New production is quoting January off-line dates, so an order placed now is a first-quarter delivery — and the next slot offered will be further out than this one. Inventory already in our US depots is ready to go today.
The market
The major Chinese factories are quoting January off-line dates for new 40ʹ high-cube production. At least one has stopped quoting altogether for anything shipping before Chinese New Year in early February.
Factory pricing has moved up steadily across 2026. Traders holding new units on the ground in Shanghai are now asking above the factories themselves — normally it runs the other way round, and it is a fair reading of how little uncommitted stock is left.
Carriers are reporting shortages of 40ʹ and 45ʹ high-cube equipment at Asian origins, and space out of South China has been assessed as very tight across the major lines on both US coasts.
Published . Conditions assessed September 2026 from our Shanghai representative office and published carrier space and equipment reporting. Production lead times and origin equipment availability move week to week — ask us for the current position before you plan around it.
Two ways to buy
Most operators we work with are doing both — covering immediate demand from the ground while booking a slot for the first quarter, so there is no gap between the two.
For the first quarter and beyond
Built to your specification under our own OWLU® BIC prefix, CSC-plated and surveyed before it leaves the line.
Every week of delay pushes the off-line date further out, and the slot you are quoted today is the earliest one you will be offered.
For right now
New, cargo-worthy and IICL units already in US depots, releasable the day you pay for them.
Ground stock is finite and is being replaced from a market that costs more and lands later than the one that filled it.
Stock across 11 US cities and 16 depots. The live inventory matrix is the source of truth for what is releasable today — not this page.
Book the slot, take the stock, or both.