The cost of labor had the largest share of expenses in the cost structure of operating refrigerated warehouses, the Cold Chain Index (CCI) released by the The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) shows.
The CCI includes five classes of expenses: labor, electric power, rent, supplies, and repairs; the cost shares typical of a North American refrigerated warehouse are shown in Figure 1. Labor was the largest share of expenses, at 46% of the total. Property rent or lease expenses represented nearly 35% of total expenses. Electric power accounted for 10% of total expenses. The “other” category included the leases on material handling equipment, expenses on utilities other than electric power, and unspecified other expenses.
“GCCA’s Cold Chain Index is a valuable tool for third-party warehouses – and their customers, such as food retailers and wholesalers – in contract negotiations that reflect actual costs of the major inputs for producing the 3PL services – labor, electric power, rent, supplies, and repairs,” Jason Troendle, Director of Market Intelligence & Research said.