Where we
deliver.
Put your postal code in the form and the quote comes back delivered rather than ex-yard — which is the only number worth comparing.
16 states, 87 metro markets, all quoted from one yard at 10275 Page Industrial Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63132. Reverse logistics is a radius business — the economics of moving an empty container depend on how far it travels and whether a truck was already going that way. So every page below carries real road distance, LTL transit, a per-unit freight ladder and the backhaul terms for that specific market, rather than a national average.
Why St. Louis
Geography, and it was not an accident. Within roughly a day's drive of Page Industrial Boulevard sit more generators of used intermediate bulk containers than from almost anywhere else in the country: the Illinois and Iowa agricultural belt, the Ohio valley food processors, the Gulf-adjacent chemical corridor, the Arkansas and Tennessee distribution hubs, and the Kansas City food and animal-health cluster.
That radius is why our freight is cheap and our turnaround is measured in days. It is also why 27 of the 87 markets on this page sit inside 300 road miles — close enough that collections are free, transit is one or two days, and will-call is a genuine option.
Lane frequency matters more than mileage
Our outbound trucks deliver reconditioned units and would otherwise return empty. Collecting your empties on that return leg costs us the deviation and the loading time and almost nothing else — which is why buyback pickups of twenty or more units within about 400 miles normally ship free.
The consequence is that a market on a weekly corridor 300 miles out is cheaper to serve than one 90 miles out in a direction we never drive. Each state page states its lane frequency: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee are weekly, the rest fortnightly or monthly.
What we will tell you honestly
When there is a closer supplier. At 800-plus miles, a four-unit order carries freight that approaches or exceeds the value of the goods, and a customer who discovers that on the invoice is not a customer again. Where we genuinely compete at distance is truckload volume and scarce formats — documented food-grade stock and matched 330 gallon units are harder to source locally than ordinary technical grade.
Freight, at a glance
- Under 60 mi
- Will-call, or a short local run
- 60 – 175 mi
- 1 business day; will-call practical
- 175 – 350 mi
- 1 – 2 days; free collection at 20+
- 350 – 600 mi
- 2 – 3 days; shared collection freight
- 600 – 850 mi
- 3 – 4 days; partial truckload or wait
- Over 850 mi
- Truckload only, honestly
Three things to send
- Delivery postal code
- Quantity — and whether it could flex upward
- Dock? Forklift? Neither?
With those three the quote is right first time, accessorials included.
Freight arithmeticSixteen states
Each state page covers the local industries that drive container demand, what grade that market actually needs, and the freight and lane reality.
Arkansas (AR)
weekly lane · 5 markets
Poultry, rice and trucking. Arkansas is a high-UV state where sleeve-protected technical grade does most of the work, with concentrated food-grade demand in the north-west.
Colorado (CO)
monthly lane · 4 markets
Brewing, agriculture and construction water, at the far edge of our economic range. Truckload or a closer supplier — we will tell you which.
Illinois (IL)
weekly lane · 7 markets
Our densest intake state. Corn processing, agricultural chemistry and the Chicago industrial base put more containers into our yard than anywhere else, and the Metro East is effectively a suburb of the plant.
Indiana (IN)
weekly lane · 5 markets
Pharmaceutical, automotive and corn. Indiana produces the best-documented intake in our service area and buys across the whole grade range.
Iowa (IA)
weekly lane · 6 markets
Corn, soybeans, hogs and ethanol. Iowa is both a major intake source and a major market, with a strong seasonal spring peak and genuine hard-freeze constraints.
Kansas (KS)
weekly lane · 6 markets
Wheat, cattle and aviation. Kansas demand is overwhelmingly agricultural and overwhelmingly technical and Grade A, with a concentrated industrial pocket around Wichita.
Kentucky (KY)
weekly lane · 5 markets
Bourbon, automotive and river industry. Kentucky's distilling industry makes it the most stainless-hungry state in our service area relative to its size.
Michigan (MI)
monthly lane · 5 markets
Automotive fluids, food processing and horticulture. Michigan is Grade A country, with a significant greenhouse and nursery market that nobody expects.
Minnesota (MN)
monthly lane · 5 markets
Food manufacture, medical devices and the hardest freeze in our service area. Minnesota buys documented stock and needs genuine winter discipline.
Missouri (MO)
weekly lane · 7 markets
Our home state and the only one where will-call collection is practical from almost anywhere. Agriculture dominates the west, food processing the centre, chemical and industrial the St. Louis corridor.
Nebraska (NE)
fortnightly lane · 5 markets
Cattle, corn and centre-pivot irrigation. Nebraska buys technical and Grade A in volume, and the distances mean consolidation matters more here than almost anywhere.
Ohio (OH)
fortnightly lane · 6 markets
The densest chemical manufacturing base in our service area. Ohio demand is compatibility-led, documentation-heavy and almost never about price alone.
Oklahoma (OK)
fortnightly lane · 5 markets
Oil-field services, cattle and wheat. Oklahoma demand is tough-duty: units get used hard outdoors, so cheap technical grade plus a UV sleeve is usually the right answer.
Tennessee (TN)
weekly lane · 5 markets
Distribution, automotive and whiskey. Tennessee splits into three unrelated container markets stretched across five hundred miles of state.
Texas (TX)
fortnightly lane · 6 markets
The largest industrial chemical market we serve, and the one where the answer is most often stainless rather than poly. Long distances mean truckload economics or nothing.
Wisconsin (WI)
fortnightly lane · 5 markets
Dairy, brewing and paper. Wisconsin is the most food-grade-hungry state we serve relative to its size, and the hardest freeze country on our regular routes.
Markets inside 300 miles
Where collections are free, transit is one or two days, and driving to the yard is a real option.
| Market | State | Road miles | Lane |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | MO | the yard | weekly |
| Granite City | IL | 15 mi | weekly |
| Springfield | IL | 100 mi | weekly |
| Cape Girardeau | MO | 115 mi | weekly |
| Columbia | MO | 125 mi | weekly |
| Decatur | IL | 135 mi | weekly |
| Evansville | IN | 165 mi | weekly |
| Peoria | IL | 170 mi | weekly |
| Paducah | KY | 170 mi | weekly |
| Champaign | IL | 180 mi | weekly |
| Terre Haute | IN | 180 mi | weekly |
| Springfield | MO | 215 mi | weekly |
| Owensboro | KY | 230 mi | weekly |
| Davenport | IA | 240 mi | weekly |
| Indianapolis | IN | 245 mi | weekly |
| Jonesboro | AR | 250 mi | weekly |
| Kansas City | MO | 250 mi | weekly |
| Kansas City | KS | 255 mi | weekly |
| Louisville | KY | 260 mi | weekly |
| Olathe | KS | 265 mi | weekly |
| Joplin | MO | 280 mi | weekly |
| Memphis | TN | 285 mi | weekly |
| Bowling Green | KY | 290 mi | weekly |
| Chicago | IL | 295 mi | weekly |
| Cedar Rapids | IA | 300 mi | weekly |
| St. Joseph | MO | 300 mi | weekly |
| Jackson | TN | 300 mi | weekly |
Service area questions
Do you only sell within these states?
No — we ship anywhere in the continental United States, plus Canada and northern Mexico by arrangement. These sixteen states are the ones where we run regular lanes, which means better freight, shorter transit and free backhaul collection on buyback. Outside them the goods are identical and the freight is simply quoted on the day.
Why does the freight differ so much between two cities the same distance away?
Because distance from St. Louis is less important than distance from a lane we already drive. A pickup 300 miles out on a corridor we run weekly is cheaper for us than one 90 miles out in a direction we never go. Each city page states the lane frequency as well as the mileage.
What does 'free collection on 20+ units' actually depend on?
Four things: proximity to an existing route, enough units to justify the stop, loadability at your end — a forklift and hard standing, ideally a dock — and some flexibility on the day. 'Any Tuesday in the next three weeks' gets a free collection far more often than a fixed date.
Is will-call collection from the yard worth the drive?
Under about three hours, frequently yes, especially below ten units where per-unit freight is at its worst. You also get to inspect pallets by hand before paying, which nobody buying by freight gets to do. Beyond about four hours each way it stops making sense against a consolidated delivery.
Do your prices change by state?
The goods do not. Grade bands are the same whether you are in Granite City or Lubbock. What changes is the freight line and the accessorials — liftgate, limited access, residential — which is why we quote delivered rather than ex-yard and why every location page carries its own freight ladder.
Send a postal code with your quantity
Delivered cost is the only number worth comparing, and it is the one we will give you — accessorials included.