Industrial was the lone U.S. property sector to show a year-over-year transaction volume increase in 2017, growing 23.3 percent to nearly $60 billion, according to JLL’s H2 2017 U.S. Investment Outlook. By contrast, transaction volumes were down across the office, retail, multifamily and hotel sectors.

2017 was the second-biggest year on record for industrial transaction volumes, trailing only 2015, and up 25 percent over 2016, reports JLL. The sector saw average vacancy reach new lows less than 3 percent and average rents reach news highs at $5.49 per square foot. The continued increase in e-commerce users has been a leading factor in robust fundamentals.

Such activity looks set to continue in 2018, as a number of industrial portfolios have changed hands.

Recently, Clarion Partners purchased a 3.7 million-square-foot industrial portfolio for more than $200 million. The seller was The Pauls Corp. The portfolio spans across four cities: Atlanta, Dallas