Unlock the Editor’s Digest at no cost
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.
Warehouse leasing was as soon as an unremarkable operate of logistics — a boring enterprise outlined by effectivity fairly than technique. Not any extra. Now it’s a new entrance within the US-China financial skirmish.
Chinese language ecommerce teams and third-party logistics suppliers have been aggressively shopping for up warehouse area throughout the US since Donald Trump began his second time period within the White Home. They accounted for a fifth of web new leases within the US by the third quarter of final yr, in line with Prologis. In New Jersey alone, Chinese language logistics teams leased 5.6mn sq. toes of area final yr, triple that of 2023.
One driver of this enlargement is altering methods of ecommerce and logistics teams comparable to Shein, Temu, Alibaba’s Cainiao and JD.com. It isn’t simply that extra customers are utilizing their providers — although that may be a issue too. Additionally it is that they’re attempting to get forward of regulatory shifts that might disrupt their low-cost, high-volume enterprise mannequin. Reliance on Chinese language imports now requires meticulous planning — and an entire lot of warehouses.
On the coronary heart of this mannequin is the de minimis loophole, which exempts packages underneath $800 from duties once they enter the US. Between 2018 and 2021, two-thirds of all de minimis packages got here from China, with $149bn value of them coming from mainland China over that interval, in line with the US Customs and Border Safety. Final yr alone, the worth of those shipments reached $64.6bn.
However Washington’s stance on de minimis is more and more hostile. Trump’s early 2025 tariff package deal, which briefly revoked the exemption earlier than a coverage reversal reinstated it, means Chinese language ecommerce teams must hedge their bets. For platforms comparable to Shein and PDD owned Temu, the US is simply too crucial a market to depart uncovered. If transport immediately from China turns into too unpredictable, the most effective various is to stockpile stock in US warehouses earlier than tariffs go up, making certain items already contained in the nation stay shielded.
This shift is a giant win for Chinese language logistics teams. As ecommerce teams transition to bulk imports, growing demand for cross-border warehousing and localised fulfilment means higher-margin, recurring income for firms comparable to JD Logistics, Kerry Logistics and Sinotrans, which concentrate on provide chain administration.
If de minimis is restricted or eradicated, Chinese language sellers should ship extra stock in bulk fairly than particular person duty-free parcels, that means larger demand for freight and distribution options, boosting freight forwarding revenues for logistics firms.
Warehouses are not simply storage areas — they’re strategic footholds, buffers towards political volatility. Every new lease bolsters the place of Chinese language logistics teams, offering a hedge towards shifting tariffs and commerce guidelines. If imported items are the brand new battleground, then warehouses are the strongholds.
