An estimated £3bn is set to be spent this year on building big warehouses to support the growth in online shopping.
According to construction analyst Barbour ABI, the first three quarters of 2018 accumulated £2.2bn worth of warehouse construction contracts, which is an increase of £800m compared to 2016 figures.
Regionally, it is the centrally located East and West Midlands that lead the way with a combined £2.6bn worth of warehouse construction since 2016, which is over £400m more than any other region.
Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Since the start of the decade the UK has seen ever increasing numbers of warehouses being constructed as firms re-aligned their offer to meet the increasing propensity of consumers to shop online. From fashion to food, the need for more storage space to deliver to customers quickly and efficiently has resulted in a boom for warehousing construction.
“With an increasing amount of shopping taking place online, we expect the number of warehousing construction contracts to continue to increase. In 2017 Barbour ABI recorded a 22% increase compared to 2016 and it is likely we will see a similar increase in 2018. With a number of these being Amazon warehouses, and considering the ambitious growth plans they have, this is clearly an area of construction that is primed for growth.”
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