The total area of modern industrial premises for rent in the Czech Republic reached 11.7 million square meters. A total of 271,600 square meters of new warehouse space was delivered to the market in 15 industrial parks across the country. That's up 56% from last year and up 49% from the previous quarter. At the same time, however, the volume of new construction fell. Data on the warehouse and manufacturing real estate market in the last quarter of 2023 was announced by the Industrial Research Forum, whose members are CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield and iO Partners (JLL's preferred partner in the CEE region).
This will be FIEGE’s third location with CTP, following existing leases in Poland and the Czech Republic, and brings their total occupation across CTParks to 59,000 sqm. From April 2024, the new regional distribution centre at CTPark Žatec will be used to store tyres from Nexen Tire Europe and supply them to automotive manufacturing plants across Europe. The warehouse had to be specially adapted for the storage of tyres in transport cages, which was handled flexibly by CTP. FIEGE will provide complete logistics services at CTPark Žatec for Nexen Tire Europe, which has its European production plant close by.
Logistics company DB Schenker and start-up Volocopter are developing the third version of a cargo drone called VoloDron in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute. They are seeking certification with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is expected to be put into commercial operation within two years.
In connection with the planned introduction of mandatory non-financial reporting, in which companies will have to report on how they are doing in the areas of the environment, employee relations and responsibility and work ethics, industrial and logistics companies are becoming more interested in sustainable solutions. This interest is then also reflected in their claims to the real estate in which they reside. A survey by Colliers, a leading provider of diversified professional services in the field of commercial real estate and investment management, shows that the issue is most often addressed by large multinational companies that expect properties to be equipped with sustainable technologies such as heat pumps, heat recovery units, energy-saving smart lighting or photovoltaics. Experts from Colliers predict that interest in this topic will increase next year, even on the part of smaller local companies.
The industrial developer Garbe and the company Taconova, a manufacturer of equipment for heating and cooling solutions, indoor climate and sanitary technology, inaugurated 10,000 square meters of industrial space in the Garbe Park in České Budějovice.
What characteristics should an ideal logistics property have? At Prologis buildings, customers appreciate their excellent location with easy access to major consumer centers, which provide excellent facilities for last-mile logistics. We also understand that for their continued efficient growth, customers need real estate that precisely matches the specific needs of their business.
It's no secret that the second half of the year is traditionally one of the most active periods in the logistics sector, and sellers of goods often increase their storage capacity before the main Christmas season in order to cover the multiple times higher demand. This year, however, the situation may be a little different. Logistics and e-commerce companies have expanded significantly in the past two years, and the reality is that, on the contrary, there is an increase in tenants and end-users who put available capacity on the market for short-term subletting. Demand in the logistics and e-commerce sector was not sustainable at previous levels and we expect a decline of around 40% this year.
