E-commerce Expands Footprint in Industrial Properties, and New Leases Are Set to Boost Its Presence Even Further

Among tenants with less than three years of occupancy, the transportation and logistics sector remains dominant, accounting for 200 operations—nearly three times more than the runner-up, the consumer goods sector. In the 3 to 5-year range, the sector continues to lead, albeit with fewer operations (29).

From the five-year mark onward, the picture becomes more diverse. Transportation and logistics still play a major role but now share space with sectors like food and beverages, automotive, and technology.

In the most long-standing category—leases over 10 years—industries with more structured operations and atypical lease models stand out. Transportation and logistics still lead (127 occupancies), followed by the automotive sector (29) and food and beverage companies (23).

According to Guilherme Trotta, Commercial Director at LOG CP, the tenant’s activity heavily influences lease duration. “Typical contracts usually don’t exceed five years. Leases of 10 years or more fall under the atypical category, like build-to-suit (BTS) models. A good example is the pharmaceutical sector, which seeks longer terms due to the high investment needed for operations,” he explains.

Looking at the top tenants, e-commerce players take center stage among the most recent leases. Shopee and Mercado Livre lead with 18 and 10 leases, respectively, within the past three years. Other major tenants include Amazon, DHL, and Assaí Atacadista.

In the 3 to 5-year bracket, e-commerce remains strong. Shopee, Mercado Livre, and Amazon continue as major occupiers, now joined by companies like Dux Nutrition.

In the 5 to 10-year range, Mercado Livre still leads but with gradually declining dominance. Other key tenants in this bracket include DHL, MadeiraMadeira, Amazon, and Ford.

For tenants with more than 10 years of occupancy, the landscape changes entirely. In this group, e-commerce is notably absent—replaced by companies such as Kuehne + Nagel, PepsiCo, Ambev, Foxconn, and Iron Mountain, all operating under long-term, tailor-made contracts.

The absence of e-commerce players among the longest-standing tenants highlights how recent the sector’s rise has been in Brazil, gaining real momentum around the time of the pandemic just five years ago. A key example is Parque Logístico Barueri, a Brookfield project developed exclusively for Mercado Livre. The Argentine company now operates several build-to-suit warehouses across São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina. Most recently, Mercado Livre signed a 12-year BTS lease for a new logistics facility in the Cajamar region. Read about this here!