Recovery in the distribution sector? This is confirmed by data from Poland
Poland is the fastest growing warehousing market in Europe, and in terms of warehouse space it ranks third in the EU, after Germany and France. According to many experts, the trends in Poland are a good indication of the situation in supply chains across the continent. If this is indeed the case, it is possible to conclude that there will not be a great crash in the warehouse market, and a recovery in terms of leased space is expected by the end of 2024.
According to the latest figures, demand for warehouses since the beginning of 2023 has reached almost 4 million square metres. This is admittedly a quarter less than at the same time last year, but when comparing consecutive quarters the increase was 56 per cent. What could this mean in practice? The level of optimism in the economy is rising, with the industrial and distribution sectors expecting a recovery in supply chains. Nearly half of rental contracts are related to the distribution of goods, the domain of logistics operators.
– Logistics operators, mainly specialised ones, who collect goods from sellers, store them in their own warehouses, complete them and deliver them to end customers, are in the lead. They are responsible for almost half of the entire demand activity on the market – confirms Maciej Gierak, deputy director at CBRE’s industrial and logistics leasing department, in “Rzeczpospolita”. According to an analysis by AXI IMMO and other consulting companies, the warehouse stock in Poland currently stands at 31.5 million sq.m, although the number of vacancies built for the so-called speculative market has increased. Developers are still avoiding investments in the eastern part of Poland due to the tense geopolitical situation.
