For more than a decade, industrial product has been one of the best performing commercial real estate asset classes, vying neck-in-neck with multifamily to top billing. During the pandemic, the sector easily took the lead. Historically, industrial has flourished in markets near ports of entry and major population centers, but now voracious demand has expanded the sector's reach to small cities and even tertiary markets, says Alexander Harrold, first VP and senior director of industrial at Matthews Real Estate Investment Services.

Harrold sat down for this episode of the Matthews Real Estate Investment Services series to talk about industrial activity in emerging markets, what role e-commerce is currently playing in the sector's growth, how the flight to affordability has pushed many industrial users beyond just traditional hubs, and how investors should approach the sector.