Industrial real estate is poised for significant change, highlights a new report by CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm.
Released this month, the report, Automated Technology: Driving Change in Real Estate, says the rapid rise of automated technologies is significantly disrupting the global supply chain.
It says the rise of automation (self-driving vehicles) and 3D printing will have a profound impact on the I & L market, in how cargo is collected, transported and manufactured.
“We have seen the rise of automation change real estate, such as how automobile ownership has prompted widespread suburbanization.
“Although the housing sector has been most affected by the ubiquity of motor vehicles; as future vehicles become increasingly autonomous, we will see trickle effects on housing and retail, and direct effects on logistics facilities, from self-driving trucks.”
The rise of self-driving trucks will lead to growth in IT infrastructure and data centres, marking a necessity for real time traffic data and for providers to be located near their end users.
“This proliferation will support the development of the “internet-of-thing”, with electronic sensors and software in devices, vehicles, buildings and other items collecting and changing and exchanging data.”
Consequences to real estate include fewer but larger warehouses being built in remote locations. Last-mile delivery facilities will be crucial in networks, as they would need to make the modal shift from diesel to electric and be able to receive large (semi) automated truck convoys and deploy electricity delivery vehicles, with the sites needing extensive battery loading stations.
Warehouses will also need courtyards allowing automatic maneuvering, accommodating the self-driving trucks as they pass to and from the facilities, the report noted.
The report noted that several Asia Pacific governments, including Australia, have been road testing self-driving technology.