E-commerce and logistics companies accounted for 52% of the 100 largest warehouse leases by square footage in 2019, totaling more than 45 million sq. ft. and ranging in size from 598,000 to 2.5 million sq. ft. While major players dominated most of the deals by e-commerce companies in 2019, growth also came from traditional retailers that implemented omnichannel strategies to satisfy the rise in U.S. online sales.
Food & beverage companies’ market share increased by 4.1 million sq. ft. last year with their number of transactions up by 44%. The surge in food & beverage activity came from companies improving their grocery supply chain for supermarkets and e-commerce fulfillment.
Fifty of the 100 leases were for warehouses sized 800,000 sq. ft. or more, reflecting continued demand for large, tall, modern buildings. These transactions were spread across 35 markets, with the Inland Empire, PA I-78/81 Corridor, Memphis, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Atlanta having the largest volume of transactions by square footage.
Figure 1: 100 Largest U.S. Warehouse Leases by Industry, 2019
Source: CBRE Research, Q4 2019.
Figure 2: Top 5 U.S. Markets for Warehouse Leases, 2019
Source: CBRE Research, Q4 2019.
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