Warehouse - United Kingdom Warehousing Association

8 Business NewsINBRIEFBusiness wins forWincantonWincanton hasreported a major winwith Asda as well asnew contracts withSuperGroup, PremierFoods, Chevron, B&Qand Thames Water,in its interim statementfor the periodfrom 1st October lastyear.It said the businesswins demonstratedmomentum in its newbusiness pipelineacross differentindustry sectors. Inaddition, it said ithad continued tosecure renewalsincluding WHSmith,Husqvarna andProcter & Gamble.Trading over theperiod was in linewith expectations, itsaid.During the periodWincanton completedthe last disposal inthe strategic withdrawalfrom itsMainland Europeanbusinesses which willallow Wincanton tofocus on developingits leading positionin the UK & Irelandmarkets.PROPERTYReport identifies key trendsin Europe’s distributioncentre property marketMarket research companyTransport Inteilligence hasproduced a new reportthat highlights ten keytrends in the Europeandistribution property market.The trends, which formpart of a comprehensiveanalysis of the industry inTransport Intelligence’slatest report, EuropeanDistribution andWarehousing 2012, are:1. A focus on the costand efficiency of production,primarily driven bylabour, will continue tosupport a shift of distributionfacilities from northernand western Europeto central, eastern andsouth eastern Europe.2.Shifts in transportmodes, notably from roadto rail, and lower production/distributioncostsallowing for quicker, morecost efficient delivery willbe the catalyst for thisalongside improved roadinfrastructure.3. This trend, however,will face a headwind fromincreasing fuel costs andthe requirement for adecrease in CO2 emissions.In order for productionto move furthersouth and east, a significantimprovement intransportation infrastructureand quality will beessential.4. There is a movetowards sea and railfreight away from air androad freight respectively.This will be more fuel efficientbringing about areduction in carbon emissionsand supply chaincosts. In future, a modalshift to sea and rail willsupport locations whichcan offer genuine 'multimodal'capabilities. Portcentricdistribution models,such as that being developedby London Gateway,will also become morepopular.In future, a modal shift to sea and rail will supportlocations which can offer genuine 'multimodal'capabilities. Port-centric distributionmodels, such as that being developed by LondonGateway, will also become more popular5. E-commerce is one ofthe fastest-growing sectorsin Europe and the marketshare of online sales willcontinue to grow. E-retailerrequirements tend to belarge central logistics platformsas well as mediumand small sized warehousesadjacent to populationcentres for "last mile" distribution.6. Although overallgrowth will be modest, theEuropean property sectorwill see considerabledemand driven by modernisationand re-configuration.7. Eastern Europe,although displaying strongfundamentals, has significantproblems. Russia andthe Ukraine are very challengingas there is littlemarket transparency. EvenTurkey, which has anincreasingly modern logisticssector, is difficult forproperty companies tooperate in.8. Any increase in GDPper capita and disposableincome will increasedemand for new warehousingfrom retailers andassociated logistics/3PLsacross the region, in particularfurther south andeast where economies arecatching up with the restof Europe.9. Due to the downturn,retailers have becomevery selective on thechoice of store locations,now favouring larger unitslocated mainly in city centres.This change in focus,particularly in the foodsector, impacts supplyContinued on page 10February 2012www.ukwa.org.uk