CARGOCONNECT-JUNE2026 - Flipbook - Page 56
SPECIAL FEATURE : MEGA LOGISTICS CLUSTERS
incremental—it is fundamental and entirely irreversible.
According to Bhardwaj, modern occupiers are
aggressively pivoting away from the traditional question of “Where is my demand located?” and are instead
obsessing over “How e昀케ciently can I move inventory
across the entire network?” This strategic migration
is being heavily accelerated by the build-out of DFCs,
port-led logistics frameworks, and the emergence of
rail-linked multimodal logistics parks. In this highly
competitive environment, corporate decision-makers are
aggressively prioritising tri-modal proximity—highway,
rail, and port access, alongside transit time reliability
over pure physical distance. Ultimately, the calculation
has shifted from seeking a simple real-estate rental
arbitrage to optimising the lower total landed cost across
the network. For large-scale 3PLs, e-commerce giants,
and FMCG corporations, corridor connectivity and
line-haul cost control have already become the dominant,
non-negotiable factors when anchoring their footprints
within these mega clusters, Bhardwaj points out.
A similar shift is also visible in occupier behaviour,
where businesses are increasingly prioritising corridor
connectivity and network e昀케ciency over conventional
city-based warehousing presence. Reinforcing this
transition, Manoj Sharma, Director, Siliguri Realestate
and Himalayan Realty, explains that warehousing
decisions are no longer being made solely around urban
proximity. Instead, companies are evaluating logistics
locations through the lens of transportation e昀케ciency,
supply chain predictability, multimodal access, and
long-term scalability. As a result, peripheral logistics
nodes located along major transport corridors are
witnessing stronger traction compared to congested
urban warehousing pockets.
Sharma elaborates that this natural consolidation
towards a limited number of mega logistics clusters
is happening precisely because modern supply chains
are being intentionally engineered around e昀케ciency,
connectivity, and scalability rather than mere geographic
footprint. From his practical experience in industrial
real-estate and warehousing-linked developments, he
notes that infrastructure-led growth acts as the most
powerful structural magnet for this baseline market
concentration. Regions that seamlessly combine
manufacturing ecosystems, major consumption centres,
labour availability, and multimodal transport access
into a uni昀椀ed geography, such as the NCR, Chennai,
Pune, Bengaluru, and the western logistics belts,
13
clusters dominate
seventy-昀椀ve percent of
supply and demand
56 | CARGOCONNECT JUNE 2026
Occupiers are
increasingly focussed
on efficiency, scalability,
compliance, and
sustainability, which has
accelerated the demand
for modern logistics
parks offering global
standards.
NORBERT SUMISŁAWSKI
MANAGING DIRECTOR –
INTERNATIONAL PROJECT
MANAGEMENT,
PANATTONI
naturally outperform fragmented nodes.
Sharma further points out that as institutional
investments continue to pour into high-spec warehousing,
the availability of Grade A spaces that o昀昀er superior
compliance, operational e昀케ciency, and automation readiness further solidi昀椀es this clustering e昀昀ect. Ultimately,
this means future market growth will increasingly
abandon isolated city-based expansion, moving 昀椀rmly
towards robust transport corridors that can handle
heavy industrial integration.
While the concentration of warehousing activity
within a handful of mega clusters is undoubtedly
strengthening operational e昀케ciency and enabling the
formation of organised logistics ecosystems, industry
experts also caution that excessive concentration could
gradually create a new layer of structural ine昀케ciencies.
Offering a more grounded operational perspective,
Sandeep Chadha, Founder & Managing Director,
Warehouster Group, observes that the clustering
phenomenon is, in many ways, a natural market response.
