Brisbane’s Industrial Boom Sparks Fears of Supplier Shortages
Demand Driven by Growing Population
With Brisbane’s population booming, there is much hope for a growing and successful economy over the next several years. However, Queensland property experts are noting that fears are escalating as land and industry supply shortages worsen.
Brisbane is a rapidly growing and expanding city, with every inch of land used to build houses in an attempt to alleviate the housing crisis. But this creates a new problem. Brisbane has been put in a tough position, needing 1.2 million square metres of industrial land within the next five years to keep up with our rapid population growth, while the availability of industrial land shrinks. There is particular pressure on Brisbane’s west, with the most undeveloped land supply.
Brisbane is projected to have a population of around 260,000 by 2030, meaning that the industrial sector needs to carefully approach the use of industrial land to ensure that supply meets the demand. Our growing economy relies on increased employment and facilities across logistics and transport, construction and trades, manufacturing, and services.
We’ve already seen evidence of the economic growth. Commercial plumbers in Brisbane were hit with heavy demand over the culinary boom in 2022 to 2023, where the annual revenue for cafes and restaurants hit record heights. The industrial sector is next.
Mega-Projects Add to the Pressure
But population growth isn’t the only thing putting pressure on Brisbane’s infrastructure demand. Brisbane is undergoing two major construction projects, the Cross River Rail and Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games venues and facilities. This is on top of the already dire situation in the construction industry, with builders experiencing extreme supply issues for materials and trades for both residential and commercial construction. Any new commercial or industrial construction projects can experience significant delays of up to 2 years or more to complete – also causing costs to build to skyrocket more than any other city in Australia.
Desperate Need for More Tradies
Another major driver of the growing Brisbane economy is the highly skilled and growing workforce, with Queensland having the highest trades education in 2022. But this growth is not enough. Especially with these mega-projects underway and increasing housing demand, the trades workforce gap still continues to grow. There is particular need for reliable and experienced industrial plumbers in Brisbane, as well as carpenters, electricians, steel workers and concreters to name a few.
To meet Brisbane’s infrastructure goals by 2032, we will need a whopping 50,000 extra tradies. Without a bigger workforce, construction costs will only continue to rise.
Brisbane’s Hope to Keep Up with the Growth
The Brisbane: Our Productive City Report in 2022, shows that the local government is aiming to renew current industrial land and expand regionally to maximise the land that is available and support future demand for industrial productivity and employment. Outdated and inefficient buildings are looking to be redeveloped with state-of-the art facilities. According to CBRE, there is also an opportunity in multi-storey warehousing.
As time races towards the Brisbane Olympics, we can only hope that this city’s workforce can make it through the industrial boom.