Running npm install inside a docker container with a volume mount breaks for reasons unknown to me. Works without a hitch without the volume mount but same install procedure/package.json.
See related Github issue I filed (probably wrongfully) with npm/npm for details and reproduction steps: Install behaving unexpected, cannot determine why, pointers on obtaining more debug info welcome · Issue #19337 · npm/npm · GitHub
Docker version 17.11.0-ce, build 1caf76c