Liz Young of The Wall Street Journal reports that growing Chinese leasing activity is coming just as e-commerce operators try to reach more American consumers. Young writes:
Logistics operators with roots in China are taking on more warehouse space across the U.S. amid broad changes in sourcing, manufacturing and global trade flows.
Prologis, the world’s largest industrial real-estate operator, said it estimates China-based third-party logistics providers and e-commerce companies accounted for 20% of net new warehouse leasing across the U.S. this year through the third quarter, which company officials say is up sharply over recent years.
Chris Caton, the company’s managing director for global strategy and analytics, said Prologis has long leased space to Chinese retailers and logistics operators and the demand “has clearly accelerated this year.” […]
Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group and JD.com have been expanding their warehousing presence in the U.S., and third-party logistics firms including Western Post, Lecangs and Elogistek have also stepped up leasing.
Western Post’s website lists an address in Shenzhen, China. The website says it provides services such as warehousing, ocean freight and customs handling. The company didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Lecangs, with an address in Perris, Calif., is a third-party logistics subsidiary of China-based furniture manufacturer Loctek, according to the company’s website. The company didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Elogistek’s website lists an address in Fontana, Calif., and says it is a supply-chain management company with a presence in Ningbo, China. The website includes links to YQN Logistics, a Shanghai-based freight forwarder. Elogistek didn’t provide comment.
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The vacancy rate for industrial real estate climbed to 6.4% in the third quarter, up from 4.6% in the same period a year earlier and the highest quarterly reading since the end of 2014, according to Cushman.
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