Report: Dallas Tops Nation in 12-Month Industrial Construction, Absorption

TORONTO — Dallas led the nation in construction and absorption of industrial space between the beginning of the second quarter of 2018 and the end of the first quarter of 2019, according to a new report from Toronto-based Avison Young. While Dallas technically finished behind Los Angeles as the No. 2 city in completions of industrial projects over the last 12 months, the city took the gold medal for total space under construction at 30.9 million square feet. In addition, Dallas claimed the top spot for industrial absorption during this period, with positive net absorption of 23.4 million square feet. As such, the report pegged the city’s industrial vacancy rate at a healthy 6.8 percent. The report also cited the growth of e-commerce and demand for last-mile logistics services as the principal drivers of industrial growth, and noted that a total of 272 million square feet of new space was completed across 46 markets during the past 12 months. Philadelphia, the Inland Empire (California), Atlanta and Chicago rounded out the Top 5 with regard to space under construction.