With increased demands for warehousing space, optimizing warehouse operations through automation solutions is more important than ever for the industry. Thankfully, warehouses, manufacturing, and other product and storage facilities have more options than ever before when it comes to better managing space utilization and their company’s warehousing budget. The various types of industrial shelving and automated storage solutions, including advanced automation technologies, bolster operational efficiency and will likely alter many of the following automation statistics in the coming days!
The following ten warehouse statistics show the impact warehouse automation currently has on the warehouse automation industry. In a growing field that constantly evolves with new products and automation systems, these warehouse automation statistics will likely change as we push forward, so keep an eye out for future updates from Precision Warehouse Design!
Top Warehouse Automation Statistics
At Precision Warehouse Design, we’re passionate about helping businesses improve operational efficiency through automated storage solutions, conveyor systems, pallet racking systems, warehouse consulting and so much more.
Part of that passion revolves around watching the ever-changing supply chain operations nationwide. That’s why we spent time researching and gathering the following warehouse automation statistics for you!
Global Warehouse Market — Automation Industry Statistics
1. The Global Warehouse Automation Market Is Projected to Reach $41 Billion in 2027
There’s no question that the warehouse automation market is booming, with projections stating that it will reach $41 billion in global market value in 2027. These projections represent a revenue growth trajectory with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 15%, which is hardly surprising considering the rapid growth of e-commerce and multichannel distribution in recent years. This expanding storage industry is driving heavy automation investments as operators look to the future.
2. There Are Over 750,000 Warehousing and Storage Facilities in the U.S.
As of 2021, there are over 750,000 warehousing and storage facilities in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number represents significant growth over the past decade — only 15,525 of such facilities were in operation in 2012. As demand for more products increases, and manufacturing returns home, we’ll likely see private warehouses worldwide grow in number. Though that remains to be seen, warehouse automation will be key to managing them.
Space Utilization and Advanced Automation
3. Warehouses Are Among the Least Energy Intensive Buildings Per Square Foot
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, warehouses are among the least energy intensive buildings in the U.S. As of 2018, the average energy expenditures per square foot came out to less than $0.75.
That said, warehouses and storage facilities were the sixth highest in terms of total energy consumption, right after lodging and shopping malls. While the cost per square foot is relatively low, modern warehouses have a lot of square footage, increasing total energy costs in the sector and constituting a significant portion of warehouses’ overhead costs.
With the rising cost of energy worldwide, it’s more important than ever to use energy and space efficiently to maximize data-driven performance. It’s one thing to pay monthly energy bills for sizable warehouse space in a stock environment. But why pay extra? With advanced automation and conveyor systems, warehouse operators are more likely to get their money’s worth and experience a successful implementation.
4. The Average Warehouse Has Over 15,000 Square Feet of Space
As of 2012, the average size of a warehouse in the United States was over 15,000 square feet, and that number has only increased since. Greater demand for warehouse space is apparent in other studies, including CBRE’s 2026 U.S. Industrial & Logistics Occupier Survey, in which more than 90% of occupiers planned to maintain or expand their portfolios over the next 36 months. About 23% cited a need for newer space as their primary motivation for expanding.
While the average is certainly high, you must consider the fact that, in the United States, we do have facilities with over 100,000 square feet of floor space. Can you imagine a manual workforce attempting to successfully traverse this floor span to pick and pack products or finish a manufacturing job? It’s slow and cumbersome.
With the growing size of warehouse floor plans, it makes more and more sense to invest in warehouse automation. With goods-to-person systems and automated storage solutions in place, products and manufacturing supplies can traverse the entire span of a facility in minutes, arriving on-time and in the proper place to fulfill the next part of the warehousing process.
Labor Costs, Labor Shortages, and Automation Challenges
5. Over 1.8 Million People Are Employed in the Warehousing Industry
As of April 2026, about 1.84 million people were employed in the warehousing industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 1.6 million were private industry employees in nonsupervisory or production roles. The labor costs in the industry are significant, with the average employee earning $26.78 per hour (and working a little over 39 hours per week). Nonsupervisory employees averaged a little less than the total average at $25.97 as of April 2026.
Naturally, utilizing this labor force efficiently is vital to maintaining cost-effective operations and overcoming modern automation challenges. After all, it doesn’t make sense to pay two employees to perform a job that one employee could manage with greater efficiency and better workflow. Running a successful warehouse means focusing on efficiency, first and foremost. You don’t want human workers tripping over each other’s feet, slowing down the line, or failing to fulfill orders due to outdated manual process management.
6. Attracting Hourly Workforce Candidates Is a Major Challenge
While labor costs are significant for warehousing facilities, there’s also the cost of attracting needed workers amidst growing labor shortages. 52% of respondents in Instawork’s 2025 State of Warehouse Labor report indicated that finding reliable, quality labor was their greatest challenge, making it a major issue for the industry.
By switching to warehouse automation to automate tasks, pick and pack products, or manufacture goods, warehouse facilities can greatly reduce labor costs and shrink their necessary workforce to a few select, highly-trained individuals. While facilities must still attract and retain workers, automating manual and routine tasks means the size of the workforce makes it easier to find candidates with long-term potential.
Automation Adoption: Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Inventory Management
7. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems Vastly Improve Efficiency
With such high square footage and labor requirements, how do warehousing facilities keep their operational costs down? One way is by eliminating waste, which is the goal of automated storage and retrieval systems, such as vertical lift modules, shuttles, and sortation systems. These automated warehouse systems have been shown to increase inventory accuracy levels to 99.99% while also saving up to 85% of wasted floor space. Labor productivity can also be increased to 85% with adopted automation technologies.
To summarize, there are numerous benefits to investing in automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) systems besides the boost to efficiency and accuracy. For example:
- Greater Ergonomics — The “Golden Zone” is the area between a worker’s shoulder and knees. When products are delivered directly to this zone, it improves workflow and efficiency without taking a physical toll on your workforce.
- Better Inventory Management — An AS/RS solution contains the warehouse or manufacturing facility’s inventory in a single, contained system for greater security and control overall. Only authorized personnel have access, reducing the risk of missing or broken inventory and preventing inventory fulfillment issues to ultimately improve inventory accuracy.
- Increased Picking Throughput — In an old-school, manual picking environment, warehouse workers must pick and pack a single order at a time using slow manual tasks. But with warehouse automation, multiples of each item can be selected at once via automated routing and barcode scanners, then delivered to the proper workstation to fulfill orders in bulk, massively boosting customer satisfaction.
8. Over 10% of Warehouses Are Using Automated Technologies
As of 2016, research showed that over 10% of warehousing facilities were making use of warehouse automation, and adoption has been climbing since. These technologies include sophisticated systems such as autonomous mobile robots, automatic sorters, robotic picking modules, palletizers, and more.
While 10% does not appear significant in the grand scheme of things, you must remember there are over 20,000 private warehouses and storage facilities nationwide. Using only that number of facilities, that’s over 2,000 warehouses or storage services utilizing autonomous mobile robots and brand-new tech that continually evolves.
Furthermore, the recent advancements we’ve enjoyed in warehouse automation will surely attract more warehouse and storage facilities before long. Each new advanced automation reported brings greater efficiency and helps reduce the overall workforce on-site at any given time. For instance, Precision Warehouse Design currently offers autonomous mobile robots, warehouse management systems, and automated storage solutions. These automation tools help our customers to improve workflow, increase picking and packing, and cut down on manufacturing and shipping times overall.
9. More Warehouses Want to Invest in Conveyor and Sortation Technology
As of 2021, more warehouses expressed interest in investing in conveyor and sortation technology than the year previous. According to recent warehouse automation statistics, 69% of respondents in one survey indicated they wanted to invest in these systems, representing a significant increase over the 33% in 2020 and reflecting rising automation budgets.
The significant increase makes total sense, too. A warehouse or manufacturing environment utilizing conveyor or sortation technology requires fewer employees overall by automating repetitive tasks. Furthermore, innovative conveyor/sortation equipment can help increase production rates, ensuring faster throughput. Many warehouses reported plans to continually upgrade their existing systems.
Business Automation and Software Solutions
10. Optimization Software Is Key to Success in the Warehousing Industry
Data from Deloitte Consulting indicated that about 75% of organizations with superior supply chains use optimization software as part of their business processes. In addition, 67% use visualization software and 65% use RFID tags, indicating the role that software and controls and warehouse automation have in building world-class warehousing processes.
In the same study, warehouse facilities recognize that innovation is “extremely important” — a staggering 96%. Furthermore, 88% of warehouse facilities claim they are more than willing to recruit supply chain professionals who understand analytics and automation. The complexities of business in today’s hectic and ever-changing environment are slowly catching up with countless businesses globally and nationwide.
With proper advancement through workflow automation, software solutions, and modern systems integration, warehouses and manufacturing facilities can keep up with the increasing supply chain demands and the necessary flow of goods and products needed today.
Modern Warehouses for Business Automation
From pallet handling to packing and shipping, pick-to-light systems, and beyond, Precision Warehouse Design understands the need for advancement and better warehouse storage solutions.
Precision Warehouse Design can help you adopt automation to optimize your supply chains and increase efficiency in the 21st century. Check out our portfolio or get in touch to learn more.
