Ecommerce expansion, Southern manufacturing boom drive leasing revival in U.S. industrial sector

Evolving trends and new players in ecommerce are driving a comeback in leasing for the U.S. industrial sector, according to NewMark.

Ecommerce accounted for 14.7 percent of first quarter 2024 top leasing activity, up from 3.5 percent one year ago.

Manufacturing construction spending has surged. In the past 12 months, $108 billion in manufacturing construction flowed into Southern states, nearly as much as the rest of the United States combined.

Vacancy will increase further as supply will likely outpace demand throughout the balance of the year. Supply – both in deliveries and in development – will fall back to pre-pandemic levels by 2025.

With normalizing demand, industrial staffing has been flat. However, evolving labor dynamics stand to impact the industrial market. Potential strikes threaten East Coast port and transcontinental rail activity, while labor organization may spread across the Southern manufacturing sector. Looking ahead, hundreds of t