eCommerce Booms, Warehouses Transform New York Neighborhoods

New York represents not only the largest concentration of digital shoppers in the United States, but also the nation’s warehouse capital, The New York Times reported Wednesday (March 16).

Today, these facilities are getting packages delivered and reshaping neighborhoods.

Since 2020, Amazon has acquired more than four dozen warehouses in the Greater New York area. On the New Jersey waterfront near Lower Manhattan, UPS is building a facility larger than the 820,000-square-foot Madison Square Garden.

In New York’s Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods, 14 giant warehouses to facilitate eCommerce operations are under construction.

As Americans work from home amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, eCommerce has soared. At the same time, digital retailers, manufacturers and delivery companies are battling to find or build warehouse space as competition for real estate and prices rise.

More than 2.4 million packages are delivered in New York City, which has 20 million residents, annually.

Amazon, giant retailers and logistics companies including UPS, FedEx and DHL have controlled the warehouse deals since the start of the coronavirus. Now, there’s interest from small- and medium-sized businesses seeking control of their supply chain.

“I’ve been doing this for 30-some-odd years, and I’ve never seen it like this,” said Rob Kossar, a vice chairman at JLL. “For tenants to secure space, they are having to negotiate leases with multiple landlords on spaces that aren’t even available. It’s insane what they are having to do.”

Last summer, PYMNTS reported the behavior shift has created a flurry of change along the supply chain, and logistics companies are hustling to adjust.

Read more: Equipment Finance Keeps Pace With Logistics’ Drive Toward Flexibility

First American Equipment Finance Senior Vice President Daniel Wallenhorst told PYMNTS these businesses must adjust their capacity and services based on dips and surges in the needs of their clients.