Whether a metro area’s industrial sector survives this downturn without significant asset disruption depends entirely on where a region’s industrial buildings are located and whether the community is already e-commerce focused, a new study from CoStar Group says.
That’s why Dallas-Fort Worth is better positioned to survive an industrial downturn than cities like energy-dependent Houston and auto manufacturing-focused Detroit, CoStar Portfolio Strategy Senior Consultant Juan Arias said.
DFW’s industrial sector has the right product mix to weather the storm, having built larger industrial assets that cater to e-commerce distribution. Many of DFW’s recent builds cater to the e-commerce delivery sector by offering cross-docks and facilities with higher clear heights, Arias said.
“Metros like Dallas have been able to build plenty of those types of industrial buildings in this cycle and have attracted a lot of demand from those e-commerce players in this cycle so far,” Arias said.
In addition to a strong supply of new buildings, metros like DFW, Atlanta and Chicago have strong third-party logistics hubs, which CoStar expects will help them survive a downturn without too much disruption.
By Kerri Panchuck, Bisnow Dallas-Fort Worth
Central Commercial Group 