To put things in perspective, the Chicago industrial market has 1.1 BILLION
square feet of industrial/distribution space.
Of that amount 112 million square feet or 10.6% is currently
vacant. This is the lowest vacancy rate we
have seen since 2008 when the rate was 10.3%.
33.5 million square feet of industrial space was leased in 2011, slightly
up from 32.8 million square feet in 2010. Clearly we are crawling from the wreckage
as 2012 appears to be picking up steam.
9.1 million square feet of industrial space was absorbed in the 4th
quarter of 2011, the largest amount in 6 years!
Some of the forces at play that are driving the increased
demand for industrial space are related to the trend toward buying more and
more products on line. Cyber Monday, online
retail’s counterpart to Black Friday (where sales take place in “Brick and
Mortar” store locations) rose 22% in 2011 setting a record as the biggest
online shopping day in U.S. history.
Sales were $1.3 billion vs. $1.0 billion in 2010. It has been predicted that as much as 30% of
all retail sales could be completed over the internet by 2020, roughly double
the current level. The point of this
major buying habit trend is that the online shopping world will create greater
demand for large warehouses by many retailers.
* Credit to Pat Gallagher of the Alter Group whose article
in February, 2012 issue of Heartland Real Estate Services who provided all the
above stats and data.
