E-commerce makes a major leap registering important figures globally, reaching 4.28 trillion dollars in 2020, an increase of 27.6% compared to 2019, and the demand for logistics services is on the rise. Here are the latest trends in the e-commerce and logistics sectors as predicted by futurologist Sean Culey – strategist, transformation advisor, and external consultant to P3 Logistics Parks. 

Romanian car manufacturer Automobile Dacia extended its lease for the 69,000 sqm occupied in Pitești Industrial Park, a project owned by Globalworth. 

Katowice-based real estate developer DL Invest Group, which has managed to build a significant portfolio of office, retail and logistics assets across Poland, sees further growth potential in all three major asset classes. Dominik Leszczyński, Founder and CEO of DL Invest Group shared his expansion strategy for the coming years with Property Forum.

In the new Panattoni Pilsen Digital Park on Pilsen’s Bory terraces, a fully automated plant for the production of 100% recyclable beverage cans will be built in the first phase. It will be used by American company Ball, a world leader in this industry. The investment will create almost 200 new jobs for a qualified workforce. The first building will occupy a third of the planned area. Ball is also setting up its own development centre in the same location.

GLP, an investor and developer of logistics buildings and warehouses announced plans to introduce its ESG-focused European specification, as outlined in its best-practice European Design Guide, to all new logistics facilities in Poland.

CTP has completed the certification of its industrial real estate portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe. In total, 292 CTP buildings at around a hundred different locations in six countries have confirmed their BREEAM In-Use status at the Very Good level or higher. A number of properties have reached the Excellent level. This ranks the company as the greenest developer of industrial real estate in CEE.

Total leasing activity throughout 2020 on the Budapest industrial/logistics market amounted to 537,900 sqm, marking a 29% increase from the previous year and the second-highest annual volume on record. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial/logistics market analysis.

European logistics real estate markets have not suffered last year from the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to fast-growing e-commerce and higher inventory levels of producers, the total expected take-up in 11 European countries of 23.6 million sqm for 2020 is only 3% down compared with the record year 2019. The forecasts for this year are even better with an expected take-up of 27 million sqm – an increase of 14%. Particularly large logistics real estate markets like Germany, France, the Netherlands and Poland are expected to grow substantially.

Panattoni has bought an 8.2-hectare site in the Annopol neighbourhood of Warsaw to develop City Logistics Warsaw IV, featuring approx. 40,000 sqm. The facility’s location, next to the S8 route, will ensure efficient domestic and international transport. There will also be a tram terminal in the direct vicinity of the building. City Logistics Warsaw IV is the sixth project of this formula in Warsaw.

The developers of logistics and industrial spaces maintained their investment plans and delivered 600,000 sqm of new warehouses last year, according to JLL Romania data. Most of them were delivered in Bucharest and the surrounding area, with 80% of the total.