According to the latest report from global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, the Polish industrial market saw a marked upturn in occupier activity in the second quarter of 2024, reporting the highest leasing volume in Europe. In addition, Poland’s total industrial stock is poised to soon surpass the 35 million sq m mark.
TAKE-UP: Poland sees the strongest demand in Europe
In the three months to June 2024, tenants leased 1.76 million sq m of warehouse space, more than making up for the poor performance in the first quarter. This marked the best result for warehouse take-up in Europe and the second time when Poland outpaced Germany for quarterly leasing volumes. It is also notable that large leases for 20,000-130,000 sq m accounted for 56% of the second quarter total,
comments Damian Kołata, Partner, Head of Industrial & Logistics/E-Commerce CEE, Cushman & Wakefield.
The breakdown of net take-up by sector reveals significant changes: retailers and e-commerce companies raised their share of net take-up to 34% while logistics providers saw theirs fall from 36% in the first half of 2023 to the current 22%. Looking ahead, demand is expected to be driven in the long term by the continued growth of e-commerce, the increasing adoption of ESG strategies and thereby the flight to quality, as well as nearshoring trends,
adds Adrian Semaan, Market Analyst, Cushman & Wakefield.
SUPPLY: A marked decline in speculative construction
The Polish industrial market continues to enjoy brisk expansion with 1.64 million sq m of modern warehouse space delivered in the first half of 2024. A similar volume is scheduled for completion in the second half of this year, signifying that Poland’s total industrial stock is firmly on course to exceed 35 million sq m in the near future,
says Damian Kołata.
Development activity slackened slightly, which - coupled with a sharp decline in speculative construction - is likely to push vacancy rates down in the next 9-12 months. In the second quarter of 2024, work began on the construction of approximately 460,000 sq m of warehouse space, of which only 184,000 sq m was being built speculatively. This brought Poland’s total development pipeline to 1.99 million sq m at the end of June,
adds Adrian Semaan.
RENTS: Stabilization with effective rents under slight downward pressure
LABOUR MARKET: The industrial sector is filling vacancies
More than 20% of companies across Poland offer production workers basic hourly rates in excess of PLN 28, with over 22% providing the most common rate of PLN 26 per hour. Less than 2% of employers offer PLN 34-36 per hour. It is worth noting that more than 84% of workers in this sector are Polish while Ukrainian citizens account for nearly 14% of the workforce, being the second-largest group by nationality,
comments Dagmara Żuromska, Strategic Business Development Senior Manager, Randstad Polska.
Employee turnover is obviously impacted by overall job satisfaction. It is worth noting that job satisfaction levels have slightly improved in transport, logistics and manufacturing. 80% of transport and logistics employees and 74% of manufacturing workers are either very or quite satisfied with their current jobs and nearly half of those working in these sectors are not looking for new employment at all,
adds Dagmara Żuromska, Randstad.