The growing popularity of online shopping will create a high demand for logistics space over the next five years. To accommodate and continue the growth of e-commerce in Europe, 15 million square metres of logistics space is needed. Especially in Germany, France and the UK, the demand for warehouse space is huge. The Netherlands is also considered a major player.
Prologis, one of the largest players in logistics real estate in Europe, studied what is needed to accommodate the growth in e-commerce. The study found, among other things, that around five million square metres of new distribution space have been added in Europe over the past three years. This represents 15 per cent of the total square metres of logistics space in Europe.
Growth and forecast
With continued growth, Prologis predicts that much more logistics space will be needed in the coming years. For every billion euros of additional e-commerce sales in European countries, over 77,000 square metres of real estate will be needed. Future logistics spaces will mainly be realised in the UK, Germany and France because these countries are the most attractive for logistics companies. The Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic are seen as hotspots and are also doing a nice job.
Additional demand for forces
An additional benefit of the growth of online e-commerce is that more jobs will become available. The study reveals that over 200 thousand additional workers will be needed across Europe over the next five years to cope with the demand for online products. The growth of online sales and logistics square metres will provide jobs for 200 thousand people over the next five years, reports the study. These people are needed to meet the demand of online shopping consumers. This demand just cannot always be met. Britain is facing a huge shortage of truck drivers. The British need around 60 thousand extra truck drivers due to strong growth. The government needs to step in in the near future and invest more in training programmes, among other things, to train new drivers as only 20 thousand drivers are added every year.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
