Prologis presented the “Top 100 Most Desirable Logistics Locations in Europe” awards during the EXPO REAL 2017 trade fair.
Prologis, the global leader in logistics real estate, has published a new study on the factors influencing the choice of logistics locations in Europe. The report, “Customer Growth Strategies: Europe’s Most Desirable Logistics Locations,” also identifies locations that are thriving in the rapidly changing European logistics sector.
Prologis Research, in collaboration with eyefortransport (eft), conducted surveys among logistics operators across Europe between February and May 2017, based on which it identified five main factors determining the choice of European locations. These are: proximity to consumption centers, regulatory environment, labor availability, transport infrastructure, and total costs.
Key findings from the report:
• Direct access to major consumption centers is crucial.
• Major population clusters with the highest levels of consumption are becoming increasingly important.
• Total costs are relatively less important compared to other factors.
• Labor availability (e.g., in Western Europe, particularly in the Netherlands) and labor costs (e.g., in Poland) have a direct impact on decisions in the logistics sector.
– The report clearly shows that the proximity and readiness of the workforce, as well as proximity to economic hubs, are key for logistics space tenants – said Dirk Sosef, head of research and strategy at Prologis. – At the current stage of the logistics sector’s development, policymakers should encourage investment in infrastructure and the availability of a skilled workforce.
Based on the study results, on October 5th at the EXPO REAL trade fair in Munich, Prologis presented the “Top 100 Most Desirable Logistics Locations in Europe 2017” awards to the best locations in Europe. The Netherlands scored highly in all five categories of factors determining the choice of new locations, recording particularly good results in terms of formal and legal regulations and multimodality – factors crucial for markets focused on pan-European distribution. In terms of proximity to major consumption centers and transport infrastructure, Western Germany and the Benelux countries recorded the highest scores, enjoying a high density of consumers and developed transport networks. Poland also performed well in many categories, which testifies to the dynamically developing Polish market.
The winners of the “Top 100 Most Desirable Logistics Locations in Europe 2017” award were:
• Venlo: the most desirable location in Europe out of the 100 surveyed locations.
• Düsseldorf / Rhein-Ruhr with three markets: Hamm, Unna, and the Metropolitan region of Ruhr: the greatest improvement among the top 10.
• Central Poland – Łódź: the most desirable location outside Western Europe.
The full report in English is available at: https://www.prologis.com/logistics-industry-research/customer-growth-strategies-europes-most-desirable-logistics-locations