US industrial construction grows as power needs reshape manufacturing sites

JLL counted 317 million sq ft of US industrial space under construction in its October 20 report, up 28.7% from a year earlier and 14.8% from the previous quarter. Speculative buildings of at least 1 million sq ft increased from 18 to 33 between the second and third quarters. Engineering News-Record reported that advanced manufacturers and data center suppliers increasingly seek buildings with more electrical capacity and room for automation. Obtaining power can take years in some markets, giving already supplied sites an advantage. JLL cannot yet quantify how much national industrial demand comes from data centers.