Louisville Storage Container Rentals and Sales

Kentucky ages its bourbon in barrels stacked in warehouses, and Louisville has plenty of buildings built for storing things. A steel box in the corner of a lot does not look strange here.

Who rents one here

Start with the airport. UPS runs its main air hub at Louisville International, and the logistics businesses around it use boxes for overflow, equipment and seasonal peaks. That traffic builds every fall and ends sharply after the holidays. Manufacturers, including the Ford plants and the parts suppliers around them, rent containers when a line is being retooled.

Distillers and bourbon-related businesses along Main Street, in Butchertown and Shively rent or buy boxes for packaging, cases and equipment. Horse owners and farms in Oldham and Shelby counties buy them for tack and feed. Around the first Saturday in May, Churchill Downs and the neighborhoods around it need extra storage for events, and rental companies stay busy.

Contractors working on downtown projects and on the new housing in Jeffersontown and Middletown use them as tool vaults. The University of Louisville rents them during summer renovation.

Hospitals and clinics downtown, in the medical district and out at the suburban campuses are a quieter source of demand. They rarely need the box for long. A records move or a department renovation means a few months of rental, then pickup. Those customers care more about the lock and the cleanliness of the box than about the price, and a good provider will swap a stained floor or a rusted door without argument. For medical records, request a box that has never leaked, and keep the contents off the floor.

Freeze, thaw and the Ohio River valley

Louisville gets four real seasons. Summers are hot and wet, and winters bring freezes and thaws that swing back and forth. That cycle is hard on a container. Water gets into seams, freezes, and pries them open a little more each time. Look at the roof and the door gaskets before you accept a used unit. A box with a dented roof will pond water.

Condensation is the other trouble. On a cold morning after a warm day, the inside of the roof sweats. Vents cut it down, and insulation cuts it further. Add a dehumidifier if you have power, and pay for insulation if you store paper or electronics.

The river itself floods from time to time. If your site is low near the Ohio, ask a provider to set the box on gravel or timbers well above the ground.

Crossing the river

Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany are in Indiana, a short drive over the bridges from downtown. Some Louisville providers cross freely, others price Indiana separately, and a few do not go at all. Providers in southern Indiana may be closer. Ask which side of the river the yard is on, and whether the quote already includes the drive. Delivery through downtown at rush hour can be slow when the bridge is backed up.

Jeffersontown and the east end are reachable without a fuss. Expect slower trips on I-64 and I-65 in the morning, and ask the dispatcher for a mid-morning or early afternoon window if you can wait.

Picking a size for what you actually have

People over-order and under-order in about equal numbers. A 10 foot box holds a small renovation's worth of furniture or the tools for a three-person crew. A 20 footer is the default for most jobs, roughly a one-bedroom apartment of stuff. A 40 foot box, or the high cube with its extra foot of height, makes sense for retail overflow, pallets and equipment. If you are between two sizes, go up. A full box with no aisle is a bad way to find things. A 40 footer also needs a straight run of roughly eighty feet to come off the truck, which many city lots cannot give.

Think about the door end too. On a long, narrow lot, the doors need to face the driveway. Tell the provider which direction you want them to point, because once the box is on the ground, turning it takes another truck.

Inland prices

Louisville is a long way from a port. Used containers arrive by rail and truck from the coast, so what you pay is higher than in coastal cities. Ask the provider where their stock comes from and how many boxes are on the yard right now. A provider who has to order one from out of state will quote you a longer wait.

Rules and your quote

Louisville Metro and the smaller cities within Jefferson County each regulate containers on residential property. Check before you order, and do not rely on a neighbor's story about what was allowed ten years ago. In Indiana, the cities and Clark and Floyd counties have their own rules. Commercial job sites are usually handled by the contractor.

• Delivery and pickup fees, listed separately
• The box grade and its age
• Whether the provider will come back if the first delivery fails
• Any minimum rental term

If you only need a box for the week of Derby, the clock still runs on the monthly minimum. Most providers do not prorate a week.

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