IAMC News Briefs—Week of January 9, 2023
By John Salustri
SUPPLY CHAIN DIVE—You can add another sector to the list of materials delayed in shipment. A shortage of electrical distribution transformers is hobbling electrification projects across the country. Delays in bulk power systems have been an ongoing problem, with costs rising as much as 50% since 2020 and delays moving from a low of 16 months to a high of 39. But smaller distribution unit delays have crept up on the industry, with one Tennessee utility reporting a bill of $24,000 for a transformer that once ran $2,400. A group of lawmakers is urging Congress to earmark $2.1 billion in emergency funding to fuel more domestic production.
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/distribution-transformer-shortage-appa-casten/639297/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-01-05%20Supply%20Chain%20Dive%20%5Bissue:47099%5D&utm_term=Supply%20Chain%20Dive
COMMERCIAL OBSERVER—Capitalizing on the ongoing demand for industrial space, Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) has sold a 51-acre parcel in Hialeah, FL for $111.1 million. The acreage, picked up by Ares Management, is within FECI’s master planned 8.5-million-square-foot Countyline Corporate Park. This is the third trade between buyer and seller at the corporate park. Last year, Ares bought a total of nearly 20 acres in two separate deals, with plans to construct a cold storage facility on the first and a warehouse on the second.
https://commercialobserver.com/2023/01/ares-management-florida-east-coast-industries-countyline-corporate-park-feci/
SUPPLY CHAIN DIVE—UPS is anticipating as much as 70 million gift returns from the 2022 holiday season. That’s five million more than the number of ugly Christmas sweaters and vases from Aunt Martha that were returned last year. Many of those returns are from online markets—such as Amazon and DoorDash, due primarily to their ease-of-return policies. Interestingly, although the returns rate might be increasing, retail sales remained relatively flat over the prior 2021 season.
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/ups-projects-70-million-returns-during-peak-holiday-shopping/639789/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-01-09%20Supply%20Chain%20Dive%20%5Bissue:47177%5D&utm_term=Supply%20Chain%20Dive
BISNOW—Apparel maker Sunrise Brands has signed for 446,000 square feet in a soon-to-be-developed space in Tejon Ranch, CA. Terms were undisclosed beyond the start of construction, which is set for Q1 of 2024. The news was announced jointly by Tejon Ranch Co. and developer Majestic Realty. JLL spoke for ownership while Savill negotiated for Sunrise.
https://www.bisnow.com/los-angeles/news/deal-sheet/los-angeles-leases-sales-commercial-real-estate-117085#:~:text=Apparel%20company%20Sunrise%20Brands%20has,.%2C%20which%20developed%20the%20facility.
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD—Here’s an industrial marketplace fun fact: If all the spec space currently under construction delivered without a tenant, US vacancy for the sector would hit 6.8%--still lower than the historical average. So says Cushman & Wakefield, which also puts that construction total at 717 million square feet. A not-so-fun fact is that this massive amount of space might “deliver into a recession.” If so, and an economic downturn does cool the market’s heat, it would be a radical turn of events, given that 919 million feet were absorbed over the past two years, “nearly double any other two-year period on record.”
https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/united-states/insights/10-critical-questions-for-2023?utm_source=sfmc_gmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%e2%80%8b%e2%80%8b10+Critical+Questions+for+2023%e2%80%8b&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.cushmanwakefield.com%2fen%2funited-states%2finsights%2f10-critical-questions-for-2023&utm_id=312085&sfmc_id=20558719&utm_campaign=utm_campaign=gbl_whatwemakeit_1122