E-Commerce & Softening Lean Inventory Patterns Drive Need for Warehouse Space

Supply chains are changing as consumers increase the amount of shopping they do via e-commerce and more of food and supplies are being distributed through consumer – rather than commercial­ – channels as people spend more time in offices and other commercial spaces. Additionally, there is more of a consumer appetite for having stocks of goods, thus requiring suppliers to loosen their lean inventory programs.

As this Wall Street Journal article indicates, the sudden changes in the buying habits of US consumers for a handful of goods has caused demand for warehouse space to increase.

This need for millions of square feet of additional warehouse space is expected to boost demand for a wide range of building and construction materials, key among them:

• metal roofing, siding, and wall panels
• other low-slope roofing products and such roofing accessories as drains and liquid-applied roof coatings
• cement and concrete used to make subfloors, flooring, and such areas as loading docks
• insulation – especially those materials required to maintain temperatures in structures designed to store frozen and refrigerated items
• overhead doors
• commercial-grade HVAC systems
• material handling equipment, including racks, conveyors, and storage and retrieval systems
• safety equipment and burglar alarms

Furthermore, the nation’s building contractors and construction professionals would welcome a surge of warehouse construction activity. While construction has been deemed essential in most states, many firms expect at least a short-term drop in operations as home and business owners react to challenging economic conditions by delaying – if not canceling altogether – construction projects such as major home improvements or key renovations. Builders and contractors will be more than ready to assume the task of quickly erecting warehouses needed for storing such essentials as food and toilet paper.

For more information about the products listed above, see the following reports from The Freedonia Group: Low-Slope Roofing, Roofing, Roofing Accessories, Global Roofing, Global Cement, Global Cement & Concrete Additives, Insulation in the US, HVAC Equipment, Global HVAC Equipment, Garage & Overhead Doors, Windows & Doors, Global Material Handling Equipment, and Safety & Security Alarms, as well as Global E-Commerce and Packaged Facts’ Global Food E-Commerce.