Five checks decide whether a container supplier can deliver.
Ownership you can look up, stock you can see, grades in writing, depots near your customers, and a factory route when stock will not do. Each one can be verified before a purchase order goes out.
Choose a wholesale container supplier on five checks you can verify before paying: registered ownership (a BIC owner prefix in the public registry), stock you can see by depot, grade and color, written grade definitions tied to the CSC plate, depots close to where the units are needed, and a factory route for builds that depot stock cannot meet. A supplier that passes all five can quote, release and deliver without surprises.
The checklist
| Check | Ask for | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Ownership | The supplier’s BIC owner prefixes | Look each one up in the BIC registry at bic-code.org |
| 2 · Stock | Counts by depot, size, grade and color | Container numbers and the depot address for the units quoted |
| 3 · Grades | A written definition of every grade sold | CSC plate status on anything sold as cargo worthy |
| 4 · Coverage | The depots units release from | Distance from each depot to your delivery points |
| 5 · Factory route | Lead time, minimum order, spec sheet | A written lead time before any deposit |
1. Does the supplier hold registered container ownership?
A supplier that owns containers holds at least one BIC owner prefix — the four letters that open every container number — registered with the Bureau International des Containers in Paris. The registry is public. Owning a prefix is not the only legitimate model: wholesale suppliers also source units from lessors and other owners, and those units keep the prefix they arrive with. What matters is that the supplier can say which units are which.
Check the container numbers on the quote with the ISO 6346 check-digit calculator. A number with a wrong check digit is a typo at best. See BIC codes for how the registry works.
2. Can you see the stock before you commit?
A supplier with real depot stock can tell you how many units sit at each depot, by size, grade and color, and can name the container numbers for the units it quotes. Ask for counts by city rather than a national total: a national total does not tell you whether a unit is a short haul from your customer or a long one.
3. Are the grades defined in writing?
Container grades — NEW, 3-Trip, IICL, Cargo Worthy, Wind & Water Tight and As-Is — are an industry consensus, not a government standard, so each supplier should state what its grades guarantee. The line that matters most: a Cargo Worthy unit carries a current CSC plate and can go to sea; a Wind & Water Tight unit keeps weather out but cannot. For storage fleets, ask whether the doors, gaskets and floor are inspected on every unit. The container condition guide sets out each grade.
4. How close are the depots to where you need the units?
Haulage from the depot to the drop site is part of the delivered cost of every container, so the depot a unit releases from matters as much as the unit itself. Ask which depot each quoted unit releases from, how long the release stays valid, and how the release reaches your trucker.
5. Is there a factory route when depot stock will not do?
Depot stock covers standard sizes in standard colors. A specific RAL color, custom doors, vents, insulation, branding or a large matched quantity needs factory production. That is a different engagement: lead time in weeks, a minimum order, a production schedule and a container-number block.
| Depot stock | Factory production | |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Releases from the depot | Weeks, confirmed in writing before deposit |
| Condition | Any grade, NEW to As-Is | New, one trip |
| Color | What is in the yard | Any RAL color |
| Specification | Standard ISO types | Doors, vents, insulation, branding to spec |
| Quantity | One unit up | Minimum order per spec |
Warning signs on a quote
- No container numbers or depot named for the units quoted.
- A grade name with no definition of what it guarantees.
- “Cargo worthy” with no word on the CSC plate.
- Photos that are not of the units being sold.
- Payment requested before a release number or pickup depot is confirmed.
How One Way Lease answers the five checks
- Ownership. One Way Lease, Inc. holds three BIC owner prefixes — OWLU®, ANYU and LSEU — and OWLU® is a registered U.S. trademark. Units from our own fleet carry one of the three; units we source keep the prefix they arrive with.
- Stock. Live inventory by city, type, grade and RAL color, refreshed three times a day.
- Grades. Six grades, each defined in the condition guide.
- Coverage. Depots in U.S. metro areas, listed on the depot pages, with an office in Shanghai for factory and origin work.
- Factory route. Factory production to spec, with the lead time in writing before deposit. Wholesale since 1994; NPSA Associate member since 2005.
Choosing a supplier FAQ
How do I check that a container supplier is legitimate?
Ask for the BIC owner prefixes the supplier holds and look them up in the Bureau International des Containers registry at bic-code.org. Ask for container numbers and the depot address for the exact units you are buying, and check the number’s ISO 6346 check digit. A supplier that holds stock can name the depot and release the unit to your trucker against a release number.
Should I buy from depot stock or order from the factory?
Buy depot stock when you need units now, in standard sizes and colors, near an existing depot. Order factory production when you need a quantity, a specific RAL color, custom doors or vents, or branding: lead time is measured in weeks rather than days, a minimum order applies, and every unit arrives new, numbered in one consecutive block.
What should a container quote include?
Size and type with the ISO code (for example 22G1 or 45G1), the grade and what that grade guarantees, color, the depot each unit releases from, how long the release is valid, and the paperwork that comes with each unit. For ocean use, confirm the CSC plate is current. A quote without a depot or a grade definition cannot be compared with another quote.
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