A warehouse crush across the U.S. is squeezing out smaller companies as big retailers fill industrial storage sites with their growing stockpiles of inventory. Karen Galena, president of First Logistics, which has four warehouses in the Chicago area that provide space for retailers and manufacturers, said bigger customers are willing to pay higher prices for increasingly scarce storage space. “It’s tough for the small guy,” Ms. Galena said, noting labor and other costs are rising for warehouse operators. The challenges small businesses face finding warehouse space mirrors difficulties many had securing room on container ships earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, when ocean carriers drove up rates and bumped smaller shippers to make way for larger clients. He said some companies are even generating revenue from unconventional storage space.

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