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Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prologis sees narrow window before warehouse rents increase
Despite navigating weaker demand and uncertainty around trade policy, logistics real estate customers 'looked beyond short-term volatility to activate long-term plans' in the second quarter, according to Prologis' Industrial Business Indicator (IBI) report. While the real estate market remains in flux, indicators like net absorption and new leasing activity improved from the first quarter. The San Francisco-based real estate investment trust acknowledged that decision making among tenants has been extended given macroeconomic uncertainties, but said buyers in the market looking for space, proposal volumes and signed leases were all up in the period. Well-capitalized, large-scale tenants are moving forward with the build-to-suit projects that will be required to facilitate their long-term growth plans, the Monday report said. Prologis (NYSE: PLD) noted an uptick in nearshoring and reshoring activity as well as domestic demand from international companies. 'Real-time indicators and direct feedback from users suggest that space needs persist, and that demand is poised to reaccelerate once greater clarity emerges around pricing and broader economic conditions,' the report said. Leasing activity recovered during May and June, following a slowdown after April's Liberation Day tariff announcements, according to Prologis. Warehouse space utilization averaged 85% in the second quarter, a 50 basis-point increase from full-year 2024. The improvement was in part due to some customers pulling forward inventories in response to quickly changing tariff policies. Utilization slid in July, but the report said it was likely due to a sell-through of certain merchandise (temporarily drawing down warehouse inventories) and choppiness in container imports to the U.S. 'We maintain that utilization will be volatile in the near term as shifting trade policies disrupt typical import patterns but generally trend upward as companies grow into any excess capacity.' The report said supply risk, or overcapacity, in many U.S. markets is now 'largely in the past' as speculative development starts have declined by 75% from the peak and second-half warehouse deliveries will be 30% lower year over year. 'This dynamic is creating a short-term window of opportunity for customers,' the report said. 'Prime space options are available in select locations, but these are expected to diminish as the pipeline of new deliveries slows and competition for quality product increases.' The pace of declines in market rents slowed to just 1.4% in the quarter. The change has been largely due to price resets in the West Coast markets. The report concluded that long-term structural drivers, like e-commerce growth and the need to modernize operations, remain intact. With new supply falling, the current environment 'presents a narrow and time-sensitive window of opportunity for users to secure prime logistics real estate before rents increase.' According to a separate report, Prologis said nearly $3.2 trillion worth of goods, or 2.9% of the world's GDP, moved through its warehouses last year. The study conducted with Oxford Economics showed Prologis' 1.3 billion square feet of space contributed $348 billion to the global economy, supporting 3.6 million jobs. More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden: XPO sees 'massive runway' to push margins higher Schneider National not yet choosing sides on potential changes to railroad landscape ArcBest's efficiency initiatives helping offset soft demand The post Prologis sees narrow window before warehouse rents increase appeared first on FreightWaves.
TimesLIVE
08-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Biochar boom? South Africa bets on super charcoal for green jobs
Sithandekile Nyathi confidently hoists herself into the compact loader, lowers the metal caging around the vehicle and drives towards large mounds of wood timber chips. The chips go up a conveyor belt into a converter, where they are heated and turned into a type of 'biochar' called activated carbon, a charcoal that stores carbon and could help cut planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions. 'I used to be a maid. I never thought I would work in an industry that helps lives and the environment,' said Nyathi, a controller at the plant in Brakpan owned by Adsorb, a local manufacturer of activated carbon. South Africa is a coal-rich country but has been the poster child for international efforts to shift towards cleaner energy and industries. However, funding challenges, high unemployment rates and political divides have stalled the efforts, raising questions about how the transition should happen. Darryl Phipps, a chemical engineer and manager of the Adsorb plant where Nyathi works, said he thinks the plant east of Johannesburg is the first of its kind globally. It uses self-sustaining energy, the heat in the converter, to turn wood chips directly into activated charcoal or steam-activated biochar, which allows for greater binding of organic molecules to its surface and has clean flue gas as its only byproduct. Some proponents see the biochar sector as one answer to job creation and carbon capture, but the young industry is struggling with a lack of South African data and funding support, experts said. Globally, the industry was valued at $600m (R10.6bn) in 2023, up 97% from 2021, according to the International Biochar Initiative (IBI). Biochar and activated carbon have been praised by some researchers, farmers and industry experts for improving soil quality and water retention, absorbing toxins and capturing carbon. When used as a fertiliser, biochar improves water holding capacity which helps plants survive drought conditions, according to research publisher Frontiers. Initial studies into South Africa's agricultural sector have showed biochar improved maize yield and soil health, but researchers called for further long-term research, according to the University of Venda.
Business Post
01-05-2025
- Business
- Business Post
DC Advisory hires ex-EY executive as new managing director for Irish corporate finance offshoot IBI
Appointment DC Advisory hires ex-EY executive as new managing director for Irish corporate finance offshoot IBI Robert Hussey joins from EY, where he spent eight years and advised on multi-million euro M&A deals Fionn Thompson 05:00 Robert Hussey spent eight years at EY and has over 30 years of technology M&A experience.
