Leasing up 50% in logistics sector in second-half of 2017: Report

Leasing activity in the logistics and warehousing segment in India rose 50 per cent during the second-half of 2017, compared to the first-half of the year, a report said here on Tuesday.

Leasing activity in the segment reached 10 million square feet (sq.ft) in the second-half of 2017, the report by CBRE South Asia said.

CBRE South Asia is part of the global commercial real estate and investment firm CBRE.

Demand in Bengaluru accounted for 39 per cent of the overall demand, the highest among all cities, the report showed.

"Demand for logistics and warehousing space was largely concentrated in Bengaluru (39 per cent), Delhi-NCR (20 per cent) and Chennai (13 per cent)," the report said, adding that demand in Mumbai comprised nine per cent of the nationwide demand.

Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune collectively accounted for 19 per cent of the demand, the report said.

According to the report, titled "India Industrial and Logistics MarketView: H2 2017", during the second-half of 2017, the average size of "space take-up" increased to around 85,000 sq.ft from an average of 65,000 sq.ft in the first-half.

Commenting on the sector, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman - India and South East Asia, CBRE, said: "Implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will lead to significant structural changes in operation dynamics, with enhanced focus on supply chain efficiencies."

He added: "This (GST) will further enable consolidation of warehouses and entry of credible, pan-India players, consequently enabling increased FDI inflows."

According to the report, in Delhi-NCR, leasing activity in logistics and warehousing segment grew around 40 per cent during the second-half of 2017.

"FMCG (49 per cent) and 3PL (third party logistics) (16 per cent) sectors primarily drove leasing demand (in Delhi-NCR), followed by automobile companies (8 per cent), electronics retailers (7 per cent) and food and beverage players (4 per cent)," the report said.

--IANS

rrb/nir