Industrial market heads for stability

Without a doubt, in 2022, many companies navigated a challenging and volatile macroeconomic environment. Investment processes became longer and some were put on hold until market conditions stabilize. Despite this, many companies continue to develop modern warehouse infrastructure throughout Poland,

says Damian Kołata, Partner, Head of Industrial & Logistics Agency Poland, Head of E-Commerce CEE, Cushman & Wakefield.

Despite geopolitical and economic challenges, the outlook for 2023 remains positive. In the long term, the growth of the Polish industrial sector is expected to be driven by such factors as nearshoring or last-mile logistics. The continued expansion of e-commerce will also play a key role. According to data from Cushman & Wakefield, almost a third of Poland’s total warehouse stock is dedicated to online fulfilment, with the highest levels of saturation reported in Lower Silesia, Łódzkie and Silesia,

adds Damian Kołata.

Despite the highest ever level of new supply, Poland did not see any significant improvement in warehouse availability; its overall vacancy rate stood at 4.1% at year-end 2022, up by just 0.4 pp,

says Adrian Semaan, Senior Research Consultant, Industrial & Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

At the end of last year, around 3.4 million sq m of warehouse space was under construction, of which close to 1.6 million sq m was available for lease. Speculative construction is expected to help meet the demand reported by companies planning to launch new operations in the next three to nine months. However, warehouse availability is likely to shrink considerably by the end of the year as a result of weakening construction activity,

adds Adrian Semaan.

This year, Poland will catch up with the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands - the four largest industrial markets in Europe, each of which has warehouse stock in excess of 30 million sq m. However, in terms of warehouse space saturation rates, Poland still lags behind such countries as the Czech Republic, which has 11 million sq m per close to 11 million inhabitants. Poland’s development pipeline potential for the next five to ten years is estimated at over ten million square metres,

concludes Damian Kołata.