2024 Warehouse Industry Market Development Overview and Brief
The warehouse industry is experiencing rapid growth and transformation due to advancements in technology and increasing demand from various sectors. This article provides an in-depth overview of the current market status and future development trends of the warehouse industry, highlighting the roles of upstream equipment and software providers, midstream service providers, and downstream industries. Additionally, it discusses the ongoing digitalization and smart upgrade of the industry, as well as the emerging focus on green warehousing and international expansion.
INDUSTRY BRIEFING
Keywords: Warehouse Industry, Storage Solutions, Warehouse Management, Market Development, Smart Warehousing, Digitalization, Green Warehousing
2024 Warehouse Industry Market Development Overview and Brief
Warehousing refers to the activities of storing goods using warehouses and related facilities. Warehouses are physical spaces used to store goods and provide corresponding facilities and equipment. Warehousing is a crucial link in the logistics process, reflecting the status of material activities in factories and serving as a transfer station connecting production, supply, and sales. It plays a vital auxiliary role in promoting production and improving efficiency. Additionally, warehousing serves as a temporary storage place for products and items due to order prepositioning or market forecasting in the production and circulation processes.
Warehouse activities not only involve the storage of goods but also encompass all activities related to the storage and management of goods, including receiving, warehousing, storage, safeguarding, sorting, management, and outbound logistics. These activities are crucial throughout the supply chain to ensure the quality of goods during circulation and to guarantee the smooth progress of social reproduction processes.
According to the "2024-2029 Warehouse Industry Market In-depth Analysis and Development Planning Consulting Comprehensive Research Report" by China Research and Intelligence Institute, the warehouse industry involves:
Upstream: Equipment and Software Providers
Equipment providers supply various hardware devices such as conveyors, sorters, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), stackers, shuttle cars, and forklifts. These devices form the foundation for achieving warehouse automation and intelligence. Software providers offer systems like Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Warehouse Control Systems (WCS), helping warehouse enterprises achieve information management and improve operational efficiency.
Midstream: Warehouse Service Providers
This includes warehouse real estate companies and third-party warehousing services. Warehouse real estate companies focus on building and leasing warehouses, providing warehouse facilities, related technical services, and facility maintenance. Third-party warehousing services use self-built or leased warehouses to offer specialized warehousing services to cargo owners, aiming to enhance service quality and value-added services to meet various customer needs.
Downstream: Industries Applying Smart Warehouse Systems
These industries include, but are not limited to, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, automotive, retail, and e-commerce sectors. The demand for warehousing services is continuously growing in these industries, driving the rapid development of the warehouse industry. With technological advancements and expanding application scenarios, the use of smart warehouse systems will become increasingly widespread.
China's warehousing and logistics market continues to grow. In 2022, warehousing and storage costs reached 5.95 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.39% year-on-year. Additionally, by the end of 2022, the total area of general warehouses in China was approximately 1.22 billion cubic meters, maintaining a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% over the past decade.
The smart warehousing market is also growing rapidly. In 2021, the market size of China's smart warehousing reached approximately 112.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.5%, indicating rapid development in this field.
In 2021, there were about 1.67 million logistics-related enterprises involved in warehousing services in China, with nearly 80% of these companies established within the past five years. These enterprises are mainly distributed across transportation, warehousing, postal services, wholesale and retail, and leasing and business services.
With the development of information technology, the warehousing and logistics industry is upgrading to smart warehousing. The use of AGVs, automated shelves, automatic storage and retrieval robots, automatic identification, and sorting systems, enables real-time control and management through information technology.
The continuous development of information technology is driving the warehousing industry towards digitalization and intelligence. This trend is evident in the intelligent management of warehouse systems and the automation and intelligence of warehouse equipment. For example, using advanced logistics technologies, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence, precise management and efficient operation of warehousing items can be achieved.
With the rapid development of e-commerce, logistics, and other industries, the demand for warehousing is experiencing explosive growth. This trend promotes the warehouse industry to develop towards large-scale, professional, and networked directions. Large-scale warehousing facilities can provide more efficient storage space, meeting the storage needs of large-scale goods; professional warehousing can offer more refined services to meet the specific needs of various industries; networked warehousing can realize the sharing and optimal allocation of warehousing resources, improving the efficiency of the entire logistics system.
Green warehousing is also a significant direction for the future development of the warehousing industry. With increasing environmental awareness, the warehousing industry needs to focus more on environmental protection and sustainable development. By adopting environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving equipment, reducing energy consumption and emissions in the warehousing process can be achieved, leading to green and low-carbon warehousing operations.
With the acceleration of global economic integration, the warehousing industry also faces international challenges and opportunities. By participating in international competition and cooperation, introducing advanced technologies and management experiences, the international development of the warehousing industry can be promoted, enhancing international competitiveness.