International shipping drives industrial & logistics demand

As international container shipping increases so does the need for more logistics real estate—especially in seaport markets, according to CBRE in report, which analyzes 18 well-established and emerging seaports to understand their capabilities and connections to other ports, as well as how they influence nearby industrial real estate markets.

Key findings:

Ocean shipping keeps growing—more than 80 percent of the world’s merchandise trade by volume is seaborne, of which more than half is shipped in ocean containers—driving strong demand for logistics space near seaports. E-commerce sales and holding more inventory to guard against supply chain disruptions are also spurring demand for industrial & logistics properties—especially those with strong transportation links to seaports. Transportation costs are a paramount consideration in site selection, accounting for 45% to 70 percent of logistics spend, versus 3 percent