Industrial Insights Newsletter
What the numbers mean for your next lease, renewal or sale. Southern California and national industrial real estate, read through the lens of the operation inside the building.
Latest issue · September 2, 2026
The net absorption to gross leasing ratio: the one number that tells you whether a market is actually growing, and who holds the leverage.
Every issue, newest first. Search a topic, a company or a market term.
Deep diveSep 2, 2026The net absorption to gross leasing ratio: the one number that tells you whether a market is actually growing, and who holds the leverage.
Industrial InsightsAugust 2026
Deep diveAug 27, 2026Vacancy is up. Leverage depends on the address and the size (as it always does).
Industrial InsightsAugust 2026
Deep diveAug 3, 2026Half the year is priced. Small bay held its run up; everything above 10,000 SF gave back 12% to 21%. And the new supply that would keep it soft is not coming.
Industrial InsightsJuly 2026July2026Deep diveJul 27, 2026Prologis reported a record quarter. Rexford reported a $507 million loss and a plan to sell $2 billion of buildings. Both are accurate, and the split tells you what your next Southern California lease will do.
Industrial InsightsJuly 2026
Deep diveJul 14, 2026Six markets in, and the primary reports beat the headlines. An early read on Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orange County, San Diego, Seattle and the Inland Empire, each against the other five.
Industrial InsightsJuly 2026
Deep diveJul 8, 2026For a decade the market ran one way, up and to the right. The mark to market has flipped, and the day you signed your lease decides which way it reprices.
Industrial InsightsJune 2026June2026Jun 1, 2026
May 29, 2026Last month I wrote about following the federal money, how defense and aerospace are quietly becoming the demand engine for SoCal industrial. On the latest Industrial Insights, I brought that thesis to two people who live it every day with m
Industrial InsightsMay 2026
May 11, 202695% of the industrial leases we do are 5-10 years long. But that is changing as supply chains require more agility. Enough clients have expressed a need for extra storage, distribution or fulfillment space but not enough to warrant a long t
Industrial InsightsApril 2026
Apr 22, 2026Every major Q1 2026 Southern California industrial report is now out. Before you read any single one, the most important thing to know is that they disagree with each other. Five firms reported five different Inland Empire vacancy numbers.
Industrial InsightsApril 2026
Apr 12, 2026For the last 30 years, when a manufacturer or logistics company looked for a new building, they asked three questions: How much is the rent? What is the logisitics costs? What is the labor profile? Electricity was an afterthought. You calle
Industrial InsightsMarch 2026March2026Mar 25, 2026After hosting 100+ episodes and thousands of listens, a few clear patterns have emerged in what resonates most with the c suite, supply chain operators, warehouse leaders, and industrial investors. These are the episodes that get shared the
Industrial InsightsMarch 2026March2026Mar 16, 2026Firstly, our monthly Owner/User report is now available for March. This is For Sale Availability in the three major size segments in LA, OC, and the IE.
Industrial InsightsMarch 2026
Mar 3, 2026The Southern California industrial market in the 100,000 to 200,000 SF range continues to correct. This month we are introducing a new layer of analysis alongside our Hundreds Report: a rolling 12 month change report that tracks every meani
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2026
Feb 20, 2026$2.72 Billion in Closed Sales. 330 Transactions. 843 Active Listings. The SoCal industrial sale market is steadily gaining momentum.
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2026
Feb 13, 202622.2 Million SF of Industrial Sublease Space is Sitting on the Market in Southern California. Here's What the Data is Actually Telling Us.
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2026
Feb 4, 2026For big box assignments in Southern California (100,000–1,000,000 SF), forget 40-foot clear. Here's how to win with what's actually available.
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2026
Jan 27, 2026What can we learn from the Prologis Q4 2025 earnings call Wednesday? They are the largest, most forward leaning industrial real estate platform in the country with 556 So Cal industrial assets, along with hundreds of properties across New Y
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2026January2026Deep diveJan 21, 2026Every distribution executive with a lease expiring in late 2026 or 2027 is asking the same question: how hard should we push right now? The answer depends entirely on where you are.
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2026
Jan 12, 2026Most executives still view outsourcing as a binary switch. You either run the warehouse yourself, or you hand the keys to a 3PL.
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2026
Jan 7, 2026As we look back on 2025, Southern California industrial real estate did not follow a straight line toward recovery. Instead, the year was defined by volatility, with periods of activity followed by renewed pauses. This sawtooth pattern sugg
Dec 10, 2025Prologis has a visibility into the industry that few can parallel. In this month's newsletter we'll A) review Prologis's bold prediction for 2026 and B) see where they landed on their 2025 predictions.
Industrial InsightsNovember 2025November2025Nov 11, 2025"Bottoming" is hard to prove in real time. For the first time in nearly two years, Southern California industrial real estate feels more optimistic again. The question CEOs are asking isn’t how far rents will fall, it’s how long it will tak
Industrial InsightsSeptember 2025
Deep diveSep 30, 2025Budget season is here. A national read on why leasing is strong, the record 1.7 billion SF renewal wave coming for 2026 to 2028, and where the leverage sits.
Industrial InsightsSeptember 2025September2025Sep 16, 2025Too often real estate is treated as just a box to house operations. The truth is the opposite: operational design often dictates the real estate requirements.
Industrial InsightsAugust 2025
Aug 18, 2025Lease renewals are not rollovers — they are strategic inflection points. In today’s market, concessions are expanding and effective rents are dipping even as base rents remain near historic highs. That creates opportunity.
Industrial InsightsJuly 2025
Jul 22, 2025Earnings calls provide great opportunities to learn from the most sophisticated industrial real estate owners in the United States and in Southern California. We mesh that with insights from CoStar research reports and our interview with th
Industrial InsightsJuly 2025
Jul 1, 2025Deals are happening. Companies are making moves. Expansion, contraction, consolidation, etc. It's just that more buildings are coming back to the market then are leasing, and in a major way this quarter. We had such a positive Q1 that there
Industrial InsightsJune 2025
Jun 4, 2025Every year I have speaking engagements for groups whether it be for CREW, Southern California Appraisers Institute, CompStak Fireside Chats, etc. where I breakdown aspects of Southern California's Industrial Markets from LA, to OC, to the I
Industrial InsightsMay 2025
May 23, 2025Now that we are in full swing of supply disruption and adjustment, I thought it timely to give all executives a comprehensive market analysis of the key markets that serve the Southwest and West Coast populations.
Industrial InsightsApril 2025
Apr 14, 2025We are seeing increasing activity in the 100,000 - 200,000 SF range throughout the Southern California market, with both expansions, subleases, consolidations and divestitures. The common perception is that Southern California Industrial is
Industrial InsightsMarch 2025March2025Mar 20, 2025After spending several days immersed in the latest supply chain innovations and thought leadership at PROMAT 2025 in Chicago, I wanted to share a comprehensive analysis of the transformative trends and technologies that could significantly
Industrial InsightsMarch 2025March2025Mar 3, 2025This weekend I was reviewing an article from the Corporate Real Estate Journal's recent publication . The authors, one of which is Alison Baumann of CompStak whom I co-hosted a fireside chat with last year and is brilliant, put together an
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2025
Feb 13, 2025With the bottom of the market in sight, industrial real estate investors are hedging their bets so that they do not lease a building cheap today and forgo rent increases for the next five years. That means of all the buildings that are avai
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2025
Jan 8, 2025We increasingly provide "turnkey" services to our clients when leasing or buying industrial property. What is turnkey? It's a delivery method where a single entity manages the entire project from design to completion. The client receives a
Dec 16, 2024In this week's newsletter we read through more Prologis research for macro economic trends, go through the Southern California marketplaces statistics, and provide interviews with industry leaders.
Industrial InsightsOctober 2024October2024Oct 29, 2024Industrial Leasing Market Update
Industrial InsightsOctober 2024
Oct 7, 2024October Update: Insights for Executive Action
Industrial InsightsSeptember 2024
Sep 17, 2024You'll enjoy the latest update with Jesse Gundersheim of CoStar who joined me on the latest episode of our Industrial Insights Podcast to review the data from the first half of the year. Major takeaways below. Watch , listen and download th
Industrial InsightsAugust 2024
Aug 25, 2024For me, one graph tells everything you need to know about a market. And that graph is the Absorption, Net Delivery and Vacancy graph by CoStar. Here are the three graphs for the Los Angeles, Inland Empire and Orange County Industrial Market
Industrial InsightsAugust 2024
Aug 5, 2024It's not all bad out there. The summer was slower than we would like it to be for tenants, landlords, investors and owner/users alike but there were enough signs of new growth that we are remaining optimistic for the next two quarters. 3PL'
Industrial InsightsJuly 2024
Jul 11, 2024Today's majority of today's market velocity is in the lease renewal part of the market. While we find the bottom of the market, landlords and tenants alike are trying to do the best they can to preserve their current properties and kick the
Industrial InsightsJune 2024
Jun 24, 2024Spoiler alert: The industrial market is in a state of decline. However, there are signs of very real activity that have industry insiders speculating on whether this is the bottom of the industrial market in Southern California.
Industrial InsightsMay 2024
May 31, 2024Families across the country are celebrating their kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces graduations from elementary, middle school, high school, university, and a host of grad schools. It's an exciting time filled with pride. That means tomor
Industrial InsightsMay 2024
May 3, 2024Southern California industrial markets are bifurcated again where each part of the LA, OC and IE market is going in a different direction based on micro market dynamics.
Industrial InsightsApril 2024
Apr 11, 2024Rexford Industrial has just closed the year's largest deal by acquiring 48 properties from Blackstone (Link Logistics) for a staggering $1 billion, or $332 PSF. This portfolio, spanning 3,008,000 SF, is 98% leased, with 99% of the property
Industrial InsightsMarch 2024
Mar 25, 2024Owner/users are business owners who own industrial real estate specifically for their primary business. This method of buying property for your business operations is the classic move for business owners with a stable footprint, excess capi
Industrial InsightsMarch 2024
Mar 4, 2024So where is the industrial tenant demand and leasing demand headed? Have we bottomed? In I ndustrial Income , thanks to the insight of Graham Wahlberg of Goodman , I reviewed the best leading and real time indicators that signal tenant leas
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2024
Feb 12, 2024We have noticed several trends in the last 90 days: * 100,000-300,000 SF properties in the Inland Empire West and East are seeing the most significant lease rate adjustments. * Institutional landlords with low-basis properties and long-term
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2024
Jan 22, 2024Prologis is the largest REIT and owner worldwide of industrial property. There is none with a higher visibility in the industry which is why we watch their quarterly earnings calls to help look for new signals within the marketplace. * Inve
Prologis had its annual Groundbreakers presentation along with a new piece of intriguing research on where this automation train is headed. After a quick review of the latest lease comps of the last 30 days, I’ll give both high-level takeaw
Industrial InsightsSeptember 2023September2023Sep 1, 2023We are in that window between the end of summer and the start of the holidays. This is prime deal-making time. If you have been waiting for pricing to soften, this is your moment as a tenant, as free rent is rising, subleases are plentiful,
Industrial InsightsAugust 2023August2023Aug 1, 2023As tenants right size, inventory is building up in Class B properties while the leasing cycle is slowing in Class A properties. However, lease rates are not going down across the board. Largely subleases are absorbing at lower lease rates a
Industrial InsightsJuly 2023July2023Jul 1, 2023As the home of West Coast Distribution and within close range of Southern California’s major ports and population centers, the Inland Empire remains critical. Despite the economic uncertainty facing industrial markets, development in the In
Industrial InsightsJune 2023June2023Jun 1, 2023Kids are out of school, and everyone is transitioning into summer camp, internships, and travel, depending on the age of your kids (mine are 8 & 10). Summer used to be a slow time in the industrial real estate market, and then 2020-2022 hit
Industrial InsightsMarch 2023March2023Mar 1, 2023NAIOP is one of the most influential industry groups we have in industrial real estate. They have conferences on the west and east coast every year, and this year’s get-together occurred last week. Here are the top 10 topics that shaped the
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2023January2023Jan 1, 2023We’re happy to report another successful lease renewal for a long-term client here in Fullerton, CA on this 91,116 SF Class B industrial property at 1400 Manhattan Avenue. Here is a copy of the posting I made for this one to give you a fla
Industrial InsightsNovember 2022November2022Nov 1, 2022No, this isn’t your favorite Star Wars movie, Rise of the Resistance, but it is the next series in the industrial real estate market evolution. This last 60 days saw a notable rise in sublease space across Southern California. Not enough to
Industrial InsightsOctober 2022October2022Oct 1, 2022“Is the industrial market going down yet?” Not exactly
Industrial InsightsSeptember 2022September2022Sep 1, 2022While the Cat’s Away, The Mice Will Play
Industrial InsightsApril 2022April2022Apr 1, 2022Today’s big announcement is that Blackstone is acquiring PS Business Parks 96 property, 27 million square foot portfolio in California, Florida, Texas, and North Virginia for $7.6 billion. Some people think that this is not good for tenants
Industrial InsightsOctober 2021October2021Oct 1, 2021Good afternoon –
Industrial InsightsJuly 2021July2021Jul 1, 2021Industrial activity continues to outpace most asset classes. We are busy but also finding that the market is challenging due to such a rapid pace of lease and sale activity with a very muted industrial pipeline. The figures for positive abs
Industrial InsightsJune 2021June2021Jun 1, 2021Summer is here. With lessening restrictions we are experiencing an acceleration in activity going into the summer stretch. With so much going on in the marketplace, I’ll keep this email newsletter brief and get right to it.
Industrial InsightsApril 2021April2021Apr 1, 2021Everybody is watching April 19th for when vaccines are going to be readily available to all adults and California has issued a July 15th date for its grand reopening. Everybody is wondering how much of a rush people will have to go back to
Industrial InsightsMarch 2021March2021Mar 1, 2021Prologis came out with one of the best pieces of research providing insight for why there is no going back to how it was before the pandemic. This is a structural change. The main takeaways from the report:
Industrial InsightsFebruary 2021February2021Feb 1, 2021Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with market intel and insights. We welcome Jeannette Plumeda onto our team to help with research, marketing, and client service.
Industrial InsightsJanuary 2021January2021Jan 1, 2021As we kick off the new year all signs point towards the industrial markets being full steam ahead for consolidation, rebound and continued growth throughout most segments of the industrial user base and amongst nearly all institutional and
Industrial InsightsNovember 2020November2020Nov 1, 2020Last month’s charts covered a snapshot in time. This month’s charts cover the forecast for the coming years. I’ve seen industrial rent growth projections range from being flat in 2022, to increasing 23-40% over the next 5 years. Tenants who
Industrial InsightsOctober 2020October2020Oct 1, 2020Here are my two favorite charts for the month that illustrate where we are heading in the industrial real estate market.
Industrial InsightsApril 2020April2020Apr 22, 2020Good afternoon. I spent the morning reading through every Q1 2020 industrial market report from every firm and then listened to the Prologis quarterly call. Prologis is in the market more than anyone in the United States, so what they see,
Industrial InsightsIndustrial InsightsIndustrialInsightsGood afternoon -Activities levels continue to push through summer and Labor Day. We’re excited to be doing great work with great teams in the marketplace. A few recent closings of note that are illustrative of the market are below. The prim
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