The UK-based Container Self-Storage and Traders Association (CSTA) has published its first census on activity in the self-storage industry.
Focused on the UK, the report revealed that at the end of 2021 some 572 companies were active across what the CSTA described as 978 “properly defined and/or dedicated sites”. This was up about 4% (35 sites) on the previous year. Altogether The total number of containers in use for self-storage was 72,644 TEU.
Moreover, the CSTA report indicated that occupancy levels of the containers were strong with 98% utilization rates recorded during the year. The association attributed this to the robust and continuing demand for storage units by private individuals and businesses to keep personal items, business equipment, and/or anything else too bulky to be kept at home or in the office.
“Shipping containers are robust units, constructed of steel to ISO standards and specified to withstand the rigors of international transport by sea, road, and rail,” said the CTSA. “They offer both a practical and a sustainable solution for the self-storage industry and it is the reason why they are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the self-storage market.”
The report suggested that growth rates in the UK container self-storage sector could have been even faster if high newbuild box prices and supply issues, particularly for second-hand containers, had not been so difficult.
“Supply chain disruption in 2020-2021 caused by COVID-19 restrictions, resulted in a global shortage of shipping containers, which, in turn, caused the price of containers to increase,” said the report. “It is likely that the disruption curtailed plans to fully populate all the newly opened site facilities with the intended number of containers. The current prices can be expected to reduce the rate of growth of the self-storage industry until such times as prices moderate or a price trend can be predicted.”
The report also highlighted the flexible nature of containers as contributing to its strong growth in the self-storage market. “Many of the companies involved in container self-storage operate more than one site and this enables a local service to clients and also allows for relatively small areas of land to be utilized for container self-storage activities,” wrote the report’s author. “The versatility of the container enables it to be moved between sites, should there be a business need.”
The census showed that on average each company owned/leased 132 containers for their storage businesses, but this varied enormously, with one multi-site operator having positions for 3,600 units. The majority of containers used are standard 20ft x 8ft6in units. Overall, in the UK, containers offer customers 10.6M ft2 of space.
But what many in the maritime industry may not realize is that most containers now used in the self-storage sector are newly manufactured units and not sold after a 10-17 year trading life. CTSA explained: “The containers are usually used to transport cargo from China to the UK or Europe for a single ‘one-trip’ journey, as an economic means to position the containers to the intended destination. The containers are then repurposed and installed on the Container Self-Storage Site.”
