35+ Warehouse Industry Statistics to Know in 2024

The warehouse industry is an essential part of the global supply chain and plays a significant role in the success of businesses across various sectors. As e-commerce continues to grow, the demand for warehouses is increasing, leading to a rise in market size and revenue.

In this article, we've worked hard to put together the latest global warehouse industry statistics. We've looked at the most recent studies, reports, and even obtained white papers that are not available publicly. From warehouse automation to safety and market size, this article provides a comprehensive overview of the warehouse industry's current state and future outlook.

Global warehouse statistics

• In 2020, there were approximately 151,000 warehouses all across the globe. 25,500 of these were located in North America. (Statista)
• Because of the e-commerce boom, the global number of warehouses is expected to reach 180,000 by 2025. (Statista)
• The number of SKUs in a warehouse can impact its efficiency, with higher SKU counts leading to increased difficulty in managing inventory. (WERC)
• The general warehouse segment holds the largest market share, comprising approximately 70% of all major warehouse types. (Technavio)
• By 2025, an estimated 4 million commercial warehouse robots will be installed in over 50,000 warehouses. (G2)
• A projected 15% to 20% growth in cross-border e-commerce will increase the demand for modern warehouses and automation systems. (G2)

Market and industry trends for warehousing

• In 2022, the public storage and warehousing industry has generated $34 billion in revenue, as measured by the market size. (IBISWorld)
• As of 2023, the United States has 19,439 businesses operating in the public storage and warehousing sector. This is an increase of 1.2% from 2022. (IBISWorld)
• The average corporate profit percentage in the warehousing sector is 10.49% on average, almost identical to 2022’s result of 10.58%. (Warehousing and Fulfillment)
• The states with the highest number of businesses in the Public Storage & Warehousing industry in the United States are California (3,799), Texas (2,602), and Ohio (1,438). (IBISWorld)

Warehouse automation statistics

• By 2026, the worldwide warehouse automation market is expected to exceed 30 billion U.S. dollars, up from 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Warehouse automation is the process of improving repetitive and labour-intensive operations that are traditionally carried out by human workers. (Statista)
• Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things are making automation technology more sophisticated and accessible, driving its adoption in warehouses. (MMH)
• It is estimated that robots will replace 40% of warehouse jobs by 2030. (Tarqan)

3PL warehouse industry statistics

• In the past 5 years (2018 to 2023), the market size of the Third-Party Logistics (3PL) industry in the US has grown 2.3% per year on average. (IBISWorld)
• As of 2021, the global third-party logistics (3PL) market had a valuation of $1.3 trillion, and it is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2022 to 2031, ultimately reaching a value of $2.8 trillion. (Allied Market Research)
• According to the 2022 Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Warehouse Benchmark Report by Extensiv, finding and retaining workers are the top two challenges for 3PL warehouses. (Extensiv)
• Domestic transportation, which makes up 86% of outsourced activities, is the most frequently outsourced supply chain function. Following closely behind is warehousing, with 66%, and freight forwarding with 44%. (3PL Study)
• 82% of shippers and 84% of 3PLs believe that demand for cold chain capacity will increase over the next three years. A majority of 3PL warehouses (72%) intend to continue expanding their cold chain capacity over the next 3 years to meet demands. (3PL Study)

Warehouse operations statistics

• 59% of warehouses report that they utilise more than 90% of their space, and 28% report that they utilise between 80% and 89%. (Extensiv)
• 89% of distribution centers are currently using racks and shelving, while 85% rely on forklifts. (G2)
• Labor costs take around 50% to 70% of a company's warehousing budget, making it the highest operating cost in a warehouse. (G2)
• 38% of US companies are planning to add more SKUs and barcode scanners for inventory accuracy. (G2)
• In 2018, the average number of SKUs in a warehouse was 13,985, up from 13,130 the previous year. (G2)
• 77% of organizations are serious about automated warehouse systems and mapping a plan to maximize data-driven performance. (G2)
• 87% of decision-makers in the warehousing industry report that they are in the process of planning the extension of their warehouses by 2024. (G2)
• The average size of a warehouse is 181,370 sq ft. There’s a continuing trend where the average warehouse size is increasing every year. (G2)

Warehouse safety statistics

• In 2021, there were approximately 5.5 workplace injuries per 100 full-time employees in the warehousing and storage sector. An injury or illness is considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. (BLS)
• According to a recent report from CBRE, warehouse rents in certain areas of the United States surged by 20% from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, reaching a little over $12 per square foot. (Business Insider)

Warehouse workforce demographics

• Over the last 10 years, the number of employees in the warehousing & storage industry has almost tripled in the US. In 2013, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 707,000 employees. In 2023, that number went up to 1,933,000. (BLS)
• For the first time in a decade, the growth of the number of employees in the warehousing industry in the US is coming to a halt.
  Except for early 2020 and a few minor blips, the number of employees in this industry has never been stagnant for more than 1 month. However, since July of 2022, we’re seeing a consistent decline every month until March 2023. The biggest drop was in November 2022, where there was a loss of 13,600 (0.7%) employees in just one month. (BLS)

• In the Transportation & Warehousing Industry, 74% of workers are male. (DataUSA)
• The average employee age in the warehousing and storage industry is 38.3 years. (DataUSA)
• Full-time employees in the Warehousing & storage Industry work on average 42.3 hours per week and have an average annual salary of $37,592, while part-time employees work 23.6 hours and earn an average annual salary of $17,124. (DataUSA)
• The most highly compensated professions in the warehousing and storage industry based on average salary are chief executives and legislators ($177,129), computer and information systems managers ($125,462), and financial managers ($111,593). (DataUSA)
• The least compensated professions in the warehousing and storage industry based on average salary are landscaping and groundskeeping workers ($15,667), graders & sorters ($15,063), and machine feeders and offbearers ($14,976). (DataUSA)

Related: Learn about 3PL Statistics, Logistics Industry Statistics, or Warehouse Automation Statistics.

References

• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1223289/warehouses-worldwide-region/
• https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES4349300001
  
• https://datausa.io/profile/naics/transportation-warehousing
• https://werc.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=20177565
• https://analysis.technavio.org/warehouse-market-analysis-research
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1094202/global-warehouse-automation-market-size/
• https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/third-party-logistics-united-states/
• https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/3PL-market
• https://www.extensiv.com/resource-library/report/2022-third-party-logistics-warehouse-benchmark-report
• https://www.3plstudy.com/ntt3pl/nttds_3pl.nttds_prior
• https://www.g2.com/articles/warehouse-automation-statistics
• https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/public-storage-warehousing-united-states/
• https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/public-storage-warehousing-united-states/
• https://datausa.io/profile/naics/warehousing-storage
• https://www.warehousingandfulfillment.com/resources/warehousing-services-costs-pricing-rates-and-fees/#2023
• https://www.mmh.com/article/mhi_and_deloitte_launch_2023_annual_industry_report_survey
• https://tarqan.com/blog/important-2023-warehouse-automation-statistics/
• https://www.statista.com/topics/8741/warehouse-automation-market-worldwide/
• https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag493.htm
• https://www.businessinsider.com/warehouse-rents-are-rising-amazon-industrial-real-estate-2022-4