U.S. e-commerce sales are projected to reach $1.720 trillion by 2027, maintaining steady growth of more than 10% every year from 2024 through 2027. This growth in e-commerce, coupled with a shift to just-in-case supply chains (an inventory management strategy that focuses on keeping large inventories on hand in case of a sudden spike in demand), is fueling an increase in warehouse construction.
Data from Commercial Edge revealed that developers have delivered 344.1 million square feet of industrial space across the U.S. this year, and over 566.7 million square feet of space were under construction nationwide as of August, equal to 3.1% of existing inventory. Much of this industrial building construction is driven by continuing demand for e-commerce distribution centers and warehouses.
As more of these distribution centers and warehouses are built, insulated metal panels (IMPs) are strong building envelope solutions due to their spanning capabilities, ease of installation and energy efficiency.
Spanning capabilities
Warehouses and distribution centers are, by necessity, large buildings. According to some estimations, the average warehouse in the U.S. can span well over 50,000 square feet. The massive scale of these buildings requires building enclosure solutions with outstanding spanning capabilities.
The spanning capabilities and one-pass installation of Kingspan IMPs make them strong building envelope solutions for these big box buildings. This excellent spanning capacity allows panels to be specified in longer and wider formats, which can considerably speed up construction and reduce structural costs.
Ease of installation
Space is becoming increasingly limited in urban centers for the construction of large-scale buildings like warehouses. Commercial real estate services firm JLL noted that multistory warehouses, more commonly constructed in Asia and Europe, could start springing up in the U.S. in land-constrained, population dense areas such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia.
Whether warehouses are built out or built up on space constricted construction sites, IMPs are, by design, a building enclosure material that helps to solve the challenges of building in tight spaces.
IMPs, all-in-one systems that deliver tight, thermally efficient envelopes, help mitigate the complexities of space-constrained construction sites by accelerating speed of build, resulting in faster dry-in and shorter project schedules.
When space and time are tight and buildings need to be airtight, Kingspan IMPs can be a solution. Simpler and quicker to install than traditional site-built wall and roof enclosure systems, these IMPs require only one installer instead of multiple trades and provide an airtight, weathertight building envelope in a fraction of the time of other multi-component systems.
Energy efficiency
As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, green building practices aimed at creating net zero, energy-efficient buildings are becoming the rule rather than the exception in building construction.
A 2022 survey conducted by Dodge Construction Network and LiftMaster found that over two-thirds of warehouse and distribution center owners (68%) are interested in creating zero-carbon facilities and minimizing both energy use and operational waste in their facilities.
Kingspan’s portfolio of thermally efficient, high-performing IMPs can play a key role in achieving that.
Offering strong thermal performance and high R-values, Kingspan IMPs can help reduce energy consumption and costs and help warehouses and distribution centers achieve net zero energy. With thermal efficiency benefits and a full vapor and water barrier, Kingspan IMPs are an energy efficient cladding option that can also reduce heating and cooling costs in these big box buildings.
E-commerce sales are not slowing down, and demand for warehouse and distribution space continues to increase. These buildings need a building enclosure solution that offers strong spanning capabilities, ease of installation and energy efficiency. That’s why more and more of these facilities are constructed with Kingspan’s high-performing, versatile IMPs.