E-Commerce Diversifying the Industrial Base

Amazon’s new distribution center in Livonia, MI, recently opened.

DETROIT—The last few years have been stellar ones for the Detroit region’s industrial market, and robust demand should continue fueling expansion throughout 2018, according to a new report from Newmark Knight Frank. What makes this forecast remarkable is that the automotive industry, the economic backbone of the region, has hit a plateau after a period of staggering growth. But new sources of strength should keep the overall vacancy rate at a historic low and sustain record-breaking levels of new construction.

“Our market is getting more diverse,” John DeGroot, research director of NKF’s Detroit office, tells GlobeSt.com. “The automotive industry has slowed down a little bit, but we’re seeing the e-commerce sector, along with the medical supply industry, filling in and creating additional demand.”