Guides
Everything worth understanding before you commit to warehouse space in the United States.
Start Here
Orient yourself before you talk to a single broker.
How to Start Your Warehouse Search in the US
A step-by-step framework for going from 'we need US warehouse space' to a shortlist of real buildings — in the right order, without wasting months.
Read the guide →Where to Find Warehouse Space for Lease in the US
LoopNet, tenant rep brokers, institutional landlords' sites, and the channels where US warehouse space actually appears — what each one shows and what it leaves out.
Read the guide →How Much Warehouse Space Do I Need? Calculator + Space Requirements
Calculate warehouse space requirements from pallet positions: storage, staging area per dock door, circulation, office, and growth. Warehouse square footage calculator included.
Read the guide →3PL vs Own Warehouse: When to Lease vs Use a 3PL (Cost Comparison)
Should you use a 3PL or rent your own warehouse? Compare 3PL vs leasing costs, volume break-even, US credit history considerations, and when to switch from 3PL to your own space.
Read the guide →Co-warehousing: Private Warehouse Suites on a Membership, Not a Long-Term Lease
Co-warehousing is a lockable suite inside a shared warehouse with shared docks and equipment — at operators such as Saltbox, on a month-to-month membership rather than a lease. Compared with on-demand, 3PL, and small-bay leases.
Read the guide →Warehousing for E-Commerce in the US
How e-commerce sellers choose where and how to hold US inventory: 3PL vs. own warehouse vs. FBA, sales tax nexus after Wayfair, inventory tax, and importer-of-record basics for foreign sellers.
Read the guide →How to Read a Warehouse Spec Sheet: Clear Height, Dock Doors, Slab
What every line on a US industrial warehouse spec means: clear height, dock-high doors, truck court depth, slab thickness, ESFR sprinklers, and which numbers make a building unusable.
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Requirements & Compliance
What a business — foreign or domestic — needs in place to sign.
Do You Need a US Entity to Lease a Warehouse?
Entity formation, EIN, banking, beneficial-ownership reporting, and the security a landlord demands from a tenant with no US credit history.
Read the guide →Importer of Record: Importer Number, Customs Bond, Nonresident Rules, ISF
Who can be the US importer of record, how the importer number is established with CBP Form 5106, what a nonresident corporation needs under 19 CFR 141.18 (resident agent and bond), the ISF deadline for ocean cargo, and how it shapes warehouse location.
Read the guide →Non-Resident Importer of Record: Foreign Companies Under 19 CFR 141.18
How a foreign company with no US entity can act as importer of record: 19 CFR 141.18 requirements, resident agent, CBP bond with US surety, Form 5106, and when it makes sense versus forming a US entity.
Read the guide →How to Get an Importer of Record Number
What an importer of record number is, how to obtain one via CBP Form 5106, IRS EIN vs. CBP-assigned number, and requirements for foreign entities.
Read the guide →Insurance a US Landlord Will Require
The coverages a standard US industrial lease names, the additional-insured and subrogation clauses behind them, and where foreign tenants get caught.
Read the guide →Warehouse Zoning in the US
A building can be the right size, rent and spec and still be illegal for your operation. What to verify with the city or county before you sign.
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States & Locations
How US regions differ, and what that means for your footprint.
Comparing States for Warehousing: Inventory Tax, Right-to-Work, Corporate Tax
There is no single best state for warehousing. Compare inventory tax, right-to-work laws, corporate income and gross receipts taxes, freeport exemptions, and labor considerations across major warehouse states.
Read the guide →US Container Ports and Inland Distribution: Where to Warehouse
Top 5 US container ports (LA, Long Beach, NY/NJ, Savannah, Houston), the inland corridors from each port, and whether to warehouse near the port or inland for your operation.
Read the guide →Foreign-Trade Zones Explained
What a foreign-trade zone defers, eliminates, and inverts, what it costs to run, and the importer profile it genuinely pays off for.
Read the guide →What Is a Bonded Warehouse?
Store imported goods for up to five years without paying duty — and how a customs bonded warehouse differs from a foreign-trade zone, point by point.
Read the guide →Foreign-Trade Zone vs. Bonded Warehouse: The Comparison
A point-by-point comparison of FTZs and bonded warehouses: duty timing, time limits, manufacturing, costs, setup, and when each structure pays off.
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Costs & Taxes
The full landed cost of occupying space, beyond rent per square foot.
True Cost of Warehouse Space: What's Included Beyond Rent Per SF
Warehouse rent is only the start. Full cost includes NNN charges, annual escalations, build-out, restoration at lease end, and all operating costs. How to compare cost per pallet position, not per square foot.
Read the guide →How Much Does It Cost to Open a US Warehouse?
Every cost between a signed lease and your first shipment — deposit, racking, forklifts, WMS, permits, insurance — with sourced ranges and a calculator.
Read the guide →Negotiate a Warehouse Lease: LOI Terms, HVAC Caps, Expansion Rights
The letter of intent settles the deal, not the lease. What to negotiate in the LOI: base rent escalations, NNN caps, HVAC responsibility, free rent, expansion rights, and the restoration clause that creates an end-of-term liability.
Read the guide →What Is Inventory Tax? Which States Tax Business Inventory
How inventory tax works: 9 states fully tax business inventory (Texas, Louisiana, more), 5 partially. Assessment dates, and how freeport exemptions and foreign-trade zones can remove it where available.
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Operations & Security
Running the building once you have it.