Dynamic development of the warehouse market in Poland
The Polish warehouse market is one of the fastest growing in Europe, and therefore – warehouse facilities in our country are among the newest. As much as 54 percent existing resources are warehouses built in the last five years – it was announced in the JLL report.
Since Poland’s accession to the European Union, over 30 million sq m of warehouse space has been leased, which means that this sector has increased 20 times over the last 20 years. The development of road infrastructure in Poland had a significant impact on the development of the warehouse market. During this time, over 4,000 people arrived at the same time. km of expressways – indicated.
The impact of accession to the EU on the development of the warehouse sector
According to the report, the first modern facilities implemented in Poland by leading players in the development industry appeared after 2000. However, the year 2004 should be considered a breakthrough in the development of the sector. The warehouse market in Poland reached 1.6 million sq m at that time, and 63 sq m were located in Warsaw. percent this surface. However, after Poland’s accession to the European Union, the development of this sector accelerated significantly, with the areas around Wrocław, Greater Poland and central Poland developing.
In the first years, Poland’s accession to the EU resulted in rapid growth. Record dynamics were recorded between 2007 and 2008, it amounted to 44%. y/y. However, the global economic and financial crisis led to a slowdown and in 2010-2013 the growth remained at the level of 5-8%. annually. In the following years, the market rebounded and in 2016 the total resources amounted to 10 million sq m.
The development of the e-commerce sector and its impact on the warehouse market
“The e-commerce industry began to flourish then, and chains such as Amazon and Zalando located their warehouses in Poland. Another significant stimulus for the already accelerated warehouse sector was the pandemic. As a result of record developer activity in 2021/2022 in the first quarter of 2023. The area under construction reached nearly 5 million sq m. However, 2023 was marked by a growing vacancy rate. Tricity, Szczecin and Lubuskie have also developed strongly in recent years,” we read.
As the authors of the report noted, in recent years developers have begun to introduce additional technical solutions, including pro-ecological ones, which have resulted in an increase in the standard of many warehouse facilities under construction. In the eyes of tenants and developers, the following are gaining importance: modern technologies, automation, renewable energy and other sustainable solutions. However, despite the dominant role of new investments, even older logistics parks built in 2000-2010, provided they are professionally managed and constantly modernized, have a chance to match the standard of new development projects. They also provide additional benefits.
“In most cases, older facilities have an undeniable advantage in the form of an excellent location. Additionally, they often win in the evaluation of potential tenants with lower rent rates and immediate availability of space,” said Maciej Kotowski from JLL.
Saturation of warehouse space in Poland
The saturation of warehouse space in Poland is currently approximately 0.9 m² per inhabitant. This is less than in Germany and the Czech Republic and much less compared to port countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands. As noted in the report, taking into account that a significant part of the demand generated by Germany is served by the Polish warehouse market, and Poland’s position as a logistics hub in this part of Europe is strengthening, this indicator can be expected to increase to approximately 1.5 sq m per space in the coming years. per capita, which means an additional 20 million square meters of space.
“We expect that in the coming years the warehouse market in Poland will develop at a relatively stable, although slightly slower pace. It seems relatively safe to assume that within 6-8 years the market may expand by approximately 20 million sq m, as indicated by demand forecasts and developers’ capabilities,” concluded Maciej Kotowski. (PAP)
