U.S. MarketFlash | Dealmakers:
E-Commerce & Logistics Firms Dominate Largest Warehouse Deals in 2018

E-commerce and logistics companies accounted for 61% of the 100 largest warehouse deals (leases and sales) by square footage in 2018, totaling 61.5 million sq. ft. Overall, there was 100.3 million sq. ft. transacted ranging in size from 742,000 to 2.3 million sq. ft. The e-commerce industry’s share of these top deals (41) includes more retailers that are implementing omnichannel strategies. Logistics companies’ share was 20 deals, 40% of which involved e-commerce distribution. Fifty of the 100 deals were for warehouses sized 970,000 sq. ft. or more, reflecting demand for large, tall, modern buildings. These transactions were spread across 32 markets, with the Inland Empire, PA I-78/81 Corridor and Dallas/Ft. Worth having the largest volume of transactions by square footage.

Figure 1: 100 Largest U.S. Warehouse Deals by Industry, 2018

 

_{Source: CBRE Research, Q4 2018.}

Figure 2: Top U.S. Warehouse Deals by Market, 2018

_{Green dots represent other markets that had transactions in the top 100 for 2018.
Source: CBRE Research, Q4 2018.}