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E-commerce has driven the average U.S. warehouse to double in size since the early 2000s, according to a new report from CBRE. The largest expansions have come in metropolitan areas with the large populations that online sellers covet and the ample land developers need.
CBRE analyzed the average size of warehouses built in the U.S. during the last development upswing from 2002 to 2007 and compared those figures to the current building period of 2012-2017. The analysis found that the average size increased by 143 percent in that span to 184,693 sq. ft. and the average warehouse clear height rose by 3.7 feet, to 32.3 feet in total.
“This dramatic expansion of warehouse size and height in the U.S. is almost purely a product of e-commerce, which has created demand for massive warehouses with high ceilings to store extensive, fast-moving inventories,” says David Egan, Head of Industrial & Logistics Research with CBRE. “This demand is a long-term factor, meaning that U.S. markets without enough modern logistics facilities will see continued construction as they catch up.”
The largest gains in average warehouse size came in markets with big, growing populations and a ready supply of developable land, led by Atlanta (284 percent gain in average size), Cincinnati (237 percent) and California’s Inland Empire (222 percent).
To read the report, click here.
