Industrial real estate is poised for a spike in demand, development and delivery, according to research by Jones Lang LaSalle. Industrial markets nationwide have been recovering for more than four full years, with 15 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption. Last year marked a five-year high, with 168 million square feet of net absorption, and, with current forecasts, this figure could top 180 million square feet in 2014. So, what’s behind this momentum?
“2014 is starting off with high demand from e-commerce and other users who are in the market for large, sophisticated space, and lots of it,” said Craig Meyer, president of industrial brokerage at JLL. “This will make 2014 the ‘year of the distribution center.’ Modern space with proximity to population centers and a robust logistics infrastructure will dominate the industrial real estate sector in 2014.”