WSI Survey Finds U.S. Manufacturer Warehouse Networks Falling Behind

Legacy infrastructure and prior capital investments are constraining agility for manufacturers.

APPLETON, Wis., June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- WSI (Warehouse Specialists, LLC) has released How Manufacturers Are Structuring Warehouse Operations in 2026, a new survey featuring insights from 306 supply chain, operations, and logistics leaders at U.S. manufacturing companies across chemicals, metals, food and beverage, building materials, electronics, and other industrial sectors.

The results show an industry managing compounding pressure while running networks built for a different era. Three-quarters of leaders say their warehouse network evolved organically over time rather than being strategically designed, and nearly the same share say their current model was built for an operating environment that no longer exists.

"Companies have responded to a chaotic supply chain in different ways. Some have focused on cost-cutting. But many have learned that a network optimized purely for cost is also optimized to fail under pressure," said Paul Simmons, President at WSI. "The manufacturers moving forward are the ones deliberately redesigning, not just optimizing what they already have."

The survey found that legacy infrastructure and prior capital investments are constraining agility for most manufacturers, even as network redesign has moved from future-state planning to current work. Key findings include:

• 88% expect their U.S. warehouse and distribution footprint to change in the next 18 months through expansion, consolidation, or a shift in operating model.
• 75% agree their network evolved organically rather than by design, creating structural inefficiencies that optimization alone cannot solve.
• 67% have grown more likely to consider switching their 3PL provider due to friction in the past 12 months.
• 53% experienced a warehouse-related compliance incident, audit finding, or safety event in the last two years.

The report also examines how manufacturers are balancing resilience investment against cost pressure, what is driving 3PL consolidation and switching momentum, and where warehouse strategy is headed as companies make divergent bets on outsourcing, insourcing, and footprint redesign.

"There are incidents outside of the warehouse operator's control that can trigger an audit. The operators who can handle that in an afternoon had their documentation current before the truck pulled in," added Jesse Jones, VP of Operations at WSI. "Preparation is the most important variable, and it shows up in the data."

Download the Report

How Manufacturers Are Structuring Warehouse Operations in 2026

About WSI
Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, WSI (Warehouse Specialists, LLC) is one of the largest privately held logistics, distribution and storage companies in the nation. WSI's warehouse network totals more than 13 million square feet of space, with facilities in Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas. This includes rail-accessible warehousing, temperature-controlled facilities, and secure hazardous material facilities. A Responsible Care® partner company, WSI has served complex supply chains for more than 60 years. Visit wsinc.com to learn more.

Contact
Alyssa Wolfe
Director of Demand Generation
[email protected] 

SOURCE WSI