Used Barrels: How They Can Cut Shipping Costs
- By Cory Levins
- 2 may 2020
The costs of packaging and shipping can add up surprisingly quickly. A business that doesn’t carefully control their shipping costs may find their budget spiralling out of control, and smart businesses will find any opportunity they can to cut costs while maintaining safety and quality standards.
That’s why shipping with used barrels is a strategy that many businesses use successfully. Today, we’ll discuss why used barrels can be a game-changer for your business when it comes to shipping costs, and why the used barrels available from Air Sea Containers could be perfect for your business.
Used Barrels: Basic Facts to Know
Plastic shipping barrels and steel shipping barrels are the two most common types of barrel containers in use today. Both of these types of barrel can often be reused when they are professionally cleaned and sanitized, opening the door for potential savings for businesses that purchase used shipping barrels.
Air Sea Containers provides professionally reconditioned shipping barrels, both plastic and steel. Each type of used barrel goes through its own reconditioning process, including a high-heat furnace and pneumatic straightener for steel barrels. You can learn more about the shipping barrel reconditioning process on our blog.
Many types of goods can be shipped in a reconditioned barrel just as easily as they can be shipped in a new barrel. (For the exceptions, see “Used Barrels: Cautions and Caveats.”) If used barrels are suitable for shipping the goods your business sells, there are many potential advantages to using them for your shipping.
Why Used Barrels Can Save Your Business Money
A used barrel will almost always be available at a lower price point than a new barrel while providing most of the same benefits as a new barrel. These pricing examples provide an idea of how much money a business could potentially save by shipping in used barrels (or totes):
● New Closed-Head 55 Gallon Plastic Barrel: $53.00 / Reconditioned Closed-Head 55 Gallon Plastic Barrel: $38.00
● New Closed-Head 55 Gallon Steel Barrel: $58.50 / Reconditioned Closed-Head 55 Gallon Steel Barrel: $39.00
● New 275 Gallon IBC Tote: $239.00 / Reconditioned 275 Gallon IBC Tote: $199.00
When these numbers are applied at scale, it’s easy to see why used barrels can create substantial savings for businesses of many kinds. For example, using these numbers, a business that ships 5,000 plastic barrels per year could potentially save as much as $75,000 per year by using used barrels from Air Sea Containers, while a business that ships 50,000 steel barrels per year could potentially save a whopping $975,000.
So, although the previous numbers are hypothetical examples that would depend on shipping volume and market pricing, it’s clear that reconditioned shipping barrels can save a business money. Now, let’s look at the barrels that Air Sea Containers offers our customers.
Used Barrels from Air Sea Containers
Air Sea Containers offers numerous used plastic barrels for sale and used steel barrels for sale, including:
● 55 Gallon Closed Head Reconditioned Plastic Drum: These durable HDPE drums stand up to the toughest shipping conditions, feature a screw cap lid for controlled access, and are UN rated for hazmat shipping.
● 55 Gallon Closed Head Reconditioned Steel Drum: Nothing beats steel drums for strength and versatility, and these professionally reconditioned rums are also UN rated for hazmat shipping. Open head steel drum models are also available.
● 55 Gallon Open Head Steel Drums (As Is): For non-hazmat, non-food shipping applications, as-is steel drums can provide a great bargain. These drums are not UN rated, but they still offer great performance for less demanding shipping applications.
Used Barrels: Caveats and Cautions
Used barrels are not the right solution for every business. If your business ships food or beverage products, you will probably not be able to use reconditioned barrels, since they are not FDA approved. If your business ships hazardous materials, it’s also important to ensure that any used barrels you use are compliant with relevant UN and DOT shipping standards.
Most businesses find that reconditioning used barrels in-house is too labor- and capital-intensive unless the business has access to professional reconditioning equipment. As previously mentioned, steel barrels go through an intensive and specialized heat treatment process, and even plastic barrels need pressurized cleaning using special chemicals. Both types of barrels must also be leak- and pressure-tested, so many businesses find it much simpler and more cost-effective to purchase used plastic barrels for sale or used steel barrels for sale.
Start browsing our used barrels today to get started! For more information, call Air Sea Containers at (866) 596-9448 or contact our experts online at any time.
