Depending on which federal official is speaking, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is taking a serious look at possibly changing current fleet safety rating system – or it is not doing so.
Truckers have long expressed their unhappiness with the current Satisfactory, Conditional and Unsatisfactory ratings they can be assigned by FMCSA following safety inspections and examination of their operational practices.
Third-party logistics providers leased more big-box (200,000 square feet or larger) warehouse space in North America last year than any other occupier category, according to a new report issued by the industrial real estate services firm CBRE.
Accounting for 41% of all big-box lease transactions in 2022, 3PLs expanded their footprints and claimed the largest share for the first time since CBRE began tracking the activity in 2012.
CBRE defined 3PLs as companies that typically operate logistics and warehousing operations on a contractual basis, handling that work for multiple clients.
As a result of what it terms as enduring pandemic-era shifts in economic activity, CBRE reported that companies have expanded their reliance on 3PL partners in order to create resilient supply chains and economically address customer needs.
The previous leader in big-box leasing activity – retailers and wholesalers – fell to second place, taking 35.8% of the leasing share. Food and beverage occupiers were a distant third, accounting for 8.7% of leasing activity.
“During the pandemic, companies relied on partnerships with 3PLs to stabilize their operations and accommodate demand,” said John Morris, who serves as CBRE’s president of Americas industrial and logistics operations.
“The initial thought was that companies would eventually return to self-reliance for their fulfillment needs, but more companies have since realized that 3PLs can play a vital role in their business models, and demand is stronger than ever,” he added.
CBRE said that it chose to analyze warehouses of 200,000 square feet and larger because warehouses of that size are used for large-scale national and international product distribution.
Encompassing activity in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the big-box report found that industrial facilities had record-low vacancy rates and unprecedented rent growth in 2022, despite record new construction deliveries.
CBRE stressed that demand was driven primarily by a desire to serve markets with growing populations, modernize space for automation and improve supply chain resilience.
Matching 2021’s record low, the 2022 direct vacancy rate was 3.3% at year’s end, which the company said supported first-year base rents growth of 23% year-over-year.
With demand for space at a high, and little space available, CBRE pointed out that a record 455 million square feet is currently under construction, of which 25.3% is pre-leased.
“Slower demand at a time of robust construction will result in higher vacancy as time goes on. That will provide relief for occupiers looking for space in a very tight market,” Morris explained.
“New construction will moderate this year, particularly with the financing market so tight. This should lead to double-digit rent growth as construction deliveries slows.”
CBRE’s report examined 25 big-box markets in North America. Four of these markets had recorded vacancies of less than 1% — Inland Empire (0.1%), Los Angeles County (0.6%), Toronto (0.8%) and Savannah (0.9%).
The top 10 markets identified by CBRE were in order of ranking: Inland Empire, 46.7 million square feet; Dallas-Fort Worth, 34.4 million; Chicago, 33.5 million; Southern N.J./Eastern Pennsylvania, 32.6 million; Atlanta, 27.6 million; Houston, 19.1 million; Northern/Central NJ, 18.8 million; Phoenix, 16.4 million; Indianapolis, 15.2 million; and Columbus, Ohio, 14.9 million.
