Port Everglades and PortMiami rank among top 15 North American ports based on infrastructure and strength of industrial real estate market
Miami, FL – May 6, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — East Coast ports are growing at a faster rate than their West Coast counterparts, according to the inaugural edition of CBRE Group, Inc.’s “North America Ports Logistics Annual Report.” But even as the East Coast ports are gaining ground, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach still topped the report’s first-ever “Ports and Logistics Index,” thanks to infrastructure that is well-suited to handle the largest cargo container ships, their proximity to Asian export markets, a strong local economy and a deep industrial real estate market.
Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, and PortMiami came in at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively, as a result of strong industrial real estate market fundamentals and infrastructure capabilities.
“Although the location needs of supply chain users are somewhat fixed given existing distribution centers and customer locations, these networks are always evolving and adjusting to meet increasingly complex inventory requirements,” said David Egan, head of industrial research in the Americas for CBRE. “As ports across North America continue to address operational efficiencies caused by greater cargo volumes, labor disputes and a shortage of workers, supply chain users are exploring diversification strategies that move some portion of inbound cargo from the congested West Coast ports to East and Gulf Coast ports.”
The 6-15-ranked ports on the Index are:
6. Savannah
7. Charleston
8. Metro Vancouver
9. Virginia (Norfolk)
10. Houston
11. Baltimore
12. Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale)
13. PortMiami
14. Montreal, Canada
15. Jacksonville
When it comes to port infrastructure alone—which measured total twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) volume, long-term growth in annual TEU volume and year-over-year growth in TEU volume—Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey and Long Beach took the top spots, while Port Everglades and PortMiami ranked No. 11 and No. 12, respectively. Both ports experienced an 8.5% year-over-year growth in TEU volume.
“Port Everglades continues to be Florida’s top seaport for import/export trade,” said Quinn Eddins, Director of Research and Analysis, CBRE Florida. “But a shortage of large blocks of Class A industrial space in Broward County – or the development sites to build more – has constrained further expansion of the industrial market here. Meanwhile, PortMiami, which moves less volume overall than the port just to its north, is still the leading gateway to Central and South America, and is also one of the busiest ports in the U.S. for refrigerated (perishable) cargo traffic.”
With respect to the real estate ranking component—which was weighted less heavily in the overall rankings than port infrastructure—the characteristics measured included a market’s total size, availability of existing industrial space, demand activity, historical and forecasted construction rates, rent growth and each market’s position in its own cycle. The markets with healthy amounts of existing and planned space for their size, and which have experienced growth during the current recovery cycle but have not yet reached their peaks, rose to the top of the list. Los Angeles and Long Beach were the top-ranked markets in this component, with Houston, Oakland and Seattle/Tacoma rounding out the top five.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2014 revenue). The Company has more than 52,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 370 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
Contact:
Elizabeth Cross
305.428.6373
elizabeth.cross (at) cbre (dot) com
Melinda Sherwood
305.381.6453
melinda.sherwood (at) cbre (dot) com
