NAIOP's Tom Bisacquino

Last year, when we asked the same question, global won out, garnering 43% of our readers' votes. SoCal and the Midwest tied for second at 25%, and the Northeast brought up the rear with a paltry 7% (there was no Sunbelt choice last year). Looking forward to 2008, our readers provided the following order for growth potential: Sunbelt with 27% of the votes, global slipping to a second-place tie with the Midwest with 19%, SoCal with 18% and New Jersey bringing up the rear with 17%. Commentator Thomas J. Bisacquino, president of the Washington, DC-based National Association of Industrial & Office Properties, frankly wishes we had extended the question beyond next year. Here's why:

"I think most readers will vote for Southern California, the largest US market, simply because of the flow of goods. We continue to see an incredible increase in the amount of goods coming in, so there's tremendous opportunity in Southern California. There are those who might argue that Southern California is at capacity, though they continue to look for ways to be more efficient.

"You're going to see the beginnings of growth in the Sunbelt in terms of the port cities, like Houston or Savannah. They'll grow specifically because of the congestion in California, and you'll see a lot of Asian countries shipping through the Suez Canal to the Eastern ports of the US. So while I vote for Southern California, the Sunbelt won't be too far behind.

"You'll also see some growth in inland ports in 2008--such as Chicago, which you don't typically think of as a port city. But there are huge intermodal facilities of up to three-and-a-half million sf being developed, where product comes in bond either from the West Coast of Canada or the US, inland to these ports for distribution.

"The Northeast is a large market because of its population center, so you wont see any shrinkage, and New Jersey of course is a very healthy industrial market, and the ports of New York City and Elizabeth, NJ continue to grow. So you'll see strong growth in that market as well.

"There's no question that the overseas markets will continue to grow. But you put some handcuffs on me when you limit the question to 2008.Over the next two to three years, two things are going to happen. One is that the cost of carrying inventory in shipment is growing. The inventory costs on a pair of sneakers made in Shanghai, by the time it gets to Foot Locker, has gotten higher and higher. So there is the start of discussions about manufacturing in the US.

"Also propelling that conversation is global warming. What does it mean to the climate to have all of these container ships plying back and forth? Is it more environmentally friendly to manufacture here and truck it 15 miles to a store? Those factors will impact the flow of goods into the country. It won't stop. But it may slow it down."