A plan to build a $60 million cold storage facility in Houston, Texas, by XTL Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., is just one of 93 project plans by food and beverage firms to expand existing storage and distribution facilities or build new ones across the United States in 2017, according to Industrial Info Resources, Sugar Land, Texas. Altogether, the combined total investments in cold storage, warehouse and distribution facilities equates to more than $1.6 billion. Projects range in value from $500,000 to as much as $100 million.

The second quarter of the year will be the strongest in terms of construction starts, with 44 projects that total $707 million. Figures for the first quarter show 19 project starts that combine for $378 million, while third- and fourth-quarter values are 20 projects worth $345 million and 10 projects totaling $176 million, respectively. Project delays, as well as new project announcements, could lead to a shift in the numbers.

In terms of refrigerated vs dry storage facilities, refrigerated storage and distribution facilities account for more than $1.2 billion in project spending plans.

More than 61% of the proposed spend for the year will go toward building 25 new facilities from the ground up. Twenty-four of the new facilities will contain some form of refrigeration, whether fully or partially, to include freezers and/or coolers. The cumulative investment value of those expenditures comes out to $948 million. Plans for a $40 million dry distribution center in Alaska for beverage products is the only non-refrigerated Greenfield project planned for this year.

A few examples of 2017 project spending plans in the storage and distribution segment are:

  • a $50 million grassroot cold storage facility in Washington
  • a $30 million cold storage warehouse phase I expansion in Iowa
  • a $25 million produce distribution center expansion in Georgia
  • a $25 million grassroot meat cold storage facility in California
  • a $20 million food distribution center expansion in Ohio
  • a $12 million food distribution center expansion in Indiana