Demand for industrial space is being driven by a resurgent logistics sector, according to property consultants Savills.

In its latest commentary on Dublin’s industrial property market, t he agency reports that transport and storage operators accounted for 29 per cent on the industrial space taken up in the first three months of this year. About 10 per cent of all jobs created over the last six months had been in the transport and storage sector.

In other evidence that the logistics sector is heating up, Savills researcher John McCartney points to a 53 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of commercial vehicles licensed, and increasing activity in the market for distribution and storage space.

“When it comes to industrial space we tend to think of factories but warehousing, storage and distribution facilities are now becoming a much more important part of the industrial property landscape.”

The Savills report highlights that the total number of industrial property transactions increased by 11.4 per cent year on year in the first quarter while take up was 45 per cent higher than in the same period in 2012.

Some 35,000sq m of industrial space was taken up in the first three months of this year.

However, this was one-third lower than in the same period of 2013.

Savills say that this reflects the fact that very few deals were carried over from the last three months of 2013 when a new record for industrial take-up in Dublin was set.