I am sure you are aware of the downturn in business for our High Street
retailers as every month we seem to lose a nationwide name. However, the increase in online shopping has had one positive effect on the construction industry – an increase in demand for sheds!
Of course, I am not referring to the wooden construction at the bottom of your garden but the huge warehouses that feature on our out of town industrial parks. It is estimated that some £3 billion will be spent this year building big warehousing to service the online retail industry.
Construction Analysist Barbour ABI have concluded that in the first three quarters of 2018 £2.2 billion worth of construction contracts were for warehousing, an increase of £800 million on 2016 figures.
Michael Dall is the lead economist for Barbour ABI and he is quoted on The Construction Index website as saying “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.”
He went on to add “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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