The need for more industrial space continues unabated, according to a new report, driven in no small part by the ever-increasing presence of e-commerce.
In its latest National Industrial Report, the analytics firm Yardi Matrix notes that around 345.5 million square feet of industrial space is currently under construction across the country, representing a pace reminiscent of the immediate pre-pandemic years.
The projects have a particularly Western bent, with Phoenix representing some of the biggest numbers at 15.1 million square feet; and Denver seeing nearly 6.4 million square feet of new industrial e-commerce space.
Dallas is leading the country at 24.8 million square feet; with sister Texas city Houston at just under 14.7 million square feet.
The report notes that in 2022 the Phoenix metro market had “an astonishing 39.8 million square feet of warehouse and distribution starts, accounting for 90% of that year’s development.” Today, the boom has lessened, but even so the 15.1 million square feet under construction puts it in the top two nationally for such construction.
In the country’s largest state, California, new construction is somewhat less, with Los Angeles seeing just over 4 million square feet of product; followed by the Bay Area at 2 million square feet; and Orange County, which takes in the cities of Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, at 1.1. million square feet.
While the astonishing boom of more than 650 million square feet of industrial/warehouse space built in 2023 appears now to be a one-of-a-kind event, the Yardi Matrix report doesn’t think the years ahead will be too shabby.
For next year, the report is forecasting around 250 million square feet, to be followed by an average of around 400 million square feet for every year between 2027 and 2030.
The report also notes the outsized role Amazon has played in all of this. During the Covid 19 years, Amazon bought up “warehouses and vacant land to develop new distribution centers at a blistering pace.”
Although Amazon somewhat pulled back on its facility expansion in 2022, it may now be on the verge of yet one more expansion phase. The company, notes Yardi Matrix, has been “reaching out to potential financing partners, exploring a $15 billion expansion across dozens of facilities.”
May 8, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
