Inland Empire Takes Top Spot with 42.5M SF in 2020

The top North American markets for large warehouses (200,000 square feet or larger) had record transaction activity in 2020, with the total number rising 25 percent due to online shopping, according to CBRE. Its recent report examined 22 markets with more than 75 million square feet of big-box facilities.

The Inland Empire led all markets with 42.5 million square feet in transactions. Demand was driven by 3PLs, which accounted for 34.5 percent of the total deals in 2020. Transaction activity increased by 21 percent year-over-year in 2020 and net absorption increased by 40 percent to 25.1 million square feet.

A large population gives the Inland Empire one of the largest big-box industrial labor forces in the country. More than 100,000 people are employed in the warehouse industry, according to CBRE Labor Analytics. This is expected to grow 25 percent by 2030.

“The Inland Empire is the single largest class-A industrial market in the U.S. with an abundance of Fortune 500 companies moving goods through the Ports of LA and Long Beach to the southwestern part of our country,” said Dan de la Paz, CBRE EVP. “Historically, this market has developed 15 to 25 million square feet of new space each year, now this market is maturing and running out of land, thus accelerating industrial real estate values at the fastest pace ever seen.”