Transwestern report: National industrial market won’t slow anytime soon

By
Rich Pizzutillo
-

The United State’s industrial market isn’t slowing down anytime soon, according to new data from Transwestern’s fourth quarter national industrial report.

The report said despite nearly 1 billion square feet of new inventory delivered over the past three years, vacancy ended the quarter at 4.7 percent, less than half of the post-recession high of 9.5 percent in 2010.

“The industrial sector continues to hit on all cylinders,” Matt Dolly, director of research in New Jersey, said. “In the fourth quarter, we saw job growth in construction, manufacturing and retail trade, all of which support the industrial market. E-commerce sales rose nearly 20 percent year-over-year during the holidays. And still, even with a massive volume of new deliveries, demand continues to outpace supply.”

That demand, the report said, has continued to push up average asking rents, ending the quarter at $6.29 per-square-foot.

Of the 47 markets Transwestern tracks, more than 90 percent experienced year-over-year growth and all but four posted positive net absorption for the year.

As for New Jersey, which Transwestern considers a secondary coastal port market:

  • Placed in Top 5 markets nationally for total net absorption in Q4;
  • Ranked No. 7 for product under construction;
  • Ranked No. 9 for vacancy rate;
  • Ranked No. 10 for year-over-year rent growth;
  • For larger markets greater than 500 million square feet, average asking rents ranked No. 2 in Q4.
  • Vacancy set a record low for the 6th consecutive quarter;
  • 17 of 25 submarkets have lower vacancy rates than the U.S. average.
  • Rents increased for the 14th consecutive quarter;
  • All but one of 25 New Jersey submarkets reported asking rents higher than the U.S. average.

New Jersey also had record developments, Transwestern said, including 10.6 million square feet delivered in New Jersey during 2018 (the most since 2001) and 7.9 million square feet under construction, ranking it No. 7 in the U.S.

In terms of rent, New Jersey experienced 9.9 percent growth in 2018, ranking it No. 10 in the U.S. Transwestern noted that Q4 2018’s average asking rent of $8.23 per-square-foot for the state’s industrial market was the first time it was more than $8 per-square-foot and was 31 percent higher than the U.S. average of $6.29 per-square-foot.

To see the full report, click here.