As consumers, fearful of the coronavirus, drive online sales, a narrative around industrial space markets has emerged: a surge in e-commerce will be a net positive for warehouse space markets. At least relative to office and retail, industrial markets will go largely unscathed. The argument is somewhat compelling with large warehouse users such as Amazon, and a variety of other retailers all rushing to add to their online capacity.
Against this bullish outlook is a decidedly more negative economic backdrop for the economy at large, including the manufacturing sector and the entire production process. This expected contraction in economic activity looks set to outweigh the net new demand from e-commerce companies, leaving the industrial market decidedly softer relative to pre-COVID-19.
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