Indian Warehousing and Logistics Investment Outlook 2026

High Conviction Deployment 

Exclusive data from the GRI Warehousing & Logistics India Barometer Q4/2025 reveals that the market has moved beyond tentative exploration into a phase of aggressive scaling, with 56% of firms preparing to increase their investment volume over the next 12 to 18 months.

This expansionary stance is defined by high conviction, as the number of investors planning a significant increase (29%) has now surpassed those planning moderate growth (27%), signalling that capital is no longer testing the waters but is being deployed with strategic certainty.

Notably, the downside risk appears minimal, with less than 5% of the market anticipating a moderate decrease due to oversupply concerns, confirming that the structural tailwinds are strong enough to absorb new capacity.

Global Exits

The most profound shift in the sector’s maturity is the transformation of the exit horizon. The data indicates that Indian logistics assets are no longer being built for local consumption but are being engineered for global portfolios.

A combined 71% of exit avenues are now targeting institutional-grade platforms, with REITs (36%) and Foreign Institutional Investors (35%) identified as the dominant partners for future liquidity.

This marks a significant departure from earlier cycles where local High Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) and family offices were key players. 

Today, domestic capital accounts for only 18% of the expected exit volume, suggesting that developers are aligning their asset quality, compliance, and scale with the stringent requirements of global pension funds and public market trusts rather than local private equity.

Location Fundamentals

While industry discourse often gravitates towards smart warehousing and ESG, the market has delivered a stark verdict on what actually drives immediate asset value. 

Industry leaders have identified physical connectivity as the overwhelming determinant of premium valuations, with 82% of respondents citing location - either along economic corridors (49%) or near urban consumption centres (33%) - as the single most critical driver.

This fundamental focus currently eclipses the premium for advanced automation readiness (15%) and ESG compliance (4%) by an immense margin.

The data suggests that while technology is an operational necessity, the real estate premium is still strictly derived from the asset's ability to reduce transport time and access the end consumer, rendering automation a secondary value lever in the current cycle.

Physical Costs 

The primary friction point in the Indian logistics ecosystem has shifted from the government office to the highway. In a sign of regulatory maturation, regulation and tax friction is now the lowest-ranked hurdle (13%) to reducing logistics costs, indicating that policy reforms have successfully smoothed administrative borders.

Instead, the challenge has become purely physical and operational. Leaders now identify high fuel/energy prices (33%) and supply chain fragmentation (27%) as the dominant barriers to efficiency.

This shift confirms that the sector’s next leap in efficiency will not come from policy papers, but from infrastructure execution and the consolidation of fragmented operational networks.

Strategic Outlook

The Q4 2025 data revealed by the GRI Barometer paints a picture of a sector that has successfully professionalised. It is a market defined by global exit horizons, high-conviction deployment, and a disciplined focus on location fundamentals. 

To access the complete dataset regarding capital movements and sentiment analysis, view the full GRI Warehousing & Logistics India Barometer.