Roughly 4,800 to 5,100 pounds empty, depending on the unit. That covers a standard 20 ft in used cargo-worthy or one-trip condition. The exact figure for any individual box is stencilled on its own door beside the CSC plate, since no two used containers weigh precisely the same. Loaded weight is a separate question, driven by what you put inside, not the steel itself.
Every 20 ft container on our lot is built to the same ISO shell: 14-gauge weathering steel, corrugated side walls, a plywood floor bolted to a steel frame. That construction lands in a narrow band, but it is still a band. A one-trip unit with its factory paint and fittings sits toward the heavier end. A used cargo-worthy box that has had a floor board or two swapped out over the years can land a touch lighter or heavier depending on what went back in.
Nobody weighs a container fresh off a ship and gets a round number, and we would rather give you the honest spread than a figure that looks precise and isn't.
None of that is optional equipment you are paying extra for. It is what makes the box a shipping container instead of a shed, and it is why the steel holds up outdoors for about 30 years.
The empty weight tells you almost nothing about how much you can pack inside. A 20 ft box is rated to carry a substantial cargo load on top of its own steel, and for most storage use, homeowners, farms, small contractors, you will never come close to testing that ceiling with furniture, tools, or inventory.
Where it does matter is if you plan to load it onto a trailer yourself, mount it on a truck bed, or set it somewhere the ground can't take a heavy point load. That is a conversation about your specific site and your specific unit, not a number we can hand you in the abstract. Call and describe what you are loading and where it is going.
Every container carries a CSC plate, a small metal data plate riveted near the door. Tare weight, the empty weight of that specific box, is stamped right beside it. If a number matters for a permit, a trailer rating, or anything official, that stencilled figure on the unit itself is the one to use, not a published average from any website, ours included.
It changes what the ground needs to hold, not how we get it there. Our tilt-bed trucks are built to carry and set containers this size, and delivery is free inside 75 road miles of our Woodlawn yard either way. What we ask about beforehand is the drop spot: firm, reasonably level ground that can support a loaded truck for the roughly 65 feet of straight pull-in a 20 ft container needs.
Tell us the size and condition you're after and we'll pull the tare weight off the CSC plate before you commit to anything.
Same-day reply. We'll send a real number, a real delivery window, and any photos we need to confirm fit.
You'll hear back from us today (or first thing tomorrow if it's late). For anything urgent, call (276) 237-6144.