Industrial Development To Blow Past 2020 Total, Reach Five-Year High
U.S. industrial development spiked in 2020 compared to 2019, and deliveries are expected to grow even more in 2021, according to a new analysis of industrial development data by CommercialSearch.
Developers added about 276M SF of industrial space across 915 new properties nationwide last year in response to pandemic-inspired demand for e-commerce distribution, up from 242M SF of deliveries in 2019, according to CommercialEdge data.
This year promises even more industrial development, with CommercialSearch estimating deliveries of more than 342M SF in 1,040 new properties, which would represent a five-year high.
The Dallas-Fort Worth market is expected to lead the nation in industrial development this year with nearly 28M SF in 79 projects, or more than 8% of the country's new supply. The industrial boom isn't new for DFW, as its massive 2021 total will only be 2% higher than new space completed in 2020.
Phoenix, Chicago, Southern California's Inland Empire, Denver, Philadelphia, Memphis, Tennessee, and Atlanta are expected to be other top markets for new industrial development this year.
In terms of percentage growth, Austin figures to be a leader in 2021. Last year, the market saw 1.7M SF completed. This year, the total is expected to be 10.4M SF, a nearly 512% increase. Much of the new space will be in Tesla's 4M SF Giga Texas manufacturing facility and Seefried Industrial Properties’ 3.8M SF facility in Pflugerville, Texas, which Amazon will lease.
CommercialSearch notes that Amazon will occupy most of the largest new industrial facilities this year. Besides the Austin-area property, the e-commerce giant is slated to take heaping helpings of space in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Suffolk, Virginia; Mount Juliet, Tennessee; and San Diego.
