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CBRE the global real-estate management company reports a continued decline in availability of US distribution center space in most urban markets. Availability of industrial space across markets tracked by CBRE declined by 20 basis points (BPs) to 8.4 percent in the third quarter from the second, extending the longest stretch of consecutive quarterly declines since CBRE began tracking the figures in 1989.

Reporting on these results, Supply & Demand Executive characterizes the situation as a "supply-chain arms race". Retailers are in an increasingly life-or-death struggle involving, "big-box distribution centers, last-mile facilities nearest population centers or reverse-logistics facilities to handle returns."

“The industrial market is running full-throttle,” said Jeffrey Havsy, CBRE’s chief economist in the Americas. “The pace of demand has been running nearly double that of supply and vacancy continues to decline in big chunks. Demand is being driven by strong growth in e-commerce, a healthy auto industry and some reshoring of certain types of manufacturing.”