How Much More Can E-Commerce Sales Drive Industrial Demand

​Many people are looking at the unprecedented rise in industrial property demand, sales prices and rental rates over the past 10.5 years and they beginning to wonder when we are going to experience our ‘market correction’ that we have grown accustomed to seeing every 7-9 years (going back +/-100 years).  Without getting into why we seem to have these corrections somewhat predictably, and putting aside the always looming threat of unforeseen natural or geopolitical events that can change dynamics in a short time frame, what are the current trends and market fundamentals telling us about industrial property values and demand moving forward?  Well, quite simply, the E-Commerce revolution and technologically driven supply chains are causing more and more of the formerly in-person retail purchase transactions to be secured and completed ‘online,’ and subsequently shipped directly to consumers. As a result, the inventory that formerly occupied large amounts of ‘commercial retail space’ is now being absorbed by industrial properties, and most predict this trend to continue for the next several years, at least.  

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