Shipping Container Lock Box Usage and Installation

What is a shipping container lock box and how can it better secure your storage container?

A shipping container lock box is a small steel rectangular box that is mounted to the door of a shipping container. The steel box acts as a protective housing for a padlock, while the padlock itself secures the doors of your container. The lock box is effectively an additional security measure for your storage container. Access to the padlock is very limited when a lock box is fitted, making removal of the padlock with bolt cutters, an angle grinder or any other cutting tool virtually impossible.

The majority of new one trip shipping containers sold by Conex Depot in North America are now manufactured with a lock box as standard equipment. Double door shipping containers have lock boxes at both ends of the container (on both sets of doors). Open side shipping containers have lock boxes fitted to each set of opening doors.   

Older used wind and water tight and cargo worthy grade shipping containers generally don’t come with lock boxes fitted, but a lock box can be added to any storage container. There’s two varieties of lock boxes available. The weld on type and the bolt on type. The weld on type is cheaper to purchase and fairly easy to install if you have access to a welding machine. The bolt on type is more expensive to purchase and requires drilling holes in the door of your storage container.

When choosing a lock to use with your lock box we suggest a D-shaped shipping container lock. These can be purchased for around $30 on Amazon. If your shipping container does not have a lock box and you don’t want to install one you can still securely store your items using a standard padlock on the door locking bar. The problem is that the padlock is exposed and easily tampered with making your container vulnerable to break ins.