Logistics property update: December 2020
Key new builds and acquisitions from the frontlines of logistics property
Jaguar Transport acquires Ohio warehousing site
Jaguar Transport has acquired the Marion Industrial Centre in Marion, Ohio. The site includes more than 1.5m sq ft of warehousing and manufacturing space covering 511 acres and 10 miles of private rail, with a direct switch onto the CSX rail network.
Located at 3007 Harding Highway East, the centre has sufficient land to facilitate construction of millions of feet of new Class A warehouse space.
The site has the advantage of being strategically located north of Columbus which gives shippers many multimodal transportation corridors, offering almost any type of rail-served freight or material movement.
Amazon plans Oklahoma fulfilment centre
Amazon has announced plans to open a new fulfilment centre in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Planned to open in 2021, the one million sq ft centre will create over 500 new full-time jobs and will focus on the packing and shipping of larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture and outdoor equipment. (56)
Shiprocket expands fulfilment centre offering in India
E-commerce logistics firm Shiprocket has announced the launch of five fulfilment centres in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Gurgaon, Kokkata and Mumbai in India. It plans to roll out centres in 15 more locations in the coming year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen huge e-commerce growth in India. Shiprocket provides product delivery services to vendors selling directly to customers or to those selling on e-commerce portals and using Shiprocket’s logistics service to deliver products.
Amazon expands in Canada
Work has been completed on Amazon’s latest Ontario, Canada, warehousing facility. Designed and built by Quebec-based Broccolini, the one million sq ft facility is located on a 52-acre site at Steeles Avenue East and Tapscott Road.
Amazon has also started work on another facility in Ajax, Ontario, with Broccolini also working on this 1.1 m sq ft warehouse which, is expected to complete next year. It will employ 1000 people.
The company has confirmed it also plans to build a new fulfilment centre in Hamilton and five new delivery stations in Kitchener, Stoney Creek, Vaughan, Etobicoke and Scarborough. The new 855,000 sq ft Hamilton centre will employ more than 1500 employees. The Etobicoke site has already launched and the Kitchener site is expected to launch in late 2020, with the other three launching in 2021.
This will bring Amazon Canada’s total to 10 fulfilment centres in Ontario and 16 in Canada as a whole. 2,500 jobs are expected to be created in Ontario.
Walmart investing into Canadian distribution centres
Walmart Canada will be building a 550,000 sq ft distribution centre in Vaughan as part of the company’s new $3.5 billion investment into its Canadian operations. The centre located at 11110 Jane Street is expected to open in 2024. The facility will have next-generation automation and technology with Walmart working with Netherlands-based company, Vanderlande, a material handling and logistics automation company.
The investment will also include a new 300,000 sq ft facility currently under construction in Surrey, British Columbia, and major upgrades to a third facility in Cornwall, Ontario. The investment is intended to re-invent and create ‘smarter’ stores by accelerating digitisation, and to enhance the Omni experience by expanding the full “Walmart Pickup” offering to approximately 270 stores in country (70% of locations) by the end of 2020.
Walmart will be working with Toronto-based DLT Labs, the world’s biggest blockchain solution for a transportation payments system, and with Axonify, a Waterloo-based micro-frontline learning company providing new machine learning training software to support improved training and safety on the front lines of the distribution centres and fleet operations.
Construction starts on Amazon fulfilment centre in Republic, Missouri
Construction has started on Amazon’s first fulfilment centre In Republic, Missouri. Opening in 2021, the centre should create over 500 jobs.
The centre will be located near James River Freeway and State Highway MM , near the industrial area. The site, which will cover 1.3m sq. ft, is also close to both the Springfield-Branson National Airport and Interstate 44.
Amazon plans eight Nevada fulfilment centres
Amazon continues its investment in Nevada with the announcement of eight new fulfilment and delivery buildings across the state.
Work has already started on an 855,00 sq ft fulfilment centre in North Las Vegas, which will be the second site in Nevada to use Amazon Robotics.
Five new delivery stations in Henderson (scheduled to open in 2021), Las Vegas (2021), North Las Vegas (opened in Septmber 2020), Reno (October 2021) and Reno (AXML fulfilment centre) (2021) will power the last mile of Amazon’s order process.
Amazon has also opened two additional facilities in North Las Vegas: Merch by Amazon opened in September 2020 and Print on Demand opened in October 2020.
Amazon currently has 11 sites in Nevada supporting customer fulfilment and delivery operations.
Dollar General plans Nebraskan dual distribution centre
Dollar General is to build an 800,000 sq ft dual distribution centre in Blair, Nebraska, with completion expected in 2021. The site will cover 85 acres.
The combination distribution centre will include approximately 650,000 sq ft of dry goods and approximately 150,000 sq ft of DG Fresh items. It will cost $85m.
Allied Electronics & Automation increases Fort Worth distribution centre
Allied Electronics & Automation has added more than 200,00 sq ft of space to its North American distribution centre in Forth Worth, Texas.
The company has also invested in the latest digital order fulfilment centre technology provided by global intelligent automation solutions provider KNAPP.
This development doubles the capacity of Allied and provides 520,000 sq ft of total warehouse footprint, a high-density warehouse operations area, automated box erector machines and robotic packing stations and ergonomic receiving stations to process inbound supplier products.
The site also provides options for further increases in capacity.
Tractor Supply Company plans Ohio distribution centre
US rural lifestyle retailer, Tractor Supply Company, has announced plans to build a new distribution centre in Navarre, Ohio,
With an initial investment of $70m, the centre will cover approximately 859,000 sq ft and will create more than 375 full time jobs by the end of 2023. Construction is expected to start in April 2021 with completion anticipated for autumn 2022.
Development of the site is, however, contingent on specific, limited requirements being met. The company currently has eight distribution centres in various locations. (93)
Nice-Pak increases manufacturing and distribution space in Morgan County, Indiana
Nice-Pak plans to construct a 1.2m sq ft manufacturing and distribution facility in Mooresville, Morgan County, Indiana at a cost of $165m. It will create 150 additional jobs working for the leading global producer of wet wipes.
The complex’s location will be at the intersection of Merriman Road and Bethal Road, five miles from the company’s existing 147,00 sq. ft facility at 1 Nice Pak Road. The original facility will remain open.
Construction of the new facility will begin in March 2021 with completion expected in May 2022.
Dalfen Industrial acquires well-placed distribution facility in Dallas, Texas
Dalfen Industrial has strengthened its focus on infill in key markets with the acquisition of Peachtree Distribution Centre at 510 N Peachtree Road in the east Dallas, Texas suburb of Mesquite.
The facility is a minute’s drive from I-635, a well as being close to I-30, I-80 and the Mesquite Airport.
Dalfen is positioning the 396,750 sq. m. multi-tenant distribution facility as an e-commerce last-mile distribution facility. It has 68 docks and suitable car and trailer parking space.
The area is a longstanding transportation centre and home to one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s major intermodal industrial development hubs.
Mastronardi opens facility near the World Trade Bridge, Texas
Mastronardi Produce has opened a new 185,000 sq. ft facility in Laredo, Texas, saying it has outgrown its current location. The warehouse is close to the company’s current distribution centre and is triple the size of the original site.
The company sells and markets fresh fruit and vegetables under the SUNSET brand and is seeing increasing demand for its products.
The new facility is ideally located near the World Trade Bridge which links the USA to Mexico. It will feature an all-in-one operating system for inventory tracking, customer fulfilment, and tracking produce from farm to customer.
Multi-temp cooling zones will enable storage of products requiring varied temperature control and it has 78 dock doors.
Further expansion will be possible at the site.
Mastronardi currently operates nine distribution centres totalling over one million sq ft of cooled warehouse and distribution space.
The company has also announced a new distribution centre in British Columbia.
Two new tri-state distribution centres for The Home Depot
Currently operating six distribution centres across New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, The Home Depot has announced two new distribution centres in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, over the next 12 months.
Following a 2017 announcement of a $1.2 billion investment in the supply chain, the company is increasing its network with about 150 new facilities worldwide.
The Perth Amboy centre is a 330,000 sq ft flatbed delivery centre, offering same day and next-day flatbed delivery of bulk and oversized orders to customers and stores in the tri-state market.
The company also plans an order fulfilment centre in Perth Amboy in 2021, offering both DIY and Pro customers same-day/next-day delivery.
New delivery locations have been opened recently in Cheektowaga and Schenectady to aid appliance delivery options in New York and another appliance delivery operation is planned for Hicksville, New York, in 2021.
Florida warehouse expansion for Southeastern
A class-A warehouse facility expansion with 36-foot-high ceilings has been announced by Southeastern, doubling the company’s climate-controlled storage capacity and fulfilment services.
Southeastern is one of the largest printing and marketing solutions providers in South Florida. The facility will be in the Miami Axis Park adjacent to the company’s Hialeah, Florida, facility.
Miami Axis Park is a 20-acre industrial storage facility, close to Miami International Airport and Port Miami, designed for companies needing Class-A, climate-controlled facilities with the shortest delivery distance to major shipping points across South Florida.
By February 2021 the company will have stopped operations at the Stuart, Florida facility and will have moved all manufacturing and logistical operations into the Hialeah location.
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