We already have several industries around "containerized" homes. There are pre-fab houses, there are RVs, and there are "mobile homes".
Shipping container as a home just seems like function trying to follow form. Shipping containers looks industrial-cool, but from everything I have ever been able to find on them, they make terrible houses.
We do not have a space or money problem, we have a legislative one. Building height limits, NIMBYs and other laws affect how many homes are built. We have plenty of space in the sky to build 12+ story buildings for housing, but we don't.
""" But for his nonprofit, which wants to build affordable homes at scale, “factory-built from scratch with lumber and steel would make a lot more sense from a cost standpoint.” """
If you're just using it as a prebuilt structure for a permanent dwelling then prefab would make much more sense.
An RV, however, can absolutely fulfill that requirement.
I'm not sure how you'd transport an RV to a different continent but I bet it wouldn't be as cheap as shipping a container. Also, to use it you'd have to get it road registered in every country you passed through, which would be an expensive pain.
One thing a shipping container house has going for it: The structure itself is guaranteed to be earthquake proof, assuming you don't cut too many doors or windows. It could sink into liquifaction'ed soil and still be structurally sound.
Of course, the interior finished walls and furnishings may be a problem, the the container itself should survive nearly any size earthquake.
Containers are appealing because they are cheap and can be lifted in by crane. The real estate guys are pushing for them, and in my city we’re fighting proposals to modify the zoning to allow them.