Ocado is in 'advanced talks' to open a third, giant distribution centre in Salford.
The company is in discussions with Peel Holdings over the possibility of using the site at Port Salford, a site currently under construction on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal at Barton-upon-Irwell, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The £138 million road, rail and sea-shipping freight terminal will become operational by next year.
Ocado currently has two giant automated warehouses in Hatfield, north of London, and Dordon in Warwickshire. It also has about a dozen smaller satellite centres which it feeds through articulated lorries from its main centres to deliver into the regions.
The larger centres form the engine room of the business and dictate how many deliveries the company can make. A giant centre in the North would vastly increase the number of deliveries it and recently signed partner Morrisons can make in key urban areas such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
Last month we reported that it had identified a shortlist of locations around the northwest and also some in the West Yorkshire area. However, its search now appears to be centring on Manchester.
Ocado signed a £216 million partnership with Morrisons last year. Six weeks ago the supermarket chain launched the site which is part of a strategy by chief executive Dalton Philips to catch up with rivals such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda which have all had similar sites for more than a decade.
Ocado is also looking at site in West Yorkshire and Kent for the third centre.
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