Using information provided by CRE data and listing platform CommercialEdge, we analyzed how industrial real estate has transformed in the last 10 years — between 2012 and 2021 — a period when e-commerce was becoming an increasingly important factor in the global economy. Specifically, we looked at 30 major industrial real estate markets, analyzing how deliveries and sales volumes in these markets had progressed throughout the last 10 years.
Phoenix made the top 30 for most industrial space completed between 2012 and 2021 at No. 6, adding 72.7 million square feet of space in that timeframe. In 2021, sales volume in the metro reached almost $4.2 billion, more than double compared to 2020.
Industrial Development Accelerates as 30 Markets Add 1.6B SF of New Space Since 2012
In the last 10 years, industrial development was primarily concentrated in transportation nodes and port markets. This fact was immediately evident through the four markets to add more than 100 million square feet of industrial space since 2012: Dallas-Fort Worth, a major transport hub with one of the busiest airports in the country; Inland Empire, an essential logistical corridor for the Port of Los Angeles; Chicago, a major logistical and manufacturing hub; and Houston, a major U.S. port with a significant increase in activity throughout the last decade.
The total amount of industrial space added in all 30 markets throughout the last 10 years added up to 1.6 billion square feet, with nearly half (750 million) coming from the five largest markets. However, the acceleration of industrial development alongside the ascension of e-commerce is even more evident when analyzing industrial development per year in each respective market.