Among the tightest industrial markets in the country are the usual suspects—LA, Orange County, central New Jersey, San Jose and Denver—but the list, compiled by Cushman & Wakefield for Q2, also includes Nashville at 3.9%. What gives?

"We get that question a lot, and the honest answer is, it’s hard to assign the recent demand to a category or market sector," Cushman & Wakefield EVP David McGahren tells us. "The demand is broad-based, led by automotive, more specifically Nissan with two build-to-suits under construction."

Those facilities include a 786k SF building for a parts facility and a 1.5M SF building at the manufacturing site as a “supplier campus.” Retail and e-commerce have also played an important role in our increased demand, David says.

"This will sound like a Chamber of Commerce quote, but the success of the Nashville industrial market is largely attributable to its location as a major gateway city to the Southeast, with three interstates trisecting here," David says. Combined with a high-quality, educated workforce, Nashville's well-positioned to provide staffing for the more sophisticated distribution centers in today's market.

Also, as a right-to-work state with no state income taxes, large corporate users as well as smaller regional companies with customers in the Middle Tennessee market area are targeting Nashville for new or expanded facilities.