20+ Warehouse Industry Statistics: A Must Know in 2024
The warehouse industry is critical to global supply chains and supports businesses and economies. With that in mind, we’ll cover essential warehouse industry statistics to help you understand its impact and growth.
Warehouse Industry Statistics: Key Numbers
- The global warehousing market was $1.01 trillion in 2023 and is expected to grow 8.1% from 2024 to 2030.
- As of 2023, the U.S. has over 21,000 warehouses, up from 14,600 in 2007.
- Personnel costs make up 56.7% of the overall warehouse cost structure.
- US warehousing and storage was $86.1 billion in 2023 and expected to reach $107. billion by 2032, growing 2.4%.
Source: (Warehousing and Fulfillment, Leeline Sourcing, Grand View Research)
Global Warehouse Market Size
The warehouse market is growing very quickly, and each year it is expected to grow even more. Here’s what the future holds:
| Year | Warehouse Market Size (in trillion dollars) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $1.0 |
| 2024* | $1.08 |
| 2025* | $1.17 |
| 2026* | $1.26 |
| 20278 | $1.37 |
| 2028* | $1.48 |
| 2029* | $1.6 |
| 2030* | $1.72 |
Source: Statista
Warehouse Management System Usage (2015-2021)
The use of warehouse management systems has gone up and down over the years, reflecting changes in the industry and users’ needs. There is not a clear upward trend. Here’s how the usage varied from 2015 to 2021 based on industry data:
| Year | Usage of WMS (%) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 85% |
| 2016 | 83% |
| 2017 | 87% |
| 2018 | 93% |
| 2019 | 85% |
| 2020 | 85% |
| 2021 | 83% |
Source: Statista
Warehousing Cost Breakdown
Warehousing costs break down into a few main areas, with the biggest part going to personnel and buildings. According to Leeline Sourcing, here is the expense breakdown:
- Personnel: 56.7%
- Buildings/Site: 28.7%
- Machinery: 5.1%
- Interior: 4.6%
- IT/Hardware: 3.2%
- Others: 1.7%
Source: Leeline Sourcing
Major issues in Warehouse Operations
Warehouse operations face numerous challenges, including staffing issues, outdated equipment, and insufficient inventory space. Here’s what businesses face on a daily basis:
- 59% of warehouses/DCs struggled to attract and retain a qualified hourly workforce.
- 36% of facilities faced insufficient space for inventory or required modifications.
- 36% reported challenges in attracting and retaining qualified supervision.
- 36% experienced issues with outdated storage, picking, or material handling equipment.
- 21% had inadequate information system support.
- 15% lacked SKU weight and dimension information in their system.
- 23% dealt with an obsolete layout for current requirements.
- 8% faced a lack of higher management support.
- 33% were challenged by the surge in e-commerce volume.
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
Warehousing Equipment & Technology Spending
A wide range of budgets are used by businesses to invest in warehousing technology and equipment. According to Peerless Research Group (PRG), these costs are being split up like this in 2021:
- 44% spent less than $250,000.
- 6% spent between $250,000 and $499,999.
- 11% spent between $500,000 and $999,999.
- 15% spent between $1 million and $2.49 million.
- 6% spent between $2.5 million and $4.9 million.
- 6% spent between $5 million and $7.49 million.
- 2% spent between $7.5 million and $9.9 million.
- 4% spent $10 million or more.
- 6% were unsure about their spending.
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
Materials Handling Systems in Use
Materials handling systems, such as forklifts and advanced robotics, play an important role in warehouse efficiency. Here’s a breakdown of the systems currently in use:
| Material Handling System | (%) in Use |
|---|---|
| Forklifts | 83% |
| Push Carts | 55% |
| Conveyors | 37% |
| Vertical Lift Modules | 25% |
| Palletizer | 19% |
| Robotics/Articulating Arms | 12% |
| Sorters | 12% |
| AGVs/AMRs | 9% |
| Carousels | 9% |
| Other | 6% |
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
The Most Congested Area in Warehouses
Some areas of a warehouse may be more crowded than others, which can slow down operations and make the warehouse less efficient. According to Peerless Research Group, these are the most crowded places:
| Area | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Storage area | 29% |
| Receiving dock | 24% |
| Shipping dock | 21% |
| Pack area | 9% |
| Pick area | 7% |
| E-commerce processing | 4% |
| Value services processing | 4% |
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)