Jeffrey Schwartz, CEO of ProLogis, outlined for attendees hisfirm's significant growth abroad in the last 10n years, due mainlyto the fact that the number of products being shipped across theworld in that time period has tripled. In 2003, ProLogis had $400million of assets in its control. Today the industrial-focusedcompany has roughly $29 billion of assets, $5 billion of which isin Japan and $9 billion in Europe.

Japan became "a big opportunity for us," Schwartz said. "Thereare a lot of inefficiencies in the supply chain there." AsGlobeSt.comreported, ProLogis recently unveiled plans for a SRI Logistics154,000-sf warehouse in Hiroshima.

The need forindustrial space has also given the company an opportunityto experiment with different product styles. For example it built aseven-story industrial property in Japan, which allows trucks todock on each of the seven floors via a ramp. Schwartz said thebuilding is roughly the size of a 16-story office tower and isvalued at more than $200 million. Additionally, Schwartz said thecompany has been focused on sustainability, adding grass roofs toall its Japanese holdings.