North Texas' Love Affair With Industrial Assets Is Far From Over

The Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market shows no sign of slowing down in 2020 after absorbing a record-setting 30.8M SF in 2019, a new report from Cushman & Wakefield shows.   

"The 30 MSF of absorption we witnessed is a new record and represents the fifth year in a row the market has eclipsed 20 MSF of positive growth," Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director Kurt Griffin said in a press statement.

The DFW industrial market closed out the fourth quarter with major tenants Home Depot and Georgia Pacific moving into 1.5M SF and 1M SF of industrial space, respectively, according to Cushman.  

Meanwhile, total industrial net absorption for the same quarter reached 12.8M SF with another 28.4M SF of industrial space under construction for potential occupancy in 2020 and beyond, Cushman data shows. 

“The market has been fueled by the fact that DFW has led the country in job growth and population growth, a trend we see continuing in 2020," Griffin added in his statement.  

Much of the current product under development is located in the Alliance Texas (9.8M SF), DFW Airport (5.2M SF) and Great Southwest (2.5M SF) submarkets.  

Even with a robust pipeline in the works, DFW's overall industrial vacancy rate fell to 6.3% in Q4, with demand still well outpacing supply, Cushman said.   

Demand for large distribution centers remained consistent in the final quarter of the year with major names inking deals to move into established DFW submarkets.

In just the fourth quarter, major companies from Amazon Air to DHL Supply Chain signed leases.

Here are some of the more notable fourth-quarter industrial leases, according to Cushman:

          1. Tenant: Dematic
              Size: 707K SF
              Submarket: Alliance 

          2. Tenant: Geodis
              Size: 672K SF
              Submarket: Pinnacle/Turnpike 

          3. Tenant: Amazon Air
              Size: 650K SF
              Submarket: Alliance 

          4. Tenant: DHL Supply Chain
              Size: 506K SF
              Submarket: Alliance 

The quarter capped off a huge year for leasing. Other major industrial leases signed throughout the course of 2019 include the following, according to CBRE: 

1. Tenant: Smuckers
    Size: More than 1M SF
    Property: SouthPort Logistics
    Submarket: Wilmer, Texas

2. Tenant: Georgia Pacific
    Size: More than 1M SF 
    Property: Interchange 20/45
    Submarket: Hutchens

3. Tenant: Callaway Golf Co.
    Size: 783K SF 
    Property: Alliance Center North 3
    Submarket: Alliance

4. Tenant: CDTI
    Size: 705K SF
    Property:1753 Chaplin Drive
    Submarket: Justin, Texas 

5. Tenant: Geodis
    Size: 672K SF
    Property: Commerce 30 Building B
    Submarket: West Dallas