before deciding.
How supply and delivery are put together
The container and the transport are one movement, so both are decided against the same thing: where the unit has to end up.
Destination
You give us the endpoint and the specification. The postcode does more work here than anything else on the enquiry.
Supply option
Suitable availability is assessed against that destination rather than against a fixed origin, because the unit that is cheapest at the depot is not always the cheapest on your site.
Transport
The vehicle is chosen by what the site can physically take.
Delivered quotation
Container plus transport plus whatever the access requires, with what is included and what is excluded both stated.
The cheapest container is not the cheapest delivered container
A lower-priced unit sitting further from you can end up more expensive once the road leg is added, and the gap is often larger than the difference in the container price. Supply is therefore selected against the final destination rather than against the headline figure — which is also why we quote delivered rather than ex works by default.
Containers supplied to France
Specialist types
New or used
Both are supplied to every market we quote. The choice is about what the container has to do once it arrives.
New / one trip
- Appearance matters at the destination
- Long-term ownership is intended
- The unit will be converted or modified
- Recent production is preferred
Used
- Storage is the primary purpose
- Budget is the deciding factor
- Cosmetic condition is secondary
- Cargo worthy or wind and watertight meets the requirement
Road delivery to your site
Distance is rarely what complicates a European delivery. The last hundred metres is. These four questions decide the vehicle, and the vehicle decides a meaningful part of the price.
Access
Can an articulated vehicle reach the placement point? Gate width, road width and any weight or width restriction on the approach.
Space
A tilt-bed needs room to reverse and to slide the container off — as a guide, its own length again behind it.
Unloading
Tilted off by the vehicle, lifted by a crane truck, or unloaded by equipment you provide. This is the single biggest variable.
Ground
Level, firm and able to carry the corner loads. Soft ground and slopes are what turn a delivery into a return journey.
What we need in order to quote
Five things. Anything you do not know yet can be marked provisional — a rough quantity is more useful than a blank.
Container
Quantity
Destination
Unloading
Commercial
Frequently asked questions
Where will a container delivered to France be supplied from?
From whichever available source gives the best delivered price for the destination. For northern France that is typically the Antwerp or Rotterdam area; for the east, often a German origin. The choice is made in your favour rather than by proximity to us.
Is there customs paperwork for delivery to France?
No — it is an intra-EU supply. What is needed is a valid VAT identification number for business-to-business treatment, supplied with the enquiry rather than at invoicing.
Can you deliver to Corsica or the overseas départements?
Those are sea movements rather than road deliveries, and they are quoted differently — as an overseas supply to a named port. Ask and we will tell you whether it can be arranged for your specification before you plan around it.
What access does the delivery vehicle need?
For a tilt-bed, a firm level approach and roughly the vehicle's length again behind the placement point to slide the container off. Where that is not available, a crane truck lifts it into position instead — which costs more but works on far more sites. Send a photo of the access if you are unsure.
Can I order several containers to one French address?
Yes, and it is usually where the economics improve most. Multiple units to one address share the road leg, so the per-container transport cost falls sharply compared with a single delivery.