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摘要

A NEW RESEARCH PROJECT from Interact Analysis, the "Warehouse Building Stock Database," points to rapid growth in the number of warehouses needed globally, driven by the rapid expansion of e-commerce. The analyst firm estimates that the global stock of warehouses reached 150,000 at the end of 2020, and combined with e-commerce as the core driver, 28,500 new warehouses will be needed by 2025. "While many industrial and service sectors continue to reel from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, warehousing and fulfillment centers are a real growth area, with staffing set to increase by 50% by 2025," said Jason dePreaux, principal analyst at Interact Analysis. "There has been a surge in automation projects caused by labor shortages in some markets. Yet 60% of all warehouses are in regions where the cost of labor is under $10 an hour and automation has yet to gain a firm foothold. As developing economies advance, which they inevitably will, we can expect to see major growth in automation in these regions, too."