Massive global warehouse boom predicted

Interact Analysis has launched a database analysing the global stock of warehouses. The research estimates there are 150,000 warehouses in the world. The shift to online sales, exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as demand for consumer goods in developing regions will require 28,500 additional warehouses to be added in the next five years, says the firm.

A significant number of these new warehouses will be direct-to-consumer fulfillment centres necessitating significant labour and automation investments.

Globally there were 150,000 warehouses at the end of 2020 and roughly 25 billion square feet of space (about twice the size of entire city of San Antonio, TX). Though North America and Europe have a disproportionally high quantity of warehouses relative to their population, most of the current warehouse footprint and future growth lies outside these regions with the burgeoning middle class and demand for retail goods in developing countries.

By the end of 2025 there will be nearly 180,000 around the world. By then, the top five countries, China, United States, Japan, India, and Germany will account for more than half of world warehouse building stock.

Most of the warehouse opportunity lies outside North America and Europe.

For more information, visit www.interactanalysis.com