CHICAGO– Cushman & Wakefield recently announced the promotion of Carolyn Salzer as Director of Logistics & Industrial Research.

"Chicago is the largest industrial market in the country with 1.2 billion square feet," says Salzer. "It's really an exciting time on the manufacturing side with e-commerce expansion and blockchains. I look forward to analyzing many of the market trends and outside forces that continue to transform the industrial and logistics space so that our clients have forward-looking insights to help them make wise investments and operate more effectively."

One of the main changes, for example, is FedEx opting not to renew its ground-shipping contract with Amazon. The contract expired at the end of August and it came a few months after the shipping company said it wouldn't renew Amazon's FedEx Express contract, which the shopping behemoth used to transport packages by air. This recently-ended contract focused on FedEx's ground deliveries that bridged the "last-mile" gap between customers and Amazon's warehouses. FedEx has now expanded their delivery services by announcing they would deliver packages seven days a week.

"Target has also started its same-day delivery option, the latest move in the ongoing delivery war with Amazon and Walmart," observes Salzer.

As a Woman in CRE

"As a female, I've been extremely lucky as I have had no real issues in the CRE world," says Salzer. "When I have been in meetings where I am one of the few or only women in the room, I use that to my advantage and as a career growth opportunity."

Labor Shortage and Automation

Salzer believes that robots won't replace human workers.

"We may "cobot" where every warehouse worker has a picking robot to help them," says Salzer. "I believe artificial intelligence will work hand-in-hand with humans. We can supplement human nuances with tech. We will still, however, always need people to repair the robots. Machines are imperfect and so many things will always require a manual human touch."

Salzer's Future

"I look forward to establishing my leadership and team and basically making the role my own," says Salzer. "I want to be the future of industrial research."

Instant Insights /

Catching Up With C&W's New Director of Logistics & Industrial Research

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