Producers of essential goods to lead space take-up

CEBU, Philippines —  Manufacturers of essential items such as food, medical, and other household products are likely to lead industrial space take-up in 2020 and 2021.

This is the projection made by Colliers International Philippines, saying the rise of essential products demand should offset a subdued absorption from electronics manufacturers due to the global economic slowdown.

Colliers recommends that developers modernize warehouses to capture the growing demand for e-commerce and firm up partnership with delivery firms to reach more consumers.Mall operators with vacant spaces should also explore converting or repurposing vacant retail spaces into warehouses. This should allow retailers to reach last-mile deliveries.

Likewise, Tom Over, JLL Philippines’ director for industrial and logistics, earlier said that even with the ongoing health concerns, more investors, developers are now looking at Cebu, as one of the hottest playgrounds for logistics related investments.

According to Over Lapu-Lapu Mandaue and Cebu areas most in-demand locations for logistic facility developments, as the rising trend for eCommerce is evident.

In a recently held virtual market briefing, Over mentioned Cebu’s promising infrastructure build-up particularly the development of Cebu-Cordova Link expressway, which could bring intense interest of industrial developments in the southern part of Cebu.

Aside from Japanese, Chinese capitalists, local developers are currently land-banking either for industrial and logistics-related developments.

The pressure of limited industrial lands within the urban centers like Mactan, Mandaue and Cebu, pushed these developers to look farther north and south as potential for cold storage and dry storage facilities, warehousing, and increasing demand for better quality facilities, mostly from e-commerce firms and third-party logistics firms.