How do you calculate storage cost per pallet position?

Add up the annual cost of running the space — rent, labor, equipment, utilities, and overhead — and divide by the number of pallet positions. Divide by twelve for the monthly cost per position.

What is cost per occupied position?

You pay to run every position whether it holds a pallet or not, so the cost of the pallets you actually store is the total cost divided by occupied positions. At 85% utilization, each stored pallet carries the cost of the empty slots too.

Why compare storage cost per position to a 3PL quote?

A third-party logistics provider quotes storage per pallet per month. Reducing your own facility to a cost per position on the same basis lets you compare running your own space against outsourcing it apples to apples.

Storage Cost per Pallet Position

Rent is only part of what a pallet position costs. Add labor, equipment, and overhead across all your positions to get the real monthly cost of a slot — and, if you add utilization, the cost of each pallet you actually store.

Total pallet positions (capacity)

Annual cost of running the space

Space / rent ($ / year)

Labor ($ / year)

Equipment ($ / year)

Utilities & other ($ / year)

Utilization (% occupied, optional)

Cost per position

$0.00

per position / month

Per position / year —

Per occupied position / month —

Per occupied position / year —

The full cost of a slot

A pallet position doesn’t just cost rent. It costs a share of the labor that puts pallets away and picks them, the equipment that moves them, and the utilities and overhead that keep the lights and racks running. Add the yearly total, divide by positions, and you have the real cost of a slot.

Cost per position = total annual facility cost ÷ pallet positions

Occupied vs. total

Here’s the catch: you pay for every position whether it holds a pallet or not. So the pallets you do store each carry a piece of the empty ones. Add your utilization and the tool also shows cost per occupied position — the honest cost of each stored pallet. Run at 85% and every stored pallet quietly absorbs the 15% sitting empty.

This is the number to set beside a 3PL’s per-pallet storage quote — same basis, real comparison.