Cold Storage Cost per Pallet Calculator
Enter your facility’s monthly costs, how full it runs and what a pallet costs to handle, and see what each pallet costs you to store, what rate earns your margin, and what a few points of utilization are worth. Everything runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Storage cost per pallet, per month
$74.38
About $2.45 a day, per occupied pallet.
- Storage rate at your margin
- $92.97
- Handling cost per pallet
- $8.03
- Handling rate at your margin
- $10.04
- Pallets in and out a month
- 1,622
- Total monthly cost
- $132,032
- Revenue needed
- $165,040
Empty positions cost you $23,800 a month to keep cold. Energy is 32% of your fixed costs.
What utilization is worth
| Full | Cost | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | $119.00 | $148.75 |
| 60% | $99.17 | $123.96 |
| 70% | $85.00 | $106.25 |
| 80% | $74.38 | $92.97 |
| 90% | $66.11 | $82.64 |
| 100% | $59.50 | $74.38 |
A planning estimate from the figures you enter. It assumes steady-state throughput and leaves out accessorial charges, freight and taxes.
How the calculation works
- Your fixed monthly costs are added up: building, energy, refrigeration upkeep, equipment, supervision, insurance and other overhead.
- Divided by the pallets you actually store (positions times utilization), that is your storage cost per occupied pallet per month.
- Handling is priced separately: the labor and consumables each pallet needs, in and out, multiplied by how many pallets move through in a month.
- Both are then grossed up to the rate that earns your target margin on price, and the table shows how the storage cost moves as the facility fills.
Worked example
These figures are illustrations, not industry averages. A 2,000-position store that is 80% full holds 1,600 pallets. Its fixed costs of $119,000 a month come to $74.38 per occupied pallet per month. At a 20% margin that means charging $92.97 for storage and $10.04 to handle each pallet.
Fill the same store only 50% and the same fixed costs come to $119.00 per pallet, which is why holding on to occupancy is usually worth more than shaving a line item.
Frequently asked questions
How is cold storage priced per pallet?
Most cold storage providers charge a storage rate per pallet per month, plus a handling charge each time a pallet is received and shipped. Accessorial services such as blast freezing, labeling or special handling are usually billed separately.
How do you calculate cold storage cost per pallet?
Add up the fixed monthly costs of the facility (building, energy, refrigeration upkeep, equipment, supervision, insurance and overhead) and divide by the number of pallets you actually store. Then work out the labor and consumables each pallet needs coming in and going out, and price that separately.
Why does utilization matter so much in cold storage?
Most of a cold store’s cost is fixed. The building is leased and the refrigeration runs whether the positions are full or empty, so every empty position still costs money to keep cold. The same facility costs noticeably more per occupied pallet at 60% full than at 90%.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is the share of the price you keep. Markup is the percentage added to cost. A 20% margin needs a price of cost divided by 0.8, which is a 25% markup. This calculator uses margin on price.
What does this calculator leave out?
Accessorial charges, freight, taxes, seasonal swings in occupancy and throughput, and the difference between temperature zones in how much energy each needs. It works from the figures you enter and assumes steady-state throughput, so treat the result as a planning estimate.