"Joe Pfeiffer" wrote in message
...
"Hawke" writes:

Do you know why those shipping containers are so cheap these days when
everything else made of metal keeps going up? It's because all those
containers originate in China. They fill them up with goods headed for
the
US. In the old days the containers were filled with American goods going
elsewhere. Now, there is no merchandise to put in the containers to send
back to China. So the Chinese, rather than spending the money to ship the
empty containers back to China simply leaves them here and sends more
stuff
in new ones. It's cheaper to build new ones than to ship empty ones back.
Which shows you how free trade is a game in which we get beaten badly.
All
our money is going overseas for oil and goods is one of the reasons for
the
decline in the value of our currency. Kind of makes you wonder why a
country
that runs the world's biggest deficits in trade is so fond of free trade.
We're like a fighter that keeps wanting another rematch with a boxer that
is
a lot better than he is. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

While everything you say here is (sadly) true, it should be mentioned
that the comparison really isn't between the price of building a new
container vs. shipping the old one back, it's between building a new
container and selling the old one vs. shipping the old one back. I
wouldn't be surprised if, even at the prices they go for, they're
being sold at very close to their cost of construction.

I was amazed at the seeming glut of these things. They're sitting all over
with phone numbers to yards where there are many more. IIRC, the 40' was
$2900 delivered. Instant storage, and a good tight box. Looking forward to
modifying it. Saw one yesterday that was two side by side with about ten
foot between, and a roof over the whole thing. Doors and windows all over
the place. Like that center shaded area. But I bet the roof cost as much
as the containers. A guy could poor boy it if he could get past the local
inspector. We live in an Agricultural 1 zone, so our rules are more lenient
than on the other side of the crick where it's R1. Over there, you can't
even HAVE one on your property more than thirty days, allowing for the PODS
to move things in and out. But no longer than that.

Steve