Industry Overview and Trends
Excerpt: Industry Fact Sheet
The self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States commercial real estate industry over the period of the last 30 years Approximately 800 new self storage facilities came on line during 2007; another 450 facilities were rebuilt, expanded or renovated Primary self storage facility gross revenues for 2007 were approximately $22.1 billion [or a national average (mean) of $423,530 per facility or national average (mean) of $10.33 of gross annual revenue per rentable sq. ft.] Rentable self storage square footage has increased by 740% during the period 1985-2007. The average (mean) size of a "primary" self storage facility in the US is approximately 41,000 square feet An important subset of that total: there are some 28,850 small business entrepreneurs (90% of all self storage companies) who own and operate just one "primary" self storage facility
Source: http://www.selfstorage.org/SSA/Home/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=Home&ContentID=3900
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Excerpt:
Nearly everyone needs more space for storage, but there’s an alternative to renting a truck and carting the excess to a rented unit: the storage space can come to you. Portable On-Demand Storage, a nationwide storage service based in Tampa, Fla., will deliver a storage container to the home, where the customer loads and locks it before the company returns it to its warehouse. Tom Ryan, the president of PODS, said the warehouses are climate-controlled to prevent excess humidity and freezing. The company uses a specially designed machine to lift the container vertically, which keeps the contents from shifting… “Our boxes are 5 feet wide by 8 feet long by 7 ½ feet high,” said Stacey Perlzweig, office manager for the company. Ideally, she said, the customer will have a driveway or other parking area where the container can be dropped off. (Customers should check with local authorities or their building manager to find out if permission is required.) But in the city, the driver may have to settle for the street. “The container can easily fit in a parking spot,” Ms. Perlzweig said. “A lot of people who live in apartment buildings think they can’t use our service because there’s nowhere to put the container,” she said. “But as long as the driver can find a spot on the street, he can wait there until the container is loaded, and then take it back to the storehouse.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/garden/22fix.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/W/Warehouses
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Automated Self Storage Systems LLC will unveil the first fully automated self-storage facility in Coconut Creek, Fla., on April 23. The 145,654-square-foot facility uses Westfalia Technologies' Automated Storage and Retrieval System. Previously used in industrial warehouse and manufacturing plants, the technology marks a new era in the self-storage industry. Operating under the name Safe & Secure Automated Self Storage, the new facility provides direct access to their individual units using a patented retrieval machine. When he first arrives at the facility, a customer enters a PIN to access a secure loading area, where he drives up to one of several loading doors. There, he re-enters his PIN, and his storage unit is delivered to him. The building will accommodate approximately 539 storage pallets containing about 1,000 self-storage units. Each pallet will have standard dimensions of 10-by-20-by-8 feet and a weight capacity of 16,000 pounds. Designated units will be available for cars and RVs. With the new system, facility owners can increase their net rentable area up to 25 percent and lower operating costs by as much as 50 percent, according to Paul Talley, vice president of Automated Self Storage Systems.
Source: http://www.insideselfstorage.com/hotnews/automated-self-storage-opens-coconut-creek.html
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Excerpt:
TruStore and LiftMaster Cart, a new storage system with automatic loading and unloading by TRUMPF, offers diverse options. Its compact footprint, along with shelves that can be quickly accessed at any time, or, if the situation warrants, additional modules added, offers flexibility that can adapt to changing business conditions. According to Lukas Baechler, product manager for automation, the storage system is ideal for an organization that operates in a small area. "The floor space utilization is outstanding with this system," he said. Also, for an organization that produces high-volume parts and is a 24/7 operation, "The TruStore and LiftMaster Cart is a sophisticated, yet simple storage solution," he added. The basic version of the TruStore 3130 consists of a storage module with up to 15 storage compartments in the 1st tower, 21 pallets in the 2nd tower and a manual storage and retrieval station with an integrated unpacking station. It is designed for sheet metal up to 5' x 10' and, as a result of quick exchange times while the machines are in operation, material handling for laser cutting machines is made even more efficient. The LiftMaster Cart can be added to the TruStore system and shared by up to two TruLaser machines. The TruStore 3130 can be used as a stand-alone unit as well, or-in addition to the LiftMaster Cart-other automation units can be connected to it. The two-tower storage option can reach a height of up to 21 feet (6.4 meters) in a production facility. Source: http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/558239
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SSA Industry Report and Economic Forecast for 2009
http://www.selfstorage.org/SSA/Home/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=Home&ContentID=3816
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