Shifting global trade patterns and cost pressures are reshaping industrial real estate demand across North America, with logistics users increasingly moving large-scale distribution activity away from coastal port markets and toward lower-cost inland logistics hubs, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The firm’s report, “North America Ports & Trade Update: 2025 in Review,” examines how tariffs, nearshoring and evolving supply-chain strategies are influencing demand for warehouse and logistics space.
Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and tariff volatility, cargo volumes at the 10 largest U.S. maritime ports declined just 0.3 percent in 2025, underscoring the resilience of U.S. trade flows even as supply chains continue to adjust. However, the report finds that the benefits of trade activity are increasingly flowing beyond traditional port markets.
Port-proximate industrial markets captured just 19 percent of total U.S. industrial net absorption
