What is the FBA storage utilization surcharge?
The storage utilization surcharge is a fee Amazon applies to sellers whose average daily inventory volume is high relative to their weekly sales. It rewards fast turnover and penalizes overstocking. It is charged per cubic foot on top of standard monthly storage.
Jul 26, 2026 · 3 min read
How Amazon calculates it
Amazon looks at your average daily volume of inventory in FBA relative to your weekly shipped units. A high ratio, meaning weeks of stock sitting per week of sales, triggers the surcharge on a sliding scale.
How to avoid it
Keep 4 to 8 weeks of cover per SKU rather than 16+ weeks. Use AWD as an upstream buffer instead of FBA. Consolidate slow movers and remove chronic dead stock before the assessment date each month.
Frequently asked questions
Does the surcharge apply to new sellers?
Small sellers below a threshold volume are typically exempt. Amazon publishes the current exemption criteria in the fees help pages.
Is it the same as aged inventory surcharge?
No. Aged surcharge is about how long individual units have sat. Utilization surcharge is about your whole account's stock-to-sales ratio.
Can I avoid it by removing inventory just before assessment?
You can reduce it, but Amazon uses a full-month average so a single removal will not zero it out.
See this in Nova
Nova surfaces this metric per SKU so you can act before your next monthly close catches it.
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What is the aged inventory surcharge on Amazon FBA?
The aged inventory surcharge is a monthly fee Amazon adds to units that have sat in FBA warehouses for a long time. It kicks in around 181 days and grows the longer the unit sits. It is separate from long-term storage fees and stacks with monthly storage.
What is the reorder point formula for Amazon FBA?
Reorder point = (average daily sales x lead time in days) + safety stock. Lead time includes production plus transit plus FBA check-in. Safety stock covers demand and lead-time variability. If any of those numbers is wrong, you either stock out or bury cash in overstock.