WARSAW – 9 February 2016 – Prologis, Inc., the global leader in industrial real estate, today announced the launch of new research, revealing the top logistics locations in Central and Eastern Europe for occupiers

The top five locations are spread over the region with each one in a different country, reflecting the expansion of the logistics sector in CEE over recent years. Central Poland, which includes Lodz, is CEE’s most desirable location, followed by Istanbul in Turkey, Prague in the Czech Republic, Bucharest in Romania and Budapest in Hungary.

CEE’s Most Desirable Logistics Locations

#

2016

2013

1

 Central Poland

 Central Poland

2

 Istanbul

 Krakow

3

 Prague

 West Poland

4

 Bucharest

 Warsaw Periphery

5

 Budapest

 Upper Silesia

6

 Rest of Romania

 North Poland

7

 Wroclaw

 Wroclaw

8

 Krakow

 Warsaw City

9

 SW Czech Republic

 -

10

 West Poland

 -

The findings form part of a wider report, Logistics Real Estate Network Expansion, which was carried out by Prologis, in partnership with Eyefortransport.
 
CEE shows the biggest improvement among locations from the first report in 2013, with nine of the top 10 CEE markets improving their score. In total, eight CEE locations made it into the top 20, compared to four in 2013.
 
Low cost is the major factor for CEE - markets in CEE dominated the rankings in the “cost of labour” and “real estate costs” criteria. Of the top 10 European locations in the criterion “cost of labour”, eight are located in CEE. And of the top 20 best locations with regard to “cost of real estate”, 13 are located in CEE. Central Poland is the only location reaching a top 10 position in these two requirements.
 
The rise of markets in CEE is at the expense of markets in Western Europe. Markets showing the biggest declines in their ranking are Liege, Paris, Brussels, Madrid and Central Germany. Air cargo hubs, like Frankfurt and Amsterdam-Schiphol, lost ground as well. According to the report, this is due to lower scores for the location drivers “labour availability” and “cost of labour”.
 
Venlo, a logistics market in south east Netherlands, near the German border, is Europe’s most desirable location by a significant margin, as it was when the research was carried out for the first time in 2013. Venlo came out top in nine of the 11 location criteria, scoring particularly high for ‘availability of land’, ‘road access, ‘transport cost’ and ‘regulatory’.
 
In second place is Rotterdam, the major port in the west Netherlands, in third the Antwerp-Brussels area in Belgium, followed by Central Brabant and East Brabant in south Netherlands. Making up the top 10 locations behind the five Benelux powerhouses are the German city of Dusseldorf, Central Poland, Antwerp-Hasselt, Istanbul and Cologne.
 
The Logistics Real Estate Network Expansion report answers the key location questions facing owners and occupiers of logistics property at a time of huge structural change. The reconfiguration of the European supply chain and the rise of e-commerce means there is significant demand potential for modern, efficient distribution facilities across the region.
 
A total of 216 occupiers of logistics property from a variety of sectors, ranging from retail to automotive to pharmaceuticals, ranked 100 distribution locations by 11 criteria: occupiers favour closeness to economic networks, low costs (both transport and real estate costs) and an availability of skilled labour.
 
In the future, availability of staff will be the most important consideration for choice of location. However, the importance of staff availability differs significantly per country and region. In general, it is most important in north western Europe and the U.K. and of less importance in the European periphery. However, across Europe it remains a challenge to find qualified and experienced staff.
 
Factors, such as global trade, outsourcing and infrastructural improvements, appear poised to be stronger drivers of change than cyclical factors, such as economic development and consumption. Two categories that were relatively unimportant in the 2013 report are now much more important: sustainability and planning for e-commerce. Sustainability has become particularly important for brand-sensitive customers, such as retailers and consumer packaged goods distributors. E-commerce growth has exploded in recent years and is only likely 
to become more important.
 
Paweł Sapek, senior vice president & country manager for Prologis Poland, said: “The research is of vital importance as it helps our understanding of customers’ current and future distribution requirements. Logistics companies are constantly optimising their distribution strategies to ensure the highest service levels for the lowest costs. The European market is driven by long term trends, such as proximity to economic networks, sourcing staffing and consolidation. Logistics corridors and infill locations in the largest metropolitan areas are expected to benefit most from this. As well being in-line with our investment strategy, the results demonstrate that we are well placed to meet demand in Europe’s most desirable logistics markets. Projects developed and planned in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, show that Prologis is ready to meet demand in the majority of the most desirable locations in the region.”

ABOUT PROLOGIS

Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in industrial real estate. As of September 30, 2015, Prologis owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 670 million square feet (62 million square meters) in 21 countries. The company leases modern distribution facilities to more than 5,200 customers, including third-party logistics providers, transportation companies, retailers and manufacturers.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which Prologis operates, management’s beliefs and assumptions made by management.  Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact Prologis’ financial results. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature.  All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to rent and occupancy growth, development activity and changes in sales or contribution volume of properties, disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt and financial position, our ability to form new co-investment ventures and the availability of capital in existing or new co-investment ventures — are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained and therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may affect outcomes and results include, but are not limited to: (i) national, international, regional and local economic climates, (ii) changes in financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, (iii) increased or unanticipated competition for our properties, (iv) risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and development of properties, (v) maintenance of real estate investment trust (“REIT”) status and tax structuring, (vi) availability of financing and capital, the levels of debt that we maintain and our credit ratings, (vii) risks related to our investments in our co-investment ventures and funds, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures and funds, (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks, (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters, and (x) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Prologis under the heading “Risk Factors.” Prologis undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this document.

 

MEDIA CONTACTS

 

Marta Tęsiorowska
Vice President Marketing & Communications
Prologis Central & Eastern Europe
Direct: +48 22 218 36 56
Email: [email protected]&

 

Marta Zagożdżon
PR Director, ConTrust Communication
Direct: + 48 605 073 929
E-mail: [email protected]