The recently negotiated U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, is a win for commercial real estate, more because of what was preserved from NAFTA — the North American Free Trade Agreement — than what was changed. The likelihood is trade among the three countries of North America will remain significant.

What was at stake for industrial real estate?

Global trade is a driver of demand for industrial space. Goods coming to the United States need to be stored, sorted and shipped. A reduction in flow of goods between countries would have reduced this source of demand for industrial space. Looking at key industrial markets in the southwestern United States reveals exactly how important trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada has been to demand.

During the eight years after implementation of NAFTA, net absorption in the three largest southwestern industrial markets of Dallas, Houston and Phoenix increased 2.17 times as compared with the