Rotterdam climbs to second place in ranking of top European logistics locations

In a survey published today by real estate specialist Prologis, Rotterdam holds second place in the ranking of Europe's most attractive logistics locations. This means the Dutch hub has overtaken the Antwerp-Brussels nexus, which was runner-up in the 2013 study. The first place is once again held by Venlo.

Remarkably, the five most attractive logistics locations in Europe are all found in the Benelux region. The top five locations are Venlo, Rotterdam, Antwerp-Brussels, Eastern Noord-Brabant and Central Noord-Brabant. These locations were primarily selected by the respondents for their good infrastructure and proximity to clients and suppliers. Sixth place is held by the first non-Benelux location: Dusseldorf.

The biggest development since 2013 is the rise of Central and Eastern European locations like Central Poland, Istanbul and Prague.

Compared to other European hubs, these locations score particularly well with regard to 'low costs'- although 'labour costs' and 'property costs' are also key criteria.

The growth of these markets comes at the expense of counterparts in Western Europe. The strongest decline can be seen in the Liege region, Paris, Brussels, Madrid and Central Germany. Air freight locations like Frankfurt and Schiphol have also lost some of their market share, based on factors like 'availability of personnel' and 'labour costs'.

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