Growth in Red-hot Local Warehousing Market
Across North America, the industrial real estate market has seen record-breaking growth over the past few years largely fueled by the surge in online buying and the consumer's insatiable desire to have items delivered to their door as quickly as possible. This demand requires warehousing space and logistics services in strategic locations.
The Chicago area -- and particularly the Western and Southwestern suburbs -- has been dominating the country in terms of logistics and warehousing growth. Colliers International, a Canadian real estate firm, published data in early 2022, stating that Chicago's net absorption rate totaled 44.5 million square feet for 2021 -- vastly exceeding the previous record from 2016 of 26.6 million square feet. Net absorption measures the amount of occupied warehouse space minus vacated space. The Chicagoland locations offer excellent cost and service advantages, such as:
• Central U.S. location with access to major markets;
• Sites at or near interstate highway ramps;
• Major rail and highway logistics hub terminals;
• High-volume domestic and international airfreight services; and
• A large and productive workforce.
The Interstate-55 corridor continues to see remarkable growth for warehousing facilities. It is a strategic location with immediate access to major interstates.