---
title: "portable storage: Definition and Meaning | NPSA"
description: "Portable storage is storage in a container, trailer or similar unit that can be moved to the customer's site or elsewhere."
url: https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/portable-storage
publisher: National Portable Storage Association (NPSA)
phone: "(816) 960-6552"
email: info@npsa.org
---

Industry and products

# portable storage

Portable storage is storage in a container, trailer or similar unit that can be moved to the customer's site or elsewhere. NPSA describes portable storage containers as ISO shipping containers retired from international shipping and offered for rent and purchase on the domestic market. NPSA also includes trailers and mobile offices in the industry.

## Why it matters

For a homeowner, portable storage can mean a unit delivered to the driveway. For a contractor, it can mean a locked box on a jobsite. For a retailer, it can be extra space in peak season. NPSA is the trade association for the portable storage industry. A common mistake is to treat the term as one product. It covers containers, trailers, mobile self-storage units and mobile offices. Many companies use the terms portable storage and mobile storage in the same way, though some use them differently. Ask a provider what it means by the term.

[Read: Portable storage containers](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/portable-storage-containers)

Definition source: [npsa.org](https://www.npsa.org/portable-storage-containers.html)

## Related terms

[### mobile storage Mobile storage is storage that moves to the customer. The term is often used the same way as portable storage. NPSA's mobile self-storage page describes an empty mobile storage container delivered to your location, loaded at your own pace, then moved to a new place. Companies define the term differently.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/mobile-storage)[### portable storage container A portable storage container is a container made for rent or sale as movable storage. NPSA describes portable storage containers as ISO shipping containers retired from international shipping and offered on the domestic market. In practice the term also covers other portable units.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/portable-storage-container)[### storage trailer A storage trailer is a trailer used as a movable storage space instead of for hauling cargo from place to place. It has a floor, walls, a roof and doors at one end or both. NPSA members rent, lease and sell storage trailers, often in standard lengths from 28 to 53 feet.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/storage-trailer)[### mobile self-storage Mobile self-storage is a service where an empty storage unit is delivered to your location. You load it at your own pace, and the company picks it up and moves it to a new place for unloading or to storage. NPSA describes it as removing the hassles of traditional static self-storage facilities.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/mobile-self-storage)[### mobile office A mobile office is an office space that is built and finished off site, then delivered ready to use. It can be a converted storage container, a trailer or a modular building. Standard units typically come with insulation, finished walls, flooring, electrical wiring, lighting, a personnel door and a window.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/mobile-office)[### NPSA NPSA is the National Portable Storage Association, a trade association for the portable storage industry. It serves companies that work with portable containers, trailers, mobile offices and portable or mobile storage units, and the businesses that supply them. It is a membership group, not a company that rents or sells storage to the public.](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/npsa)

[All 220 terms](https://npsa.preview.multisites.ai/glossary)

For the industry

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