Freight Desk

Warehouse Rent per Square Foot

Break a warehouse lease down to what it actually costs — per square foot, per year and per month. Add your pallet positions and get the cost per position too, ready to weigh against a 3PL quote.

Getting to cost per square foot

Warehouse rent lands as one number, but you compare space by the square foot. Take the annual rent and divide by the total square footage. If your lease is quoted monthly, multiply by twelve first, then divide. Split the annual figure by twelve again and you have the monthly rate.

Rent per sq ft / year = annual rent ÷ square feet

Cost per pallet position

Square feet tell you about the lease; pallet positions tell you about storage. Divide the annual rent by the number of positions the building holds and you get a per-position cost — the number to set next to a 3PL’s per-pallet storage quote, or to feed into a full storage-cost analysis.

Rent is only the shell cost. A full storage cost also carries labor, equipment, and utilities — that’s a Pro tool coming to this desk.