Online Shopping is a Boon for the Warehousing Sector

West-Midlands firm Midland Pallet Trucks, which provides materials handling equipment such as fork accessories, hand pallet trucks and mobile aerial work platforms to the sector, is excited by the current boom in the development of warehousing space. And it’s all thanks to online shopping, according to the firm.

The rise and rise of online shopping has led to a two-fold increase in the demand for warehouse space in just a decade, according to new figures from research company CBRE. Midland Pallet Trucks is keen to point out that this decade-long trend is perhaps more than a trend at this point – it could very well be the new reality.

The figures show that more than 235 million square feet of warehouse space came into the sector – either via lease or purchase – between 2007 and March of this year. And when compared to the previous decade’s performance of 130 million square feet, a clear, almost desperate, need for warehousing space is apparent. Another figure – 60-percent of this new warehousing space is taken up by retailers, when a decade ago they accounted for less than a third – the impact of online shopping is something that cannot go ignored. With online retailers of all kinds keen to expand their reach – both in physical terms and the sales they make via the internet – warehousing space has reached a premium. Midland Pallet Trucks points to new builds as a clear answer to the need and says this will only mean more jobs and growth for the sector.

The step-change in both demands for warehousing facilities and the unassailable growth of online shopping has seen the East Midlands take on the moniker of ‘The Golden Triangle’, with goods shipped from the region able to reach 90-percent of the population of England and Wales in around four hours. Midland Pallet Trucks points to the area – and those nearby – as the hotbeds to watch in the future for new warehousing developments.

Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Midland Pallet Trucks, said, “These figures are great news for the warehousing sector and it’s great to see such sustained, powerful growth. And the best thing about these figures is that they show the need for warehousing facilities and logistics networks are only going to increase as we move ahead. We all know online shopping isn’t going anywhere, and that’s brilliant for the sector.

“We’re especially happy to see the Midlands benefitting so much from the warehousing boom, because we can see the real, positive effects for the clients we work alongside.”
To find out more, visit https://www.midlandpallettrucks.com/