3PL Warehousing Costs in Canada – A Full Breakdown

Choosing a third-party logistics provider (3PL) in Canada is a financial and operational decision that directly affects your bottom line.

Businesses usually turn to a 3PL when managing logistics in-house becomes inefficient or impractical. A reliable provider can help you avoid large capital expenditures on warehousing, equipment, and staff.

If you’re starting up, scaling up, or facing fulfilment delays, outsourcing your logistics may be a good option or even outright necessary.

What Can You Expect a 3PL To Do for You?

A 3PL handles your warehousing and logistics so your internal team doesn’t have to. The provider becomes your storage, handling, and distributionoperation—integrated with your business but managed externally. This support gives you more control over costs and allows you to scale more quickly without building out internal infrastructure.

A reliable 3PL will:

• Receive, inspect, and store your inventory
• Pick and pack orders according to your shipping schedule
• Provide reliable transportation
• Manage returns and reverse logistics
• Integrate with your software (ERP, WMS, and TMS)
• Offer reporting on key metrics like order accuracy, fill rate, and on-time delivery
• Provide customer service and issue resolution support

3PL Warehouse Costs in Canada

Basic Costs You Will Always See

 
Every 3PL warehousing relationship starts with a base set of costs that apply to nearly every operation. These are the predictable, repeatable charges tied directly to how much inventory you store, how often you move it, and the amount of handling required.

Storage is usually the largest recurring charge. Most warehouses charge either per pallet or per square foot, depending on how your product arrives. If your items are not palletized—such as tires or large paper rolls—the warehouse might bill per unit or per ton.

Receiving costs are next. These are the charges to unload inbound shipments, check them, and move the inventory to its storage location. It’s common to see these priced per pallet, per box, or per unit, depending on packaging.

Outbound costs include pulling the correct product(s) out of storage, preparing the order, , and loading your product for shipment. These usually follow a per pallet, per box, or per item model. You’ll also see add-ons like shrink or stretch wrap, and a charge for the bill of lading (BOL) if required.

This cost structure gives you a predictable base to work from, but the next layer—variable costs—can shift depending on your business.

Additional Costs

On top of basic costs, you’ll also see some additional costs. Most operations are not as simple as pallet-in/pallet-out. There are often special handling requirements, value-added services, integration and technological needs, and more.

Handling requirements and order fulfilment fees would be charged at a predetermined rate per activity. A 3PL can offer customized pricing based on your needs. Some of these activities include:

• Pick and packing: this includes fees related to pulling a number of SKUs out of storage based on the current order and preparing them for shipping. If your operations are not pallet-in/pallet-out, you will likely require pick and packing services. The rate per item picked will depend on the size and weight of the product. A standard pick and pack can vary between $1.17 – $5 per order plus $0.50 – $0.75 per extra item.
• Kitting: the cost of resembling packaging to include multiple items which arrived at the warehouse in separate packaging. The cost will depend on the product size and the difficulty of the assembling process. A realistic rate would be around $0.35-$0.45 per touch/item plus $40+/hour.
• Labelling or Barcoding: If this service is required, you can expect to pay between $0.10 – $0.40 per label/insert
• Wrapping: there are two wrapping processes; shrink wrapping and stretch wrapping. Shrink wrapping is mostly used for sealing and protecting products. Stretch wrapping is normally used to secure pallets during transport. Wrapping can range from $3-$11 with stretch wrapping being on the cheaper end, and shrink wrapping on the more expensive end.

Quality control and quarantining fees can add to your costs if you require your product to be inspected and reported on when entering the warehouse or on its way out. Some warehouses offer a quarantine zone where they keep products that need to be inspected or cannot be sold due to product quality issues.

Reverse logistics is the returns operation. If you require this service, the 3PL will provide specific pricing based on your return process and needs.

System integration at onboarding will be a one-time set up fee. If you require EDI set up, it can cost anywhere from $100-$1,000. If you do not have your own WMS and plan on using the 3PL provider’s WMS, you might be charged a monthly fee depending on how you negotiate the contract.

Material and equipment – If your operations require materials (ex: labels) or equipment (ex: box clamp) that the 3PL does not have, they can buy materials or rent the equipment at your expense

Out of scope work fees can be charged for any manual labour work done in the warehouse that falls outside the SLA discussed in your contract. For example, if you do not normally require labelling but you realize you sent a batch of mislabelled products so you ask the 3PL to switch the labels for you. Out of scope work will normally be charged hourly at a rate close to $50 per hour. A true 3PL partner will often do any one-off requests free of charge. However if the out of scope work continues, they will begin to charge the hourly rate or open discussions about renegotiating the SA contract.

How to Estimate Your 3PL Warehouse Costs

When you as a 3PL for a quote, they will often tell you that they will need to learn more about your supply chain logistics before they can provide you with an actual quote.

While you might be hoping for the 3PL to send back a basic rate card that will easily allow you to determine the cost, it is unlikely that you will be given pricing in that matter. Since each logistics operation is different, it makes sense that the 3PL will want to avoid sending blanket rates. The more information a 3PL has the easier it will be for them to provide you with a competitive and tailored rate.

We understand that you might want to get a quick estimate of what a 3PL would cost before going through the process of speaking with several 3PL providers. You can estimate your monthly 3PL warehouse costs by focusing on your inventory profile, order volume, and handling needs. Start by breaking your activity into inbound, storage, and outbound categories—then apply the unit rates based on how your goods are handled.

If your product is entering and leaving the warehouse on pallets, your expected monthly warehousing costs become much easier to predict . If you require a pick and pack service or any handling that requires pallets to be broken down and products to be repackaged, it becomes a bit more difficult to predict without asking for a quote.

Here’s a simple structure for estimating costs of palletized goods:

• Storage = [monthly pallet count] × [storage rate per pallet]

• Receiving = [inbound pallets/month] × [receiving rate per pallet]

• Outbound = [outbound pallets/month] × [outbound rate per pallet]

• Wrap (if needed) = [wrapped pallets] × [wrap rate]

• Total = Sum of all above

If your items are not on pallets—like tires, paper rolls, or bulk items—the warehouse will use different units (per item or per ton). You’ll need to get those custom rates from your provider, then apply the same approach.

It is important to keep in mind that this estimation you calculated is for basic warehousing operations. If you require any of the additional services we discussed in the Additional Costs section, they will each come with additional costs.

The best way to get an accurate quote is to create a shortlist of 3PL providers that align with what you are looking for in a logistics partner, contact a few of them and go through the process to get a quote. You can expect most 3PLs to provide pricing about one week after you have provided them with the proper information.

If you are an established company considering reaching out to several 3PL providers, use a RFP (Request For Pricing) to get information and pricing from the 3PL companies you’re considering. This will ensure that you get a solution and pricing in a pre-formatted document that will allow you to compare apples to apples.

See Our Resource on How To Issue an Effective RFP For a 3PL Partner

What Influences 3PL Warehousing Costs Across Canada

Several factors influence 3PL warehouse pricing across Canada, and understanding these will help you select the right partner and location. Geography, labour rates, real estate costs, and market saturation all affect the bottom line.

Location has a direct impact on cost. Warehouses in the Greater Toronto Area, Vancouver, and Calgary generally charge higher rates due to land and labour prices. If you don’t need to be near a major urban centre, you can find lower-cost space in secondary markets like London, Winnipeg, or Moncton.

Labour availability and pay rates also shift costs. If a region has a tight labour market, warehouses charge more to cover retention, overtime, and shift premiums. Inbound and outbound tasks—especially if they’re manual—will cost more in these areas.

Facility type and setup will change what’s available and how it’s priced. High-bay racking, climate control, temperature control, or bonded space will come with higher fees. On the other hand, simple cross-dock or bulk storage operations tend to cost less.

Other cost influencers include:

• Access to transportation corridors (rail, port, major highways)
• The local regulatory environment (some provinces have stricter safety or reporting standards)
• The level of automation in the facility
• Storage method (palletized vs. bin storage vs. bulk)
• Quality of service

When comparing 3PL providers, don’t just look at the rates. Ask where the labour is coming from, how busy their facility is, and what pricing model they use. These answers will help you understand the full picture—not just the per-pallet rate.

Don’t Go with the Cheapest Option (It’s Not Worth It)

Paying the lowest possible rate for 3PL services usually comes at a cost somewhere else—poor service, missed SLAs, inconsistent communication, or limited scalability.

If a provider underbids to win your business, they may not have the resources to meet your operational demands or support your growth over time. That gap tends to show up quickly in customer complaints, shipping delays, and internal frustration.

A cheap 3PL might skip essential services like proper onboarding, issue tracking, or performance monitoring.

They may avoid investing in systems integration or visibility tools, which limits your ability to stay informed. Worse, they may not support seasonal swings or product surges, leaving you with backlogs and order fulfilment issues just when you need consistency the most.

Here’s what you risk when you chase price:

• Limited or no customer service support
• No performance dashboards or real-time visibility
• Weak or no SOPs for special handling, returns, exceptions, or damage claims
• Inflexibility during growth, expansion, or volume shifts
• Short-term agreements that lock you into underperformance

Cost is only one part of the value equation. A 3PL that communicates clearly, responds quickly, and adjusts to your business as it changes will return far more value than a provider that only shows up when invoices are due. The lowest rate may feel like a win—until you need help and no one picks up the phone.

See Also: Our guide on firing your 3PL provider

PiVAL is a 3PL and We Have Warehouses Coast to Coast in Canada

PiVAL offers warehousing and logistics services across Canada with facilities in Montreal, Toronto, Guelph, and Vancouver. We operate as a full 3PL partner—not just a warehouse—so you can rely on us for transportation, fulfillment, systems integration, reporting, proactive optimization suggestions, and customer service.

You get a single point of contact who manages your account end-to-end. That means no chasing down answers from different departments or relaying the same issue to multiple people. We keep communication simple and fast.

Our model is built to scale with your business. Whether you’re entering a new market or dealing with a demand spike, we adapt quickly without locking you into rigid terms. If you’re starting with one region, we can expand across others as your needs grow.

PiVAL has deep experience in sectors like tires, manufacturing, construction, retail, and pulp & paper. We understand the handling, security, and scheduling requirements these industries demand—and we build our service around them.

If you’re looking for a Canadian 3PL partner with national coverage, technical capability, and a flexible service approach, PiVAL is ready to support your operations today and in the future.

PiVAL specializes in:

• Automotive Parts and Tires (OE & RE)

• Retail Suppliers

• Manufacturing

• Pulp & Paper

• Construction Sites

Our warehouses are located in:

• Montreal

• Toronto

• Guelph

• Vancouver

Contact a PiVAL logistics expert today