Welcome to another edition of our Industrial real estate news roundup!

According to a report from CBRE,?port volumes in major North American markets are down 20% year-over-year, with Los Angeles and Long Beach seeing 31.5% and 30% drops respectively. They also included an interesting graph showing a comparison from last year as well as 5 years back:

Another state has?enacted a new law putting limits on production quotas for warehouse workers. In addition to the restrictions, companies will also have to record extensive record keeping. These?laws are great for employees, but will it further prompt companies to look at robotics and automation?

Take this article in the?WSJ that shows how fast technology is advancing. In the very near?future we'll see humanoid robots performing some tasks that up until now only an employee could do.

There's a part of the article worth highlighting:

"Logistics operators have been adding automation to their warehouses for years to speed up the stacking and retrieving of goods and to take some of the most burdensome, repetitive tasks off workers. Many of the devices are designed to work in concert with employees by taking on tasks such as hauling heavy goods or bringing totes of items directly to workers. Humanoid robots take that automation a step further, seeking to stand in place of a human employee."

One more fascinating story I read about this past week is how some?large industrial buildings are now being made out of wood.

Affinius built a 161,200 sq ft warehouse out of CLT?(cross laminate timber), Prologis is working on a 250,000 sq ft building outside of Toronto, and Blueprint Robotics is planning a 450,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Baltimore. While these 3 properties are barely a blip on the radar, I'm guessing we'll hear more and more about buildings made out of mass-timber going forward.

Have a great week all!

This Weeks Live Episode Tuesday 12pm EST

Join in live this Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at noon EDT for an interview with Joel Friedman, co-founder of Brit Properties.

We'll be discussing the following:

? Why invest in industrial real estate?

? Passive vs active investing

? What is a real estate syndication?

This will be a live interview so join in and ask any questions that come to mind!