Spain is an increasingly attractive logistics market thanks to its strategic location and strong infrastructure linking Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America by land, sea and air.
The development of the Trans-European Transport Network which connects Spain to the rest of Europe via the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors is set to improve the movement of people and goods, reinforcing the country's position as a hub in Southern Europe.
Spain is the fourth-busiest European country in terms of road freight transport volume and second after the Netherlands in terms of seaborne goods handled, with the ports of Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona among the top freight ports in the EU. According to the latest available data from Eurostat, Algeciras was the fifth EU port with largest activity in the first quarter of 2021 with 20 million tonnes of gross weight of goods handled, while Valencia ranked fourth for large cargo containers.
The network of roads, trains, ports and roads is the backbone of logistics flows and enables the flow of goods to larger international markets. Spain is actually among the largest export economies in Europe, with automotive vehicles accounting for 16% of total Spanish exports in 2020.
Investments in infrastructure and logistics facilities are underway to meet today’s needs, in particular given the increasing interest in online retail and the demand from consumers for short delivery periods.
According to Spain’s Competition Authority, e-commerce sales rose by 5.8% year-on-year in 2020, reaching a record high of €51.6 billion and are set to continue growing, as the country lags behind mature markets with a retail online share of 10% versus the European average of 16%. Surging growth is transforming the logistics landscape with the development of hubs around Madrid and Barcelona and secondaries cities like Valencia and Zaragoza.
Operators are concentrated along two primary axes, the A2 motorway linking Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona and the AP-7 Mediterranean coast road linking Barcelona and Valencia. Operators are located along various stretches depending on the type of freight traffic and whether they are focused on local, regional, national or international transport.
In Madrid, heading out to the airport and further to Guadalajara on the A2 road, the area known as the Corredor de Henares is one of the most sought-after locations, which is attracting companies such as Amazon, TNT, XPO Logistics and 4PX. The last leased 22,506 square metres in Cabanillas this year. The project Airport City Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, which includes a logistics hub of 28 hectares, should foster additional investment to this area. The tender award is set for the first quarter of 2022.
In the south of Madrid, the area between the A4 and A42 roads, particularly Illescas in the Toledo region, is another growing dynamic hub where companies such as Amazon, Airbus and Michelin operate and where Carreras leased 86,000 square metres in 2021. Investors are attracted by the rising tenant demand, including Patrizia which forward purchased of a 92,000 square metres logistic development for approximately €56 million in Illescas.
Logistics activity is also picking up in Barcelona, thanks to its favourable location near France and its modern infrastructure which makes it the ideal place for industrial and logistics.
The ZAL, the port’s logistics platform, just 2km from the airport, is one the largest facilities of its kind in southern Europe. The high levels of activity, intramodality and transport connection make it a major focus for investors and users such as Lidl, Carrefour and Decathlo,n which has opened a new logistics platform of 95,616 square metres this year.
The port has launched a Strategic Plan 2021-25 to guarantee its competitive positioning which includes €70,000 million in foreign trade versus €65,000 million in 2019 and the development of additional plots. The plan will strengthen the position of Barcelona as a hub that is seeing many developments, especially alongside the A2 corridor heading to Zaragoza and the AP7 heading to Valencia.
Goodman, which is pioneering multistorey in Spain, has developed 46,000 square metres for DSV in Molins de Rei this year and is developing 26,400 square metres in Castlebisball. Castlebisbal was also the location chosen by Panattoni for its first investment in Barcelona in 2020, a plot of 46,920 square metres. This year, the company has acquired an additional platform of 45,000 square metres and a plot of 150,000 square metres for €70 million in La Bisbal del Penedés, a strategic location for operators such as DHL or Naeko Logistics.
The boom in the Spanish logistics market is not exclusive to Madrid and Barcelona, but extends to other medium-sized cities like Valencia and Zaragoza with a strategic location.
Valencia, with good land, air and sea transport connections, has attracted Panattoni which has acquired a 50,000-square metre-plot in Alzira for speculative development which is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023. This is Panattoni's second investment after its 20,000-square-metre project in Picassent, an area attracting companies like Amazon which signed a deal of 15,000 square metres in the second quarter of 2021.
Zaragoza also enjoys a privileged location, hosting the second largest cargo airport in Spain. The city is just 300km from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Pau in southwest France and has PlaZa, the Zaragoza Logistics Platform, with over 13 million square metres and more than 350 companies.
Inditex is planning to expand its existing Zara platform with the acquisition of additional plots with over 63,500 square metres, which will consolidate it as one of the biggest Zara centres internationally. PlaZa is attracting investors like UBS Asset Management, which bought a logistics portfolio of 72,000 square metres, and VPG, which boughta plot of 30,000 square metres, taking its holdings in PlaZa to 150,000 square metres.