Nearly a third (31%) of those surveyed predict the industrialproperty type will outpace other commercial property types by 75%or more this year. Others predict it will outpace other productsbut by a lesser percentage. No respondents expect industrial to lagother sectors.

According to Cary Krier, senior vice president of Jones Lang'sNational Industrial Capital Markets Practice, the percent ofadvantage represents a general measure of fundamental performancerather than a specific metric. "The people being surveyed aren'tcapital markets oriented," he explains. "They're thinking in termsof occupancies, rent growth and things like that more than salevalues. It's more a statement that industrial as a product type isseen as less risky than the others. It says rents are still goingup and occupancy rates are still firm."

"Reading between the lines, this positive outlook is really theresult of the stability the industrial market has experiencedthrough the recent cycle with consistent demand and disciplineddevelopment," says Craig Meyer, managing director and nationalpractice leader for Jones Lang's Industrial Services Group. "Thereare very few markets that are overbuilt and the overall vacancyrate across the nation is still just 8.5% and even lower for newerinstitutional grade logistics product."