Logistics demand is expanding unevenly. Trade growth, manufacturing investment, e-commerce penetration and changes in distribution models are concentrating activity in particular corridors, while infrastructure constraints are creating additional demand for logistics capacity around them. For investors and operators, the more useful question is therefore where logistics activity is becoming dense enough to support new infrastructure, services and network capacity.
India illustrates this shift. Industrial and logistics leasing exceeded 30 million sq. ft. in H2 2025, with third-party logistics providers accounting for about 44% of absorption. E-commerce increased its share of leasing from 10% in H2 2024 to 13% in H2 2025. By H1 2026, Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Bengaluru accounted for approximately 60% of leasing activity, while 3PL and engineering and manufacturing occupiers represented 31% and 26% of absorption respectively. This concentration indicates that logistics demand is increasingly following industrial and consumption clusters rather than expanding evenly across the country.
The broader Indian market shows the same pattern. H1 2025 recorded a record 27.1 million sq. ft. of industrial and logistics leasing, led by 3PL, e-commerce and engineering and manufacturing. Meanwhile, 3PL absorption has exceeded 110 million sq. ft. cumulatively since 2021, making it the largest occupier segment in India’s warehousing market. The implication for logistics market assessment services is that market attractiveness needs to be evaluated at corridor and customer-segment level, not simply through national logistics growth figures.
Demand is moving with production as much as consumption
Manufacturing expansion creates logistics requirements before finished goods reach consumers. New factories require inbound transportation, raw-material storage, plant-side inventory and outbound distribution. As manufacturing networks become more geographically distributed, these requirements can create demand in secondary logistics markets that previously depended mainly on consumption.
India’s H1 2026 leasing data illustrates this diversification, with engineering and manufacturing accounting for 26% of industrial and logistics absorption. Food and beverage occupiers have also expanded their logistics footprints, with large industrial leases increasingly reflecting regional distribution strategies rather than a single national warehouse model.
E-commerce creates a different demand profile. Its 13% share of H2 2025 leasing was accompanied by continued expansion of faster fulfilment formats. These models require inventory to be positioned closer to consumers, increasing demand for smaller fulfilment facilities alongside regional distribution centres.
The result is a layered market. Freight demand can grow between production centres, warehouse demand can rise around regional hubs, and delivery demand can expand inside urban consumption zones. A strong logistics opportunity often exists where these three flows intersect.
Trade disruption is changing the economics of logistics networks
Global trade patterns are adding another source of demand. Maritime transport carries more than 80% of international goods trade by volume. UNCTAD reported that maritime trade grew 2.2% in 2024 but was expected to increase only 0.5% in 2025. At the same time, rerouting caused by disruption to major shipping routes pushed global ton-miles up nearly 6% in 2024, almost three times the growth in trade volumes.
That distinction matters for logistics operators. More distance per shipment creates additional requirements for vessels, ports, inland transport, storage and inventory buffers even when the underlying quantity of goods changes only modestly.
It also changes which locations are attractive. A warehouse near a congested gateway, an inland hub connected to several ports, or a freight corridor with multiple transport options can become more valuable when shippers need resilience as well as capacity.
Where the strongest opportunities tend to appear
The most attractive logistics markets generally combine three characteristics: expanding underlying demand, constrained or ageing capacity, and customers willing to pay for better service.
That combination can emerge in different ways. A manufacturing corridor may require dedicated inbound logistics. A large consumption market may have strong parcel growth but insufficient last-mile infrastructure. A port-linked industrial zone may experience higher demand for warehousing because shipping routes have become less predictable.
Market assessment therefore needs to distinguish between volume growth and addressable commercial demand. A market can have rapidly growing freight volumes but remain unattractive if incumbents already have excess capacity or if transport costs prevent viable pricing.
Turning logistics growth into an investment decision
A practical assessment can be built around five linked tests:
- Follow the physical flow: Map manufacturing output, imports, exports, consumption and e-commerce activity to identify where freight is actually moving.
- Locate the capacity pressure: Measure warehouse availability, fleet capacity, delivery density, port connectivity and transport infrastructure against current and projected volumes.
- Identify the paying customer: Separate 3PLs, manufacturers, retailers, e-commerce operators, SMEs and other users by shipment frequency, service requirements and willingness to pay.
- Test the corridor economics: Evaluate transport costs, warehouse rents, utilisation, labour, handling costs and delivered margins. A high-volume corridor is only attractive when the economics support sustainable operations.
- Rank opportunities by durability: Stress-test demand against trade disruption, manufacturing shifts, e-commerce growth, infrastructure additions and competitive responses. Prioritise markets where structural demand remains attractive after these factors are incorporated.
This approach allows Nexdigm to move from a broad logistics market view to a more precise assessment of which corridors, customer segments and logistics services can support investment or expansion.
Nexdigm Case: Prioritising Three Logistics Corridors
A logistics assessment screened 12 Indian and Southeast Asian corridors across 46 demand and infrastructure indicators. Five showed annual volume growth above 9% alongside Grade-A warehousing constraints. Detailed economics narrowed the opportunity to three corridors, with projected addressable logistics revenue of approximately US$86 million over five years.
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Harsh Mittal
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