Following the great financial crisis of 2008, the U.S. has been experiencing one of the longest economic expansions in history. Production and consumption continue to climb higher and, as a result, industrial property construction continues to increase, as well. In particular, industrial property construction added 144 million square feet across 441 properties last year, with Dallas, Inland Empire, and Chicago on top—each of which contributed more than 14 million square feet of industrial space.
Using data from Yardi Matrix, we looked at how much industrial space we can expect to be added in 2020. As of February 27th, when the data was extracted, industrial property completions were set to increase by 29% compared to last year’s—to 186 million square feet across 627 properties. Healthy consumer demand, historically low interest rates, and a shakeup in global supply chains are driving the need for more manufacturing and warehouse space—provided the recent pullback is short-lived.
Keep scrolling to check out the top markets that are adding the most space, as well as the largest individual projects in the nation for 2020.
Inland Empire Expected to Surge 66% Over 2019
This year, Inland Empire, Calif., will lead the nation in industrial completions with nearly 26 million square feet of space across 84 projects—roughly 400 football fields—for a whopping 66% increase over last year. In particular, Ontario-Chino, Moreno Valley, and Fontana will see the most industrial square footage added in the market—16.7 million square feet or 65% of the total.
Not far behind, the Dallas market will add 75 properties and 23.5 million square feet, representing a 21% increase over last year when it added around 19.5 million square feet. What’s more, the developments aren’t exclusively clustered in a few areas; rather, they’re dispersed throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
And, not to be outdone, Northern New Jersey is set to increase its industrial footprint by more than 14.5 million square feet—nearly 10 million square feet more than last year. An increase of 209%, it’s one of the largest increases in our study. Plus, the 26 properties expected to be completed will bring the average property size to more than 540,000 square feet.
The top five industrial markets for completions will each add at least 11 million square feet of space in 2020. Notably, Chicago is the only market in our top 10 that will add less square footage than it did in the previous year—about 16% less. The city’s industrial development added more than 14 million square feet in 2019, whereas it’s shaping up to add less than 12 million this year. Meanwhile, the largest individual developments are popping up on the coasts.
Largest Properties Go Coast-to-Coast: Ontario & Savannah
The Colony Commerce Center in Ontario, Calif., is set to complete nearly three million square feet of industrial space this year—the largest completion of 2020. The total square footage will be spread across 11 buildings—the largest of which will be Building 9 of Phase II, which will have more than 1 million square feet upon completion. Ivanhoe Cambridge, which purchased the land in 2018 for more than $450 million, contracted CapRock Partners to develop the properties. Completions are expected to culminate in September.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, the second- and third-largest developments to be completed in 2020 are in Rincon and Pooler, both suburbs of Savannah. The Georgia International Trade Center is scheduled to deliver four buildings between March and June for a total of 2.42 million square feet. Similarly, the Savannah Port Logistics Center, comprised of two buildings, will deliver a combined 2.39 million square feet of industrial space. Building 1 was completed in February, and Building 2 is scheduled for completion in August.
In contrast to last year, the Dallas-Fort Worth market saw the largest completions—with other notable entries from Inland Empire and Chicago.
Methodology:
Data source: Yardi Matrix, extracted February 27, 2020.
Industrial properties contain at least 50,000 square feet, reflecting the total square footage of the property—in the case of mixed-use assets, this includes office, retail, multifamily, and other commercial use types.
We included industrial properties delivered in 2019 and properties under construction that are scheduled for delivery in 2020.
Properties that are being delivered within the same campus highlight the total square footage for all the new buildings.
Market boundaries are used exclusively by the Yardi Matrix Real Estate Intelligence Source, and are traced by its real estate professionals.
Some projects include more than one building. The “# of Buildings” column from the tables reflect the total number of buildings included in all properties.
