Since 2015, Prologis has published the global Logistics Rent Index, which examines trends in net effective market rental growth in key logistics real estate markets in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Some of last year‘s key results showed:
- Global market rental rates rose by nearly 7 percent, accelerating from the 4 percent rental growth realized in 2016.
- The U.S. led all regions with 9 percent growth.
- Growth accelerated in Europe, led by the continent.
The average net rental growth in the most important Dutch logistics markets was between 3% -4% in 2017. These are the highest figures of the past 10 years. The logistics hotspots that achieve these percentages are mainly in the South of the Netherlands, Rotterdam and Amsterdam (Schiphol). The reasons why rent increases are diverse. The development costs for logistics real estate and land prices, for example, are rising. Moreover, vacancy is historically low
Customer sentiment is positive; their businesses are growing. The demand for logistics space is high. Nevertheless, rents remain low on an inflation-adjusted basis. In addition, rents represent only a small share of total and supply chain costs. The combination of low vacancies, improving economic growth and rising replacement costs suggests that rents will continue to rise in 2018.