b'JUNE 20 - JULY 24, 2022NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS N EWSPAPER 25Last-mile deliveries: Competition heating up for sitesWith demand increasing, prices spike for sites located near popu-lation centers.By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTWhateverthefactsandapartnershipwithTakeoffalternative.figuressurroundingongoingTechnologies, a Massachusetts- AWGhasbeenexplor-COVID-19infections,thebasedtechnologycompanyingemergingtechnologies public discourse suggests thatthatdevelopsmicro-fulfill- toaddresstheever-chang-manypoliticalleadersandmentcenters(MFCs)min- ingretaillandscape,said their voters are over, or wantiature, automated warehousesJeffPedersen,anexecu-to be over, the pandemic. Butthatuserobotstofulfilltive vice president at AWG. oneCOVIDphenomenononline orders. Typically holdingThepartnershipbetween isunlikelytochange:thebetween12,000and20,000AWG and Takeoff Technolo-growthine-commerceandof the most popular products,giesrepresentsasignificant consumer demands for accel- MFCs can operate as stand- opportunity for AWG and its erated deliveries. alonefacilities orinsidethememberstoprofitablygrow aA recent study from Roadie,back of existing stores. Com- online sales. WAREHOUSING & UPScompanythatpro- bining proximity to shoppersResearch by Takeoff Tech-videscrowdsourceddeliv- with automation provides twonologies indicates that MFCsDISTIBUTION 2022eries,foundthatconsumerscompetitiveadvantagestoincrease productivity by up to increasinglyexpectsame- groceryretailerslookingto(HEATINGcontinued on daye-commercedeliveriesboostsaleswithanonlinepage 26)and are willing to pay extra forthem.Moreimportantly, thesurveyindicatedthat same-daydeliveriesgener-ateimmediateandpositive effects on sales. The survey responses dem-onstratethattheresalotat stakewithsame-daydeliv-eries,saidValerieMetzker, head of partnerships and enter-EXPANDING CAP Y TOcustomerswantsomethingO ACIT AprisesalesatRoadie.WhenFL RID Squickly,theyllgowiththe provider that can get the order to them when they need it. Inordertomakethat happen,e-commerceplay-ersneedtolocateinventory within or close to populationDISTRIBUTIONcenters.So,itcomesasnoHUBsurprisethatthesearchfor and development of last-mile distributionpropertiescon-tinues to grow, in a variety of sectors,includinggroceries and household goods. l astm ilel ogistiCss paCeOnline grocery shopping, oneofthefastest-growing segmentsofe-commerce,isNo congestion Expanded terminal capacity with plenty of oneoftheprimemoversinTampa/Orlando I-4 Corridor: 400 million SFroom for growththelast-milelogisticsspace because of consumer demandsof distribution center space Multiple round-trip truck deliveries per day for quick deliveriesnot justE-commerce, consumer goods, perishablesfrom Port to distribution centerssame-day,but,inthatspace,and building materials New and expanded container services with within hours. Online groceryCentral America, Mexico and Asiasales in the U.S. are expectedOne of the hottest industrial real estate to grow at a rate of 18% permarkets in the U.S.year through 2023, according toareportfromthemarket research firm Interact Analy-sis.AnotherrecentreportWWW.PORTTB.COMindicatedthat70%ofU.S. consumers now shop for gro-ceries online at least some of the time, up from 40% at the beginning of 2021.The speed at which gro-ceries are expected to be deliv-eredcreatesthedemandfor fulfillmentcenterswithinor directly adjacent to residential areas. That, in turn, suggests the desirability of positioning inventory in very small facili-ties and deploying technology to boost productivity.InMay,thecoopera-tivewholesalerAssociated WholesaleGrocersformed'