Of the approximately 650 ports that exist in Germany according to the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, about 180 ports with an affinity for logistics real estate have a bi- or multimodal handling facility as well as an increased volume of new logistics real estate construction. Based on the new construction monitoring, which is presented in the annual Logivest Logistics Real Estate Seismograph, it was possible to identify the logistics real estate affinity ports using a specially developed methodology and to map those properties that were newly built between 2017 and 2021 within the ports and within a radius of one kilometer around the ports. “This gives us a very good database on the areas in the ports with an affinity for logistics real estate. Data like this is the basis for us to provide sound location analyses and advice,” says Markus Seidle in, Head of Research at Logivest. From 2017 to 2021, a total of approximately 1.2 million square meters of new construction space was developed within the port areas – only a fraction of the nearly 26 million square meters of new logistics construction space developed across Germany during the same period. This means that an average of just under 240,000 square meters was developed within the ports per year – and around 415,000 square meters if the area studied is extended to a radius around the ports of one kilometer.
Demands on port logistics real estate have changed:
“Ports have become a sought-after location for logistics real estate users who want to take advantage not only of the logistical shipping traffic, but primarily of the other advantages of the location. That’s why today, for the most part, larger and more modern logistics properties are being built than before, which also have a very high third-party usability,” says Kuno Neumeier, CEO of the Logivest Group. The average size of today’s logistics properties within port areas in Germany is approximately 15,000 square meters (built between 2017 and 2021). Due in part to the increased space requirements of logistics properties over time, a logistics property built in 1980 usually no longer meets today’s standards. It must therefore be modernized accordingly and adapted to the new tenant clientele, or else make way for a new, contemporary property. “But often the ve ral space available in the ports is very limited,” says Neumeier.
Ways out of space shortage: infill, revitalization and multi-levels:
One possible approach to addressing the lack of space is to fill in unused water areas within the ports. For example, completely new port areas were created at JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven within just under 20 years. There, around 290 hectares of port and logistics land were filled in the former port basin, creating new space for logistics. Another option for creating new development space is the revitalization of brownfields. This involves demolishing obsolete building fabric and then developing new real estate on the vacated site. Brownfield development thus offers the opportunity to develop ecologically sustainable projects without having to seal green spaces. Brownfield sites can thus be turned into modern and efficient logistics hubs.
One example of this is the “LogPort Duisburg VI” in the Duisburg district of Walsum, where real estate holdings in the port could be demolished and new logistics halls located. Multi-level concepts are another variant of efficient land use. Their advantage lies in the fact that the usable area exceeds the mere floor space of an object and that service can be provided via all levels. However, the implementation of such multi-level concepts is usually associated with higher construction costs. One example of a successful settlement is the Mach 2 project by Four Parx in the Port of Hamburg: there, the project developer chose a two-story construction method in order to be able to create more usable space and thus counter the shortage of space. Multi-story projects will first be implemented primarily in metropolitan areas, where the demand for space is already very high and the availability of space is very low.
After a Logivest study already attested to the lack of space in ports as a challenge for the expansion of trimodal and sustainable logistics in spring 2022, the logistics real estate consultant has now published a comprehensive research paper on the development of logistics real estate in German ports. The entire paper is available for download in German free of charge on the Logivest website:
