Logistics Real Estate

In its “U.S. Industrial Q3 2023” report, CBRE found that third quarter construction starts saw a 37% decline, from the second quarter to the third quarter, and a 64% annual decline, to 40 million square-feet (MSF), which CBRE said lowered the under-construction total, for the third consecutive quarter, to 479 MSF.

The research paper, entitled “Future Proofing the Global Supply Chain:  How AI, Automation and Other Technologies Are Impacting Efficiency,” noted that logistics real estate investments outpaced revenue growth by 57% over the past decade despite advancements in automation and data analytics, which it labeled “the supply chain productivity paradox.”

The report—entitled “The race for industrial space: Can supply keep up?”—focuses on the challenges that industrial real estate stakeholders are up against, at a time when industrial space availability continues to trend down.

In its “North American Overview,” CBRE looked at the 23 “most dynamic” North American big box markets, finding that big box transactions represented 450 million SF across these markets (in the United States, Canada, and Mexico), marking a 29% annual gain over 2020’s 350 million SF.

The most recent edition of the Industrial Business Indicator (IBI), which was issued by San Francisco-based real estate investment trust company Prologis points to the need for more warehouse, due to various factors, including rising consumer confidence, retailers restocking inventories, and higher sales numbers. The IBI was featured in the firm’s report, entitled “Customer Activity Surges on Strong Retail Sales and Inventory Restocking.”

The report, entitled, “Forever Altered: The Future of Logistics Real Estate Demand,” points to various trends and themes related to how the pandemic “has forever altered the logistics real estate landscape,” with supply chain decisions having become more holistic, more data-driven, and more urgent than at any point in the past, coupled with how urbanization, digitization, and demographics have changed the ways in which people live, work, and shop.

In its “United States Industrial Outlook - Q4 2020,” JLL explained that increased e-commerce activity translated into what it called a steep rise for warehouse space.

The report, entitled “Q4 2020 U.S. Industrial & Logistics Real Estate Figures,” observed that the fourth quarter represented the strongest quarter on record, adding that it capped off a year of robust demand, with the outlook for 2021 looking very healthy.

The report, entitled “Automation and Logistics Real Estate #2: How Automation Can Help Navigate Urgent Supply Chain Challenges,” is the second in a series issued by Prologis.