Amazon AWD Fees Are Changing on Jan 15, 2026: A Practical Margin-Protection Guide for Sellers

From Jan 15, 2026, Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD) introduces higher storage and transport costs, with region-based differences and standardized $1.40/box processing. If you use AWD as an overflow buffer before FBA, these updates can dent contribution margin—especially in the West region. This guide translates the fee changes into an actionable plan so you keep speed without sacrificing profit.

What’s Changing

Storage: West region moves to $0.57 per ft³ per month; other regions also increase (region pricing matters).
Transportation: Program documentation trends toward $1.40/ft³ transport, with “Amazon Managed” around $1.26/ft³.
Inbound/Outbound Processing: $1.40/box. Fewer, fuller cartons can blunt the impact.

Who’s Most Exposed:

Slow-moving, bulky SKUs parked in AWD
ASINs with high carton counts
Brands shipping primarily to West region nodes

How to Model Your New Unit Economics

Baseline your current per-SKU AWD cost (storage by region × dwell, transport/ft³, box fees).
Compare to Direct-to-FBA (SPD/LTL/FTL quotes, time-to-available).
Simulate DOS test 6, 7, 8 weeks FBA Days-of-Supply to find the lowest blended cost that still protects in-stock rate.
Stress-test seasonality increase demand 25–40% for Q4 promotions; re-run the model.
Re-route regions, if West penalizes you, shift to Other Regions when feasible.
Optimize cartons consolidate shipments to reduce $1.40/box exposure.
Prep SIPP where eligible, Ships in Product Packaging lowers fulfillment fees downstream.

Tactical Plays

Replenishment cadence: Hold 6–8 weeks DOS in FBA; use AWD only as short-term overflow.
Packaging/Dimensional weight: Re-engineer dunnage and pack-out to improve cubic efficiency.
Split routing: Route fast movers direct-to-FBA; reserve AWD for seasonal buffers only.
Regional policy: Prefer “Other Regions” where storage + transport are cheaper—validate with your 30/60/90-day demand curves.
Governance: Add guardrails in your WMS: max AWD dwell days, min carton utilization %, region cost thresholds.

Tooling to Help You Decide

Profit & fee simulation: Use your calculator or a provider that can project 2026 fees by SKU and region (some third-party platforms and Amazon partner tools already model upcoming fee tables).
Replenishment automations: Lock DOS windows, trigger LTL/FTL when pallets hit target fill, and auto-flag West-region overages.
SIPP audits: Identify candidates; verify packaging tests; measure post-SIPP FBA fee impact.

Where Big Internet Ecommerce (BIE) Fits
At BigInternetEcommerce.com, we run a 3-step AWD Impact Sprint: