Container resale, reuse and sourcing in France

Areas we cover

Le Havre, Marseille-Fos and Dunkirk each have their own page with sourced port context; Le Havre includes the Seine chain of terminals. Rouen and other French locations are handled on request: name the place in the form and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.

What owners can report

Owners, importers and NVOCCs with used, one-way, SOC, off-hire or damaged containers standing in France, or due there, tell us the type, the quantity and the release date. We look for a professional buyer or a reuse option and say plainly when nothing fits.

What buyers can register

Traders, storage users and conversion companies register a container type, a quantity range and how far they can collect, and whether the need repeats. Inland buyers matter here: a company near Paris may be closer to a river terminal than to any sea quay.

Currency and paperwork

France uses the euro and sits inside the EU customs territory, so a lot that arrives from outside the EU still needs its customs position clear before resale. That is for you and your agent; we ask what you know.

• France has been an EU member state since 1 January 1958, in the euro area since 1 January 1999 and in Schengen since 26 March 1995 (EU country profile).

Sources: european-union.europa.eu · verified 2026-09-30

• HAROPA PORT describes a logistics hub system with maritime terminals, a multimodal terminal and river terminals dedicated to container activity, extending from the confluence of the Seine to the gates of Paris.
• HAROPA PORT lists five container facilities at Le Havre: Terminal de l'Atlantique, Terminaux Nord, Terminal de France, Terminaux de Normandie and the Terminal multimodal du Havre.
• According to HAROPA PORT (21 January 2026, updated 25 March 2026), container traffic rose 4% in 2025 to a record of more than 3.2 million TEU for HAROPA PORT as a whole (Le Havre, Rouen and the Paris-region river terminals), not for Le Havre alone.
• According to HAROPA PORT, 145,000 TEU were moved by train to and from the hinterland in Le Havre in 2025, an increase of 18%.
• According to HAROPA PORT, the Terminal de l'Atlantique, operated by Hanseatic Global Terminals, has 1,300 metres of quay, 2 berths, 600,000 TEU of annual capacity and rail access with 3 tracks.
• The Port of Marseille Fos lists three major private container terminals: MedEurope Terminal, Terminal de la Méditerranée and Fos 2XL Terminal (page undated).
• According to the Port of Marseille Fos, the Terminal de la Méditerranée is the largest container terminal in France, with a capacity of 1.5 million TEU, operated by Eurofos/Portsynergie (page undated).
• According to the Port of Marseille Fos, the port has the longest quay in Europe, 2.6 linear km (page undated).
• According to the Port of Marseille Fos, its reefer areas have more than 1,000 plugs (page undated).
• According to the Port of Marseille Fos, it offers quayside rail connections, river connections via the Rhône and road connections to Europe (page undated).
• According to Dunkerque-Port (page undated), since mid-2022 the 4 dry port tracks at the container terminal were extended from 350 metres to 850 metres, so that entire trains can be accommodated in one piece.
• According to Dunkerque-Port, the terminals and industrial port area generate 10 million tonnes of rail traffic and 3 million tonnes of waterway traffic a year (page undated).
• According to Dunkerque-Port, the Dunkerque-Valenciennes wide-gauge canal enables 3,000-tonne vessels to reach the main inland ports of the Nord/Pas-de-Calais area (page undated).
• According to Dunkerque-Port, its rail network connects to the North-East rail freight artery serving the Grand Est region, Germany, the Rhône corridor and Italy (page undated).
• Dunkerque-Port says container activity has tripled over the past 10 years and that it is leading the CAP2020 project, which aims to double its container handling capacity by 2028 (page undated).

Sources: haropaport.com · haropaport.com · haropaport.com · marseille-port.fr · dunkerque-port.fr · dunkerque-port.fr · verified 2026-09-30

• Dry containers (20DC / 40DC / 40HC): on request — tell us what you have or need in France and we will say honestly whether we can help.
• Damaged / AS-IS units: on request — tell us what you have or need in France and we will say honestly whether we can help.
• Reefer: on request — tell us what you have or need in France and we will say honestly whether we can help.
• Open top / flat rack: on request — tell us what you have or need in France and we will say honestly whether we can help.
• Tank: on request — tell us what you have or need in France and we will say honestly whether we can help.
• We are also extending into further equipment and service categories. Tell us what you have or need if you do not see it above — we will say honestly whether we can help.