Done Deals: Realvest Study Shows Skyrocketing Fuel Costs Are Reshaping America's Consumer Products, Transport, Delivery Systems, Analysts Say

Friday, May 16, 2008

Realvest Study Shows Skyrocketing Fuel Costs Are Reshaping America's Consumer Products, Transport, Delivery Systems, Analysts Say

Florida Will Benefit but Coastal Areas Will Benefit the Most as U.S. Retools its Shipping, Warehouses and Delivery Systems

MAITLAND, FL – America’s fuel crisis is already reshaping the nation’s consumer products transport and delivery systems, says commercial real estate analysts George Livingston (top right photo) and Christie Alexander (top left photo) of NAI Realvest in Maitland, and that evolution will have vast and far reaching consequences that could be felt in as little as 18 months.

“America’s consumer products supply chain used a large percentage of all energy consumed. To cut costs, energy use has to be reduced,” said Livingston, founder and chairman of NAI Realvest.

Livingston and Alexander recently completed a major independent study to identify strategic trends in U.S. transportation, warehousing and distribution industries.

Among their findings:

• Ships will be calling at more ports to minimize the cost of moving the goods over land from the ports to the distribution and fulfillment centers;

• Rail will be used as much as possible to deliver containers from the port to integrated logistic centers, intermodal and terminals, and distribution centers.

Rail will be put on docks to

increase efficiency;

• The distribution centers will be positioned so that the delivery trucks operate within a day’s drive to the end user;

• This likely will result in more and smaller distribution centers;

• Coastal and gateway cities will become more important;

• Ports will be expanded;

• New ports will open;

• Coastal areas will benefit;

“Florida’s industrial real estate markets will benefit from the new strategies,” Alexander said, “and most of our population can be served within a one day drive.”

In addition, Florida has a large population and tourist market that is growing steadily, and Florida businesses are major exporters, Alexander added.

“We foresee increasing demand for well-located and efficient distribution and fulfillment centers,” Livingston said. “There likely will be increased demand for well-located and smaller distribution and fulfillment centers to reduce costs,” he said.

Florida’s hot spots? “Central Florida will be the most likely geographic beneficiary of these trends,” Livingston concluded, “especially Orange, Osceola, Hillsborough and Polk Counties.”