2022 was a banner year and all things considered, it’s predicted that 2023 will be just fine, potentially delivering some of the biggest projects to date—but not entirely without challenge
NAI Hiffman Executive Vice President of Industrial Services Adam Roth predicted geopolitical pressure and transportation uncertainty will continue to force corporations to shorten their length of haul, affecting both distribution and manufacturing in North America.
That said, Roth said a growing desire by many U.S. manufacturers to decouple with China is leading them to look elsewhere for factories, including North America, and the promise of onshoring is bring felt more and more as the number of manufacturing companies continues to rise throughout the country—including Chicago.
Kyle Schott, Vice President of Real Estate Development for the Great Lakes Region of Ryan Companies, U.S., Inc., said the shift to onshoring helps companies to operate with more certainty by avoiding supply chain disruptions and achieve sustainability goals, as manufacturing in the U.S. is more regulated to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.
As the trend toward onshoring accelerates, Schott also said developers should strategize securing land positions and constructing spec buildings near abundant labor pools.
“Business operations are changing quickly,” he said. “Even with today’s economic headwinds, user demand for space remains strong and makes a case for continued strategic speculative development that can be delivered to market sooner than traditional built-to-suit. Most users still desire speed to market as opposed to checking every box on their wish-list.”
