Transportation, Freight & Distribution worked example

Distribution Labor Load at 13% delay and setup allowance: a worked example

This worked example runs the distribution labor load numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 13% delay and setup allowance instead of the typical 18%. Estimate warehouse or shipping labor hours from workload, handling rate, and delay allowance for dock, pick, pack, load, or unload work.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Cases to handle: 3,800 cases (held at the documented default)
  • Cases handled per labor hour: 165 units / hr (held at the documented default)
  • Delay and setup allowance: 13 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 18)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base hours = handling workload รท handling rate.
  • Total distribution labor load hours works out to 26.02 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base labor hours works out to 23.03 hr at these inputs.
  • Delay allowance applied works out to 13 % at these inputs.
  • Handling rate works out to 165 units / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where delay and setup allowance sits at 18% and the headline result is 27.18 hr, this scenario comes in 4.24% below the baseline at 26.02 hr.
  • Use it when planning a shift, sizing a peak-season temp crew, or quoting the labor content of a new distribution program. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Total distribution labor load hours: 26.02 hr (headline result)
  • Base labor hours: 23.03 hr
  • Delay allowance applied: 13 %
  • Handling rate: 165 units / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Distribution Labor Load calculator, set delay and setup allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.