Industrial Remains on Top After a Record-Breaking Year

Not surprisingly, 2020 proved to be a record year for large industrial transactions, driven by significant growth in online shopping and retailers keeping more inventory on hand. Across the country, 48 leases of one million square feet or larger were recorded, a significant increase from 29 leases of this size the year prior, according to CBRE.

The average transaction size of the top 100 U.S. industrial deals increased last year to 1.038 square feet, a significant jump from 2019’s average of 887,594 square feet. In total, the top 100 transactions accounted for 103.8 million square feet, representing a year-over-year increase of 17%.

E-commerce occupiers, companies that exclusively ship directly to consumers, led the country with 35 transactions totaling 37.3 million square feet, nearly double the 18 signed in 2019. General retailers and wholesalers that distribute both to brick-and-mortar stores and directly to consumers accounted for 32 of the top 100 transactions, totaling 35 million square feet.

Breaking it down by market, Phoenix, along with Memphis, had three large transactions.

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