Quick Answer: Shipping containers for sale in Aurora come from Van Blanc’s 4 Brantford yards, 148 km away by Highways 403, 401 and 404. Sizes run 10ft to 53ft plus reefers, new and used. We hold 4.9 stars across 140+ Google reviews. Most Aurora orders arrive within 1-3 days, paid on delivery.
Aurora sits inside our GTA and York Region delivery hub. The hub lists every grade and how delivery works across the region. Neighbouring pages cover Toronto at the south end of Yonge Street, Markham, south-east down the 404 and Whitchurch-Stouffville next door.
What This Aurora Container Guide Covers
Reading time: about 15 minutes
Shipping Containers for Sale in Aurora
Aurora buyers get shipping containers for sale straight from Van Blanc’s 4 Brantford yards, trucked north to York Region on our own tilt-deck trucks. By definition, a shipping container is a steel freight box made to ISO sizes: 8 ft across, double cargo doors on one end, and a cast fitting at each corner. In Aurora you will hear it called a sea can, a c-can or a storage container, and all three mean the same box. We sell new one-trip containers ready for an Aurora lot and used boxes graded by hand before they ship north, and you own whichever one you buy outright. Sea cans for sale in Aurora run from a 10ft box to a 53ft high cube.
Van Blanc is the LeBlanc family’s business: Paul LeBlanc founded it in 1995, and his son Christian LeBlanc runs the rows alongside him. The four Brantford properties hold 200+ containers in stock. Each carries its own container number, so an Aurora buyer can pick the exact unit in person or on a video call. Payment happens on delivery, once the box is sitting where you pointed. The same rows supply more than 160 Ontario communities, from the Niagara run to the top of York Region.
The Town of Aurora counted 62,057 residents in the 2021 Census, up from 55,445 in 2016. Around it, York Region’s own 2024 employment survey estimated 623,680 jobs at mid-year, spread across 32,470 surveyed businesses. That is a lot of houses, shops, plants and job sites within a short drive of Yonge Street, and most of them run out of room at some point. A sea can bought for the job and set on a gravel pad adds lockable floor space fast, with no foundation to pour.
Who Buys Sea Cans in Aurora
Aurora orders come from a few directions. Homeowners in the older streets around Yonge and Wellington and the newer subdivisions east of Bayview need room during a renovation. Owners of small shops and trades businesses want a lockable back-lot store. Builders on York Region job sites need a site office and a tool crib, and acreage owners toward the King and Whitchurch-Stouffville lines want a dry place for equipment. Each job points to a different size and grade, and the size and type lineup we carry covers every one of them.
Aurora Business Parks and Builds
Aurora’s business community is mostly small firms. The town’s community profile says Aurora is home to nearly 2400 businesses, and that 63% of them have one to four employees. It also lists Magna International, Bulk Barn Canada and Desjardins Insurance among the neighbours a new business would join. Small firms like that rarely have spare warehouse space. A 20ft container behind the unit becomes the stock room, the records archive or the spot where the van gets loaded each morning. The small-business guide to buying a first container walks through how owners size that kind of box.
Across York Region the survey picture is similar. York Region reports that small businesses with one to 19 employees make up 81% of the 32,470 businesses it surveyed in 2024. Manufacturing holds the highest share of employment, at 14%. Plants and the machine shops that feed them use containers as parts cages and overflow buffers, often a 40ft placed along the fence line of the yard. The standard 40ft dry box gives the most floor per delivery for that job.
Construction keeps Aurora’s sites busy too. Metrolinx is upgrading Aurora GO Station on the Barrie line. The list includes a second platform and track, a new exit at Berczy Street, and 380 overflow parking spaces at 9 Scanlon Court. Metrolinx ties that work to future all-day, two-way 15-minute service between Aurora and Union. Rail, road and housing jobs like these need locked steel on the ground for tools, fittings and small equipment for as long as the crew is there. The Ontario construction storage guide for builders covers how crews run several boxes across one project.
Sea Can Uses Around Aurora
An Aurora sea can usually ends up in one of five jobs. Under each job you’ll find the box size and grade we would send for it, which keeps the quote call short.
Renovation Overflow on the Driveway
Kitchen gut jobs, basement finishing and additions all push furniture out of the house for weeks or months. A 20ft container on the driveway or a pad at the side of the lot holds a household’s furniture and boxes for the whole job, locked at night. This is the job the wind and watertight (WWT) grade was made for: its doors close and seal, and it keeps out weather and rodents. Buyers who want the box to look sharp next to the house order a new one. Our walk-through of buying a used box covers the WWT-versus-CW-versus-one-trip decision before the call.
Small-Business Stock and Records
A shop owner with a unit in an Aurora plaza or a home-based trades business needs somewhere to put seasonal stock, archived files and tools between jobs. A 20ft sea can on a back-of-property pad holds that overflow and locks with a lockbox over the handles. Storage containers in Aurora set up this way keep seasonal stock dry through the winter. Shelving and racking fit along both walls. Our sea can size chart shows what each unit holds.
Site Offices for York Region Builds
York Region keeps building, from road and rail work to new subdivisions and industrial units around Aurora. A 20ft one-trip container with a man door, a window and an office fit-out becomes the site office, and a second box on the same delivery holds tools and material. Van Blanc does that conversion work at the yard before delivery, from vents and lockboxes to insulation and interior finishing, listed on our modification options page.
Hobby Gear and Workshop Space
Classic cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, kayaks and the tools that go with them need a dry, locked room through an Ontario winter. A 20ft container fitted with insulation, lighting and a man door works as an off-season store or a small workshop. A high cube adds a foot of headroom for a bench and overhead shelving. 20ft uses across hobby and collector applications cover the typical configurations.
Estate and Hobby-Farm Storage
Larger lots on the edges of Aurora, toward King and Whitchurch-Stouffville, run horse trailers, ride-on mowers, hay and fencing supplies. A 40ft unit on these properties holds equipment and feed through the year, and its cargo doors open wide enough to back a ride-on mower straight in. Our guide to sea cans on Aurora estate lots goes deeper on painted and skirted placements behind a treeline.
Container Sizes Aurora Buyers Order
Container sizes for Aurora run from a 10ft box for a narrow side yard to a 53ft domestic high cube for a long industrial lot. What fits depends on the inside space, so the figures below are inside measurements, copied from Van Blanc’s spec pages.
| Size | Empty weight (tare) | Volume | Inside length | Inside width | Inside height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10ft dry for a tight side yard | approx. 1,300 kg (2,870 lb) | approx. 16 m³ (560 cu ft) | 2.99 m (9’10”) long outside | n/a | n/a |
| the 20ft most Aurora driveways take | 2,260 kg (4,982 lb) | 33.2 m³ (1,172 cu ft) | 5.898 m (19’4″) | 2.352 m (7’8″) | 2.385 m (7’10”) |
| 40ft standard | 3,780 kg (8,333 lb) | 67.8 m³ (2,395 cu ft) | 12.040 m (39’6″) | 2.337 m (7’8″) | 2.388 m (7’10”) |
| 40ft high cube, a foot taller inside | 3,980 kg (8,775 lb) | 76.1 m³ (2,689 cu ft) | 12.040 m (39’6″) | 2.337 m (7’8″) | 2.692 m (8’10”) |
| 53ft domestic high cube | 5,020 kg (11,070 lb) | 110.5 m³ (3,901 cu ft) | 15.951 m (52’4″) | 2.489 m (8’2″) | 2.769 m (9’1″) |
Between the 10ft and the 20ft sits our 12 ft unit for longer lumber, 3,658 mm long outside, with a floor footprint of 8.92 sq m (96 sq ft). Short boxes rotate through the yards quickly, so call 519-754-6844 to check which of the 8ft to 12ft boxes are on hand this week. A 40ft standard holds about double the volume of a 20ft on the same width. For an office or racking, the high cube’s taller door (2.597 m against 2.292 m on the standard 40ft) matters as much as the extra inside height.
Delivery to Aurora From Brantford
Delivery to Aurora leaves our Brantford yards on Highway 403, follows the QEW and Highway 427 to Highway 401, then runs north on Highway 400 or Highway 404. Tilt-deck and HIAB placement side by side shows the two ways a box comes off the truck. Aurora Town Hall on John West Way is about 148.3 km and 1 hour 54 minutes away by car, on the route the OSRM routing engine picks. That route turns north on Highway 404, while the GO station and Industrial Parkway North come off Highway 400. A loaded truck runs slower than a car, so treat the drive time as the floor, and the 401 at rush hour adds to it.
Fast 1-3 day delivery to every region across Ontario includes Aurora: most orders arrive within 1 to 3 business days of your go-ahead on an Aurora quote. Every quote comes with a real lead time, not a hopeful one. The driver calls ahead, backs the tilt-deck up to your spot, and slides the container off where you marked it. You pay once it is on your ground. How the tilt-deck sets a box on your pad shows the drop in photos.
Road Distances Across York Region
Distances below run from our east Brantford yards to points around Aurora and its neighbours. Measure your own drop spot against the straight run a tilt-deck needs to unload once you know which line is yours.
| Stop | Road distance | Car time | Last highway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Hill | 123.1 km | 1 h 39 min | Highway 400 to 407 ETR |
| King City | 125.6 km | 1 h 36 min | Highway 400 |
| Oak Ridges | 133.2 km | 1 h 46 min | Highway 400 |
| Aurora GO Station | 139.2 km | 1 h 53 min | Highway 400 |
| Industrial Parkway North, Aurora | 142.6 km | 1 h 53 min | Highway 400 |
| Newmarket | 145.9 km | 1 h 54 min | Highway 400 |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville | 147.4 km | 1 h 57 min | Highway 404 |
| Aurora Town Hall | 148.3 km | 1 h 54 min | Highway 404 |
| East Gwillimbury | 149.0 km | 1 h 56 min | Highway 400 |
Drops Near Aurora GO and Yonge Street
The older blocks around Yonge Street, Wellington Street East and the GO station have narrow lots, parked cars and overhead wires, and the station area has construction under way. A clearance checklist for overhead wires covers what to look up at. For a drop there, send a photo of the driveway from the street and one of the spot itself. The truck needs a path 12 ft wide or more and 14 ft clear overhead. If a tilt-deck cannot reach the spot, we talk through placement options before the day.
Pairing an Aurora Drop With Newmarket
Aurora sits between Newmarket to the north and Richmond Hill to the south, all on the same stretch of Highway 400. If your date has a day or two of give, mention it on the quote request. A flexible window lets us plan the York Region run around your drop. The quote still names a delivery day. Neighbours in Newmarket, just north on the 400 and Richmond Hill on the Yonge Street spine come off the same highway.
Site Prep on Moraine Lots
The Oak Ridges Moraine runs right through this part of York Region. Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing describes a landform stretching 160 kilometres from the Trent River in the east to the Niagara Escarpment in the west. It covers approximately 470,000 acres. For a container buyer the practical effect is rolling ground. Many Aurora lots slope, and a box set on a slope racks its frame and makes the doors bind.
No concrete slab is required under a sea can. What it wants is firm, level bearing under the four corner castings, where the load comes down. Compacted gravel, an existing slab or driveway, or timbers under the corners all do that job. On a sloped lot, level the pad first and keep water draining away from it, so the floor stays dry and the corners do not settle unevenly. Ties, blocks and gravel compared lays out each base, and building a gravel pad step by step covers the most common one.
Protecting Interlock and Stamped Concrete
Plenty of Aurora driveways are interlock, stamped concrete or fresh asphalt. A tilt-deck sets the back of the container down first, and steel on a finished surface can scuff or chip it. Laying 8×8 timbers under the contact points spreads the load and keeps the steel off the surface. For a finished driveway, ask about tilt-free placement at the quote stage, and tell us what the surface is.
Mature Trees and Lot Access
Many Aurora streets have mature trees over the driveway. The tilt-deck raises its bed to slide the box off, so branches over the approach and the drop spot matter as much as the width at the curb. Walk the route from the street to the pad and look up. If limbs hang lower than 14 ft, trim them before delivery day, or send a photo and we work out a different angle with you.
Container Grades Sold in Aurora
| Grade | Condition | Best fit for an Aurora buyer | Sizes available |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-Trip / New Build | One ocean crossing from Asia, essentially new, factory paint, 25+ year functional life | Street-visible residential placements and commercial site offices where appearance matters | 20ft and 40ft (standard and high cube) |
| Cargo Worthy (CW) | Used, structurally re-inspected for international shipping, surface rust, occasional dents | Commercial-build site offices and plant storage that carries heavy loads | 20ft and 40ft |
| Wind & Watertight (WWT) | Used, doors close, sealed against weather and rodents, surface rust, faded paint | Renovation overflow, hobby and collector storage, farm and estate equipment | 20ft and 40ft |
| As-Is | Older units with structural questions: floor damage, frame issues, or door problems | Donor shells for a yard-built conversion, or a buyer with an exact job in mind | 20ft and 40ft |
Each grade does a different job well in Aurora. A one-trip box arrives with factory paint and clean doors, the right pick for anything the street or a customer sees, and it holds its resale value longest. Cargo worthy (CW) boxes are typically 8 to 15 years old by our 20ft spec page. They have been checked as fit for ocean shipping, so the frame and floor take heavy loading. Wind and watertight boxes are typically 12 years old or more, dry and lockable, with more surface wear. As-Is shells suit buyers who plan to cut them up. Used shipping containers in Aurora come in any of those three used grades, and you pick yours by its container number. What each grade step adds to a quote is laid out rung by rung on our price ladder page. For shipping container prices in Aurora, send the size and your postal code through the quote form, and the reply is one delivered number.
Every grade is steel, and steel rusts where its paint breaks. One-trip boxes start with intact factory coating. Used boxes show surface rust on the panels, which you can brush back and repaint. Van Blanc can also paint a container to match your company colours or your property before it ships. Keeping water off the roof and the floor off wet ground does more for a box’s life than anything else.
Cheap Sea Can Listings Near Aurora
Some Aurora buyers ring us after finding a 40ft on a Facebook listing at a number well under every Ontario yard. The pattern is always the same: the seller wants a deposit up front, has no yard you can visit, and the box never shows. A fortnight later the buyer calls back with the deposit gone. Paul has run Van Blanc since 1995 and has heard that story from every corner of the province, York Region included. Read how the fake-listing scam works before paying anyone a deposit. To find the cheapest shipping container for Aurora, compare delivered numbers. A Van Blanc quote is one delivered number for your address, covering box, trucking and placement, and you pay it once the box is down.
Christian LeBlanc on the Driveway Question
The York Region corridor (Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan and Stouffville) sits at the far end of our GTA runs. Calls from Aurora tend to start with the driveway and end with what happens to the box after the job. Christian LeBlanc sums up the usual Aurora conversation this way.
Christian LeBlanc, second-generation operator: “Aurora calls are usually homeowners doing a serious renovation on a serious property, and they want to know two things: that the bin will not damage the driveway, and what happens to it once the contractor moves out. We dispatch the placement carefully, we give them honest grade options, and we talk through resale or buyback for when the project is done. Worth the drive for unbeatable quality, family customer service, and 30 years of operational experience across Ontario.”
Every size and grade we sell into York Region is on the full for-sale list, with sea cans for York Region buyers beside it. Builders working several sites down the corridor can also read about Vaughan, further south on the 400.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a shipping container cost delivered to Aurora?
The cost of a sea can delivered to Aurora comes down to its size and grade first. After that come the 148 km run from our Brantford yards and where the steel market sits that week. You get one figure that covers the container, the delivery and the placement, with no gate fees added later, and you pay on delivery. Call 519-754-6844 or request an Aurora delivered quote and we will send it back, usually the same day.
Will your truck damage my interlock or stamped-concrete driveway?
Not when the placement is planned for it. Timbers under the contact points keep the steel off interlock and stamped concrete, and tilt-free placement is the option for a finished driveway. Tell us the surface when you ask for the quote and the driver arrives ready for it.
Can you do short-term rental or pickup after a residential renovation completes?
No. Van Blanc only sells containers; there is no rental, lease or rent-to-own. An Aurora homeowner buys the box for the renovation, keeps it as storage afterward, or sells it on, and you can ask us about buyback when the job wraps up.
How fast can Van Blanc deliver to Aurora?
Most Aurora orders arrive 1 to 3 business days after you confirm. Aurora Town Hall is about 148 km from our Brantford yards by Highways 403, 401 and 404, and the quote names your delivery day before you commit.
Where is the closest container store to Aurora?
Van Blanc in Brantford. Our public yard at 90 Morton Avenue East is about 148 km from Aurora, roughly 1 hour 54 minutes by car. York Region buyers placing a larger order or asking for a paint colour can drive down and walk the rows. The yard opens weekdays at 9:30 in the morning.
Is a national portable-storage chain available in Aurora?
National chains sell into Aurora through regional dispatch. Van Blanc is a family business in Brantford, open since 1995. You can walk our public yard and see your box before paying, and customers give us 4.9 stars across 140+ Google reviews.
Can you deliver a colour-matched one-trip container for a high-end residential property?
Yes. New one-trip containers arrive in their factory colour, and Van Blanc can also paint a container to match your property before delivery. Tell us the colour at the quote stage. Cladding such as board-and-batten or metal panel can go on after delivery if you want the steel hidden.
Is the Oak Ridges Moraine going to affect where I can place a container?
On the delivery side, the moraine mostly means sloped ground. Level the pad, keep water draining away, and support all four corner castings. Permits are managed by your municipality, so ask the Town of Aurora’s building or planning staff before you order.
Can I keep a storage container on-site at my Aurora property year-round, or only short-term?
A 20ft or 40ft container you buy is yours to keep on your Aurora property for as long as you need it. On a level gravel pad it gives you locked, dry space through every season for renovation overflow, hobby gear or estate equipment. We deliver it on a tilt-deck and place it where you mark.
What is a sea container and is it the same as the sea cans you deliver to Aurora?
Yes. Sea container, sea can, c-can and storage container are all names for the same 8-foot-wide steel shipping container. Every size we stock, 10ft through 53ft and the reefers, goes to Aurora from our Brantford yards.
Do you offer a pod-style portable storage container for an Aurora move or renovation?
Van Blanc offers the container you own: a steel box bought outright, picked at our Brantford yards by its container number, and delivered to Aurora in 1 to 3 days. It stays as long as you need it, and you can sell it on when you are finished.
What can I use a 20ft storage container for at my Aurora home?
Aurora homeowners use a 20ft storage container for renovation overflow, off-season furniture and patio sets, bikes and snow gear, and business records. It adds lockable, dry space on the property without building anything.
Price a Box Delivered to Aurora
Tell us the size and your postal code and we’ll send back an honest, all-in number, container, delivery, and placement, usually the same day. No pressure, no mystery fees.
Family-run in Brantford since 1995 · 200+ containers in stock · 4.9★ across 140+ Google reviews · every box graded by a person, walk it before it lands.
Sources
- Town of Aurora. Town of Aurora, Community Profile and Site Selection Information (2021 and 2016 Census population, business count, neighbouring employers), checked October 2026.
- Regional Municipality of York. (2025). York Region, 2024 Employment and Industry Report, March 2025, checked October 2026.
- Metrolinx. Metrolinx, Barrie Line GO Expansion: Aurora GO Station, checked October 2026.
- Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Government of Ontario, Oak Ridges Moraine maps, updated December 20, 2023, checked October 2026.
- Project OSRM. Project OSRM, driving route from east Brantford to Aurora Town Hall (the same router gives every row of the York Region distance table), checked October 2026.
- ISO. International Organization for Standardization, ISO 6346:2022 container coding and marking standard (2022 edition), checked October 2026.
Seeing the Rows Before an Aurora Delivery
We have been supplying shipping containers across Ontario since 1995. Our public yard is at 90 Morton Avenue East in Brantford, and we deliver across the province with payment on delivery. No surprise fees, no chase-the-paperwork.
Van Blanc Ent. Inc., 90 Morton Ave E Unit 1B, Brantford, ON N3R 7J7. 519-754-6844
Aurora is about 1 hour 54 minutes from our yards by car, down Highway 404 and across the 401 to Highway 403. No appointment is needed to look. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and close at 5 p.m., or 4 p.m. on Fridays. Renovating homeowners, shop owners, builders and acreage owners from York Region all pick their unit in the same rows. Worth the drive for unbeatable quality, family customer service, and 30 years of operational experience across the GTA-North corridor.
Placement requirements vary by municipality. A quick call to your local planning office before delivery is the easiest way to confirm what works for your property.