Driving industries in new logistics construction in 2025 – Retail is the new frontrunner

Logivest identifies drivers of new construction developments / Logistics service providers continue downward trend / Industry stabilises again after decline

Caption: Logivest GmbH also reports on the corresponding development of the various industries in the Seismograph 2025/26, its annual report on the volume of new construction. Copyright: Logivest GmbH.

Logivest GmbH, a holistic consulting firm operating throughout Germany with a focus on logistics real estate and locations, has determined the driving sectors for the new construction volume of 3.4 million square meters on the German logistics real estate market in 2025 on the basis of its own research data.

Despite a slight decline compared to the previous year, the retail sector is continuing its overall positive trend with around 640,000 square metres of new logistics construction and will lead the driver sectors in 2025. The most important demand for space is the retail and wholesale sector. Two of the top three projects of the new logistics building in 2025 come from retail and e-commerce: on the one hand, the new logistics site of the Winkler Group with around 63,000 square meters, which was implemented by Dietz AG in Langenau. On the other hand, the built-to-suit project of Logad GmbH for the Swiss online retailer Galaxus with around 65,000 square meters in Neuchâtel.

With around 460,000 square meters, the industrial sector recorded an increase of more than 60 percent compared to the previous year and thus occupies second place in the ranking. In the logistics service providers and the automotive industry, on the other hand, the volume of new construction fell in 2025 – as in many other sectors. Logistics service providers accounted for around 430,000 square metres of new construction and Automotive for just under 215,000 square metres. The aero/defence sector is increasingly concentrating on light industrial properties and factory space, which are not included in the new logistics construction figures.

Great potential for the next few years

The view into the future is hopeful despite the general decline in new construction in 2025: The retail segment alone has planned around 1.3 million square metres for the next few years. The main drivers are expected to be the retail and wholesale sector as well as the e-commerce sector with reference to the Asian retail sector. The online retailer Amazon, for example, has several projects planned for the coming years. Construction work on one of them – the new logistics centre in Könnern, in the Leipzig/Halle logistics region, with around 52,000 square metres – already began in April 2026. Furthermore, construction of a logistics center of the drugstore retailer Rossmann with around 82,000 square meters is to begin as early as autumn this year. The municipality of Lünen has already given the green light for the brownfield project. The industrial sector has also announced around 525,000 square metres of projected new construction space for 2026/2027. With this basis, economic impulses are now needed above all for successful implementation in the coming years.

The seismograph refers to new construction projects on the German logistics real estate market in 2025.

You can download the current logistics real estate seismograph with the new developments in 2025 free of charge under the following link: https://www.logivest.de/news-room/seismograph

About Logivest GmbH

Logivest is an owner-managed, holistic consulting company operating throughout Germany with a focus on logistics properties and locations. Services in the areas of letting, transaction and new construction consulting are the core competencies. The range of services is rounded off by support in the marketing of logistics locations, the optimisation or redesign of logistics processes, M&A advice for companies and location analyses. Founded in 2011, the company is characterized by extensive and cross-industry logistics real estate, location and logistics process expertise. With a total of ten locations in Germany (Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Nuremberg and Stuttgart), the Logivest Group offers customers from logistics, production and trade individual and nationwide support. For more information, please visit: www.logivest.de

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