Demand for U.S. industrial distribution centers, larger than 300,000 square feet, is high and rising, according to real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle's first "Big Box Velocity Index". Improving economic conditions, the continuing growth of e-commerce and a deep bench of tenants seeking space have all created this highly competitive fight for industrial and warehousing space. As a result, there is 96.7 million square feet of industrial construction under way, with nearly half speculative, with an average building size of 360,000 square feet.
More than 80 percent of the world's population resides in what is known as "emerging markets". This group of countries represents a diverse collection of economies from China to Peru and Ethiopia to Kazakhstan.
Development activity in Europe's main logistics markets is at its highest level since the economic downturn in 2008, driven by build-to-suit and owner-occupied developments.
Northgate Public Services, which has a track record in delivering IT solutions to central Government departments, has been appointed by the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop and operate the foreign operator payment system for the forthcoming heavy goods vehicle (HGV) road user levy.
As ever-larger "megacities" become home to more and more of the world's people, the supply chains that bring essential supplies to these crowded populations will become increasingly complex.
Emerging markets are more important than ever, and they make up a large share of many multinational companies' revenues and growth. Yet even so, multinationals have not mastered these markets. That's because they are not playing to win.
Most everyone in manufacturing is aware that today, supply chain is, more or less, "king" of the manufacturing lifecycle. With more globalized supply chains and the trend of working with more and more third parties, it's critical that manufacturers keep a strong hold on the flow of materials from one location to the next.
We all know that the geography of the modern global supply chain and the concentration of manufacturing in specific areas make supplies of many components particularly vulnerable to disruption.
Following extensive work with NGOs, local companies and diplomats, Damco is assisting its clients this year to open their supply chains up to the frontier market of Myanmar.
