LOS ANGELES—The industrial market is unstoppable. According to the recent Allen Matkins UCLA Anderson Forecast, which provides a three-year outlook of the industry, the industrial market has the most positive outlook among real estate professionals. In other sectors, namely office and multifamily, the market seemed to be softening; however, the industrial sector remains active and healthy for the foreseeable future.

According to the experts that participated in the forecast, ecommerce remains the chief driver of the industrial market, especially in infill markets. “The steady eddy is industrial. If you look at the industrial market, it has remained strong. That is somewhat, at least as far as the UCLA economists are concerned, is because of a profound shift toward ecommerce,” John Tipton, an operating partner at Allen Matkins, tells GlobeSt.com. “So many people are ordering are ordering so much stuff, and you need somewhere to put all of it. As a result, the industrial market has stayed really strong, and you can see that professionals in our survey were overwhelmingly positive and some cases are increasing in positivity.”

While the industrial market outlook was unanimously positive—meaning that it exceeded 50% in all seven markets reviewed—the Los Angeles and Inland Empire markets actually ticked down compared to the outlook survey in 2016. This was especially surprising considering that these are two of the most robust markets in California, near the busiest ports in the country and have historically low vacancy rates. “If you look at Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, you could say that they are both down; however, I want to caution that these numbers are only ticking down in the margins,” says Tipton. “If something goes from a 58 to a 57, and so a few points either way is, for all intensive purposes, is still really strong.”

LOS ANGELES—The industrial market is unstoppable. According to the recent Allen Matkins UCLA Anderson Forecast, which provides a three-year outlook of the industry, the industrial market has the most positive outlook among real estate professionals. In other sectors, namely office and multifamily, the market seemed to be softening; however, the industrial sector remains active and healthy for the foreseeable future.

According to the experts that participated in the forecast, ecommerce remains the chief driver of the industrial market, especially in infill markets. “The steady eddy is industrial. If you look at the industrial market, it has remained strong. That is somewhat, at least as far as the UCLA economists are concerned, is because of a profound shift toward ecommerce,” John Tipton, an operating partner at Allen Matkins, tells GlobeSt.com. “So many people are ordering are ordering so much stuff, and you need somewhere to put all of it. As a result, the industrial market has stayed really strong, and you can see that professionals in our survey were overwhelmingly positive and some cases are increasing in positivity.”

While the industrial market outlook was unanimously positive—meaning that it exceeded 50% in all seven markets reviewed—the Los Angeles and Inland Empire markets actually ticked down compared to the outlook survey in 2016. This was especially surprising considering that these are two of the most robust markets in California, near the busiest ports in the country and have historically low vacancy rates. “If you look at Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, you could say that they are both down; however, I want to caution that these numbers are only ticking down in the margins,” says Tipton. “If something goes from a 58 to a 57, and so a few points either way is, for all intensive purposes, is still really strong.”