Buffalo Storage Containers for Rent or Sale

Buffalo has a reputation for snow, and it is deserved, but the more useful fact for a container buyer is that the snow comes off Lake Erie in bands. One neighborhood gets a foot while another stays dry. Where your site sits relative to the lake matters more than anything on a map of the whole region.

Plan for winter before you order

A container in a Buffalo winter gets buried in stages. Snow piles up on the roof and then slides down the side, often right on the doors. Drifts build against the long wall where the wind sweeps over it. And the ground freezes, then thaws, then freezes again, tilting a box that was level in October.

The fixes are the same every year. Point the doors away from the prevailing wind, which here usually means away from the lake, so a drift does not seal you out. Block the box on gravel or timbers so it drains. Leave room to plow around it. Knock the snow off the roof before a thaw so it does not drop in front of the doors. Do not assume somebody will come back to clear a path on a snow day. They will not, and the driver sent to collect it will turn around.

Condensation is the other winter issue. Warm air from the contents meets a cold roof and drips. Vents on both ends help, and an insulated box helps more. Anything fragile, such as paper or wood furniture, should not sit in an uninsulated box all winter. Pickup is the part people forget. A box that sat through the winter has to be dug out, and the truck needs bare ground under its tires, so schedule the return for April or May if you can.

Where the work is

Buffalo is in the middle of a long rebuild. The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus on the edge of downtown keeps growing, and construction around Canalside, the waterfront, Larkinville and the grain elevator district keeps contractors busy. Old industrial buildings, many of them left over from the steel and grain days, are being converted into apartments, offices and breweries, and each conversion starts with a container for tools and materials.

Out in Lackawanna, along the Outer Harbor and in the industrial strip of Tonawanda, manufacturers and logistics companies rent boxes for overflow. Snow days cancel deliveries, so an order placed in January can slip by a day or two. Hospitals, schools and the city's many older churches rent them for renovations. Homeowners in Elmwood Village and the suburbs rent them for kitchen or roof projects, usually in summer.

Grades and sizes for lake-effect country

A used cargo-worthy box is fine for lumber and landscaping equipment. For paper records, cabinets, appliances or anything else a leak would ruin, ask for wind and watertight, and have the provider show you the roof. Snow load is real. A flat roof that has pooled water for years may sag, and a sagging roof leaks the first time it rains. A 20 foot box is the default for homeowners and small contractors. Businesses that handle pallets prefer a 40 foot or a high cube, as long as the lot is long enough to turn the truck.

Think about where you will keep it in January. A box tucked behind a building with the doors toward a plowed lane is easier to reach than one in the open corner of a field. Ask whoever plows the lot to leave a clear path.

Suburbs and the northern run

North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls are a short drive north on I-190. A Buffalo provider usually reaches them without a trip charge, but a provider based in Niagara County may be closer and cheaper. If you are in Niagara Falls, ask both. Traffic on the I-190 and the Scajaquada Expressway can slow deliveries, so a mid-morning window is easier.

Buying a used box here

Buffalo is a long way from the ports. Used boxes are trucked in from New York and New Jersey, or from Cleveland and other rail points, and the price shows it. Buying makes sense for businesses that expect to keep one for years. For a one-season project, rent. If you do buy, check the roof for pooled water stains and the floor for rot. Winters here find every patch job.

Rust is a particular concern because road salt gets into everything. A box that sits near a parking lot or a road gets salt spray all winter, and its bottom rails suffer. Rinse them in spring if you can.

Rules and what goes in the quote

Buffalo, Niagara Falls and the surrounding towns each have their own rules on containers in residential areas, and the lake effect often keeps a box on a driveway longer than planned. Check with your city or town. Contractors on a job site usually deal with it themselves.

Make sure your quote lists delivery and pickup, the box grade and the lock. Ask what happens if a snowstorm delays pickup. Some providers charge extra rent for the delay, and some do not. It is better to know in October than in January. And if you need access in winter, tell the provider, because a truck that cannot reach the pickup spot will not keep the schedule.

Looking for a different city? Here are some nearby.

Other Buffalo business topics.