12 American Journal of Transportation American Journal of Transportation ajot.com THE PORT OF CONFIDENCE When your freight arrives, confidence should too. At PortCity, we deliver more than logistics—we deliver peace of mind. From drayage to distribution, our fully integrated solutions are designed to keep your cargo moving and your business growing. This is the Port of Confidence. This is PortCity. PORTCITYLOGISTICS.COM | 912.298.7150 “We have a structural advantage in the area of tech- nology and automation. First, all of our facilities are modern new-construction purpose-built, purpose-de- signed cold storage facilities constructed to the latest standards. We are not burdened by deploying technolo- gy-band aids on 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old buildings. We have a mix of conventional, semi-automated, and fully automated facilities based on customer needs. When considering new development, we start with customer requirements, not what type of building we’d like to add to our portfolio. There is not a single building type that is most optimal,” Ripple said. “We consider customer mix, throughput, case/layer pick, product types/conditions, and several other factors when determining the level of automation in a building. Separately, a key differentia- tor for Agile is that our WMS that was purpose-built for our needs. It has all the functionality we need and none of the complexity we don’t. The WMS was architected around 21st century security needs and was designed and deployed considering modern day IT security challenges. We do not have multiple legacy systems from prior acqui- sitions to support both from the perspective of meeting customer needs and managing IT security.” 2026: Expansion Yes, But Less… Although steady, the 6.3% growth of GCCA’s Top 25 to 7.76 billion cubic feet in 2026 is a deceleration from the 8.3% expansion recorded in 2025, as higher interest rates and tightening market conditions made operators more selective about new development. “We might categorize this as a recalibration in the market. The beginning of 2026 didn’t see an easing of market conditions, and the uncertainty will remain elevated for the foreseeable future. Tariff uncertainty, geopolitical disrup- tions, high costs of capital, and some pockets of overcapacity are leading cold chain operators to be even more intentional about how they are growing,” said Adam Thocher, GCCA’s Senior Vice President, Global Market Engagement. “Speculative development around the world has slowed, and we don’t see that picking up again in the short term. Operators are prioritizing growth in markets where demand signals are clear, driven by population growth, rising protein consumption where both current and future business opportunities exist.” “We predict the sector will continue to grow however if we take apart the food, pharma there are different paces for each of these segments and different industry needs in the short and medium term,” Thocher continued. “Over the last 5 years, the pace of growth has been fast and con- sistent from the GCCA member perspective – according to our international research ~10 percent CAGR – which stemmed from a confluence of factors that changed the investment thesis in the industry. At the time, low cost of capital, prediction of just in case over just in time inventory, tight labor markets, and high consumer con- fidence led to a significant amount of development amid the ongoing M&A activity that was already taking place globally. Today we are seeing a slowing of the specula- tive space globally and some pockets of oversupply in certain markets, but investment in response to demand.” He said the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa markets present varied growth opportunities. “The APAC market is a current focus for many investors who see opportunity. Some countries in the region have developed cold chain infrastructures while others are still emerging. The fundamentals of the region have made it an attractive place for investors who can understand that every area is unique. Some areas have aging infrastructure that may need modernization, other countries are seeing overcapacity challenges like we see in certain US markets, and others need basic infra- structure investment. We are seeing that those operators and investors who are developing regional networks are driving professionalism and maturity in the markets very quickly,” Thocher said. “In the GCCA, a caveat here is the ongoing regional stability and how long it takes for the international markets to see the area as a stable environ- ment for investment and business opportunity to return. (INCREASE – continued on page 16) (INCREASE – continued from page 10) Launched in early 2020, Agile is backed by ERA Partners LLC and the Continental Grain Co. with a goal of creating a nationwide network of greenfield TCL warehouses.
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