Pallet Cost Calculator: Cost per Pallet and per Unit

Shipping goods on pallets costs more than the freight bill. Each pallet also carries the price of the pallet itself, stretch wrap and labels, the labor to build and load it, its share of fuel surcharges and accessorial fees, and the warehouse rent while it waits. This calculator adds those pieces into an all-in cost per pallet and spreads it over the cases on the pallet, so you can see what logistics adds to every unit you sell.

How to use this tool

1. Enter how many pallets are in the shipment and how many units or cases sit on each one.
2. Add the pallet price and the wrap, corner board and label cost per pallet.
3. Enter the minutes it takes to build and load one pallet and your hourly labor cost.
4. Enter the freight charge and any surcharges or accessorial fees for the whole shipment.
5. Add the monthly storage rate per pallet and how many months the goods are stored.

Formula

Cost per pallet = pallet + packaging + (minutes ÷ 60 × hourly cost) + (freight + fees) ÷ pallets + storage rate × months

Cost per unit is the cost per pallet divided by the units on each pallet, and the total is the cost per pallet times the number of pallets. Freight and fees are shared equally across the pallets in the shipment.

Example

A shipment of 12 pallets with 48 cases each: pallets cost $12, wrap and labels $4, and 15 minutes of labor at $22 an hour adds $5.50. Freight of $1,450 plus $150 in fees is $133.33 per pallet, and one month of storage at $18 brings the total to $172.83 per pallet. The 12 pallets cost $2,074.00 in all, or about $3.60 per case.