The 2022 Warehousing and Fulfillment Costs & Pricing Survey gathers data from over 600 warehouses each year, with 62 targeted questions on costs, pricing, and performance metrics. Our data shows where costs are rising, whether you’re a 3PL provider, a retailer using fulfillment services, or a company managing your own warehousing.
All Survey Findings from 2017-2024:
What The 2022 Survey Results Mean for Warehouse Customers:
- Increasing Costs for Core Services: Customers are seeing higher costs in several key areas compared to 2021. Storage fees, for instance, have risen notably—pallet storage increased from $14.79 to $16.21, while bin storage costs decreased slightly from $4.07 to $3.18. Expect these changes to impact your overall warehousing budget.
- Fewer Discounts on Services: Warehouses are offering fewer discounts on services like pick and pack, where only 64% offer discounted rates in 2022, down from 72% in 2021. Similarly, the availability of discounted storage dropped from 49% to 38.7%. This means customers may find it harder to negotiate lower warehouse prices for fulfillment services.
- Higher Fees Across the Board: Additional fees, like account management and call center charges, have increased. Account management fees rose from an average of $160 to nearly $199 per month, and call center fees jumped from $0.85 per minute to $1.43 per minute. Customers should prepare for a rise in service costs as warehouses adjust their pricing structures.
- Consistent Shipping Rates: Despite rising costs elsewhere, some shipping-related expenses have remained stable. For instance, B2C pick and pack prices stayed consistent at $3.13 per order in both 2021 and 2022, providing some cost predictability in this area.
What The 2022 Survey Results Mean for Warehouse Owners
- Higher Labor and Space Costs: Owners are dealing with rising operational costs, particularly in labor and space. The hourly rate for warehouse staff increased from $14.00 in 2021 to $14.97 in 2022, while the cost per square foot of warehouse space rose slightly to $7.96 from $7.91. These small but steady increases in overhead will likely impact profit margins.
- Tightening Profit Margins: Reported corporate profit percentages saw a slight decrease, from 11% in 2021 to 10.58% in 2022, suggesting that rising costs are eating into profits. Warehouse owners need to focus on optimizing operational efficiency to offset these shrinking margins.
- More Pricing Flexibility Needed: With 80% of warehouses regularly increasing their prices (up from 61% in 2021), flexibility in pricing strategies is becoming crucial. Owners may need to balance the frequency of their warehousing price hikes with customer retention efforts, especially given that customer retention dropped slightly from 95.67% to 94.54%.
- Fewer Discounts May Affect Competitiveness: As fewer warehouses are offering discounts, both for pick and pack and storage services, this might affect competitiveness in attracting new customers. Offering alternative value-added services or loyalty programs could help retain customers without relying on constant discounting.
2022 Survey Results
For our survey, we’ve segmented questions and answers into four categories:
- Performance Results: Tracks how warehouses measure their performance, like order accuracy and inventory loss, with a focus on what’s changed.
- Agreement Term Results: Looks at how flexible contracts are, how often prices go up, and the trend of setting minimum spend requirements.
- Warehousing Costs for 3PLs: Breaks down the costs for warehouse space, staff wages, management pay, and how profit margins are shifting.
- Warehousing Costs and Discounts for Customers: Covers pricing changes for services like pick-and-pack, storage, shipping deals, and new fees popping up.
2022 Warehousing Performance Trends
| Performance Trends Questions | 2022 | 2021 | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| What percentage of warehouses measure their performance? | 73.44% | 86% | Significant decrease in reported warehouses measuring performance |
| What is the average number of orders per year overall? | N/A | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2023) |
| What is the average order-picking accuracy? | 99.36% | 99.21% | Reported picking accuracy has shown subtle improvements |
| What is the average inventory shrinkage? | 1.37% | 1.85% | Reported inventory shrinkage has decreased by half a percent |
| What is the average number of picks per hour per staff member? | N/A | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2023) |
| What percentage of customers do warehouses retain annually? | 94.54% | 95.67% | Slight reduction in reported customer retention |
2022 Warehousing Agreement Term Trends
| Agreement Term Questions | 2022 | 2021 | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you increase your pricing on a regular basis? | 80% of warehouses increase pricing on a regular basis | 61% of warehouses increase pricing on a regular basis | Notable increase in reported warehouses increasing prices |
| If you increase your pricing, what percentage do you use for the increase and how frequently do you increase pricing? | 3.9% average price increase annually, 37.1% of providers raise prices biennially | 5.59% average price increase annually | Notable decrease in reported annual price increases |
| What percentage of warehouses pay for shipping, picking, and inventory errors? | N/A | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2023) |
| What percentage of warehouses have a monthly minimum requirement? | 50.00% | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2022) |
| Minimum monthly spend requirement | $740.79 | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2022) |
| What percentage of warehouses offer discounted pick and pack rates? | 64.29% | 72.00% | Subtle decrease in reported warehouses offering discounted pick and pack rates |
| What terms do you offer with your agreements (month-to-month, annually, multi-year, no term, etc.)? | 56% offer month-to-month, 43.9% offer annual, 26% offer multi-year, 34.85% offer no-term | 46% offer month-to-month, 57% offer annual, 48% offer multi-year, 9% offer no-term | Notable decreases in reported flexibility and long term commitments |
| What percentage of companies offer discounted storage rates? | 38.71% | 49% | Notable decreases in reported companies offering discounted storage |
| For warehouses with multiple locations, what percentage charged the same rates? | 60% charge the same rates | 46% charge the same rates | Notable increase in reported warehouses charging the same rates across locations |
| What percentage of companies include carton fees in their pick-and-pack charges? | 30% | 38% | Notable decrease in reported companies including carton fees |
| What percentage of warehouses allow customers to use their freight rates? | 90.63% | 75% | Significant increase in reported warehouses allowing customers to use own rates |
| Do you have Commercial Plus pricing with USPS? | 68% | 64% | Consistency in reported companies using Commercial Plus pricing |
2022 Warehousing Costs for Customers
| Customer Cost Questions | 2022 | 2021 | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| What types of storage fees do warehouses charge? | $16.21 per pallet, $0.50 per cubic foot, $0.91 per square foot, $3.18 per bin | $14.79 per pallet, $0.45 per cubic foot, $0.75 per square foot, $4.07 per bin | Reported storage fees have seen fluctuations with cost per pallet showing notable increases and cost per bin showing notable decreases |
| Do you charge long-term storage fees, and if so, how much do you charge? | N/A | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2023) |
| What percentage of companies charge an account management fee, and what is the average fee? | 51%, $198.93 monthly fee | 60%, $160.10 monthly fee | Reported companies charging fees has decreased, while the monthly fee has seen notable increases |
| What percentage of warehouses charge setup fees, and what is the average setup fee? | 51%, $368 setup fee on average | 53%, $548.52 setup fee on average | Significant decrease in reported setup fees on average |
| What is the average integration fee to connect with a shopping cart? | $274 per integration | $447.14 per integration | Significant decrease in reported integration fees |
| What is the average cost of receiving? | $2.50 per SKU, $7.37 per pallet, $39.53 per hour, $396.88 per container, $2.46 per carton | $2.58 per SKU, $10.10 per pallet, $36.09 per hour, $441 per container, $2.91 per carton | Reported decreases in carton, SKU, pallet, and container receiving |
| What is the average B2C pick and pack price for a one-item order? | $3.13 | $3.13 | Reported B2C pick and pack prices have remained consistent year over year |
| What is the average B2B pick and pack price for a one-item order? | $4.33 | $4.27 | Reported B2B pick and pack prices have remained consistent year over year |
| What are the average call center fees? | $1.43 per minute | $.85 per minute | Significant increase in reported call center fees |
| What is the average kitting fee? | $39.60 per hour | $35.47 per hour | Significant increase in reported kitting fees |
| What is the average cost for inserts added to orders? | $0.23 per insert | $0.15 per insert | Notable increase in reported insert fees |
| How do you charge for shipping? | 63.49% cost-plus, 19.7% offer discounts off published rates | 64% cost-plus, 37% offer discounts off published rates | Notable decrease in reported discounts off published rates |
| What shipping discounts do warehouses offer for Ground, Express, International, and LTL services? | Ground: 21.82%, Express: 26.4%, International: 24.71%, LTL: 57.30% | Ground: 19.28%, Express: 25.06%, International: 24.18%, LTL: 56.40% | Reported shipping discounts have remained consistent year over year |
| What percentage of respondents charge returns fees, and what is the average price? | 89%, $3.62 per return | 95%, $5.28 per return | Significant increase in reporting return fees per return |
| How much do you charge for Amazon FBA orders and subscription box orders? | $0.56 per label, $1.50-$3.00 per order | $0.35 per label, $1.00-$5.00 per order | Significant increase in reported costs per label. Notable increase to costs per order |
2022 Warehousing Costs for Owners
| Ownership Cost Questions | 2023 | 2022 | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the yearly cost per square foot of warehouse space? | $7.96 | $7.91 | Reported cost per square foot have increased marginally year over year |
| What is the hourly rate of warehouse staff? | $14.97 | $14.00 | Reported hourly rates have seen modest increases year over year |
| What is the annual pay for warehouse management staff? | $52,897 | $55,854.92 | Interestingly, reported salaries for management staff have decrease by notable margins |
| What percentage of total revenues is represented by occupancy costs? | 25.22% | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2022) |
| What percentage of total revenues is represented by labor costs? | 33.09% | N/A | N/A - (Started question in 2022) |
| What is the average corporate profit percentage? | 10.58% | 11% | Reported corporate profits have decreases slightly year over year |
Warehouse Pricing Surveys: 2017 to 2024
- 2017 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2018-2019 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2020 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2021 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2022 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2023 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
- 2024 Warehousing Pricing, Warehousing Costs, Rates and Fees Result
