Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Logistics real estate sees record rent growth

Rents for logistics facilities increased 15% globally and nearly 18% in North America, driven by e-commerce fulfillment trends, brisk consumer spending, and rising construction costs, report shows.

webimage-f87c8a8e-3db7-4e6e-94e1-4346d656c7a4.jpg

Rents for logistics facilities rose more than 15% worldwide and were up nearly 18% in North America last year, driven by high e-commerce volumes, the supply chain’s need to build more resilient inventories, and the rising cost of construction materials, according to recent data from logistics real estate giant Prologis.


The company released its Logistics Rent Index this month, which tracks trends in net effective market rental growth (which adjusts for free rent) in key logistics real estate markets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The research tracked record rental growth for 2021 and predicts high single-digit growth this year as demand meets or outpaces supply. Among the global trends in 2021, according to the report:
  • Bidding wars for space are increasing as available logistics space drops. As demand outstrips supply, vacancies are at record lows around the world.
  • Record demand stems from a stronger economy and industry-specific factors, such as the rise of e-commerce. Also a factor: Retailers are boosting inventories to make sure consumers get their goods on time.
  • Spiking construction costs and land prices produced record high replacement costs. Developers have had to increase rents to bring on much-needed supply.
Similar trends occurred in North America, where the highest growth rates were seen in regions near major ports of entry and where it’s easy to reach multiple markets: California’s Inland Empire, Toronto, and Reno, Nev., led the way, with rents in the Inland Empire rising 58%.

A 40% rise in construction materials costs in 2021 contributed to the spike, as did rising land costs, according to the report.

Looking ahead, Prologis researchers said they expect rents will continue to rise this year due to pent-up demand.

“High consumption and the need for supply chains to accommodate e-commerce volumes and build resilient inventories should keep [vacancy] rates at record lows even as more warehouses are completed,” according to the report.

Recent

More Stories

cover of report on electrical efficiency

ABI: Push to drop fossil fuels also needs better electric efficiency

Companies in every sector are converting assets from fossil fuel to electric power in their push to reach net-zero energy targets and to reduce costs along the way, but to truly accelerate those efforts, they also need to improve electric energy efficiency, according to a study from technology consulting firm ABI Research.

In fact, boosting that efficiency could contribute fully 25% of the emissions reductions needed to reach net zero. And the pursuit of that goal will drive aggregated global investments in energy efficiency technologies to grow from $106 Billion in 2024 to $153 Billion in 2030, ABI said today in a report titled “The Role of Energy Efficiency in Reaching Net Zero Targets for Enterprises and Industries.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Logistics economy continues on solid footing
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy continues on solid footing

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.

The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
iceberg drawing to represent threats

GEP: six factors could change calm to storm in 2025

The current year is ending on a calm note for the logistics sector, but 2025 is on pace to be an era of rapid transformation, due to six driving forces that will shape procurement and supply chains in coming months, according to a forecast from New Jersey-based supply chain software provider GEP.

"After several years of mitigating inflation, disruption, supply shocks, conflicts, and uncertainty, we are currently in a relative period of calm," John Paitek, vice president, GEP, said in a release. "But it is very much the calm before the coming storm. This report provides procurement and supply chain leaders with a prescriptive guide to weathering the gale force headwinds of protectionism, tariffs, trade wars, regulatory pressures, uncertainty, and the AI revolution that we will face in 2025."

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo of worker at port tracking containers

Trump tariff threat strains logistics businesses

Freight transportation providers and maritime port operators are bracing for rough business impacts if the incoming Trump Administration follows through on its pledge to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China, analysts say.

Industry contacts say they fear that such heavy fees could prompt importers to “pull forward” a massive surge of goods before the new administration is seated on January 20, and then quickly cut back again once the hefty new fees are instituted, according to a report from TD Cowen.

Keep ReadingShow less