Industrial REITs own and manage industrial and logistics facilities and rent space in those properties to tenants. Industrial REITs play an important part in e-commerce and help meet the demand for rapid delivery.
Industrial REITs play an integral role in the continued growth of e-commerce. REIT-owned logistic centers help facilitate the transportation of goods bought on the internet to the buyer, especially the last-mile delivery. According to the International Trade Administration, global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce revenue is expected to be valued at $36 trillion by 2026 and revenue from global business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is expected to grow to $5.2 trillion by 2026.
Industrial REITs accounted for 10.9% of the equity market capitalization of the FTSE Nareit All Equity Index as of April 30. Year-to-date, equity REITs posted a total return of 0.7%. Reflecting concerns related to tariff actions and uncertainty about future economic growth, industrial REITs posted a total return of 3.8%.
Data from the Nareit REIT Industry Tracker for the fourth quarter of 2024 (the latest data available) shows that industrial REITs had solid operational performance and sound fundamentals. Industrial stats show that same-store net operating income (NOI) experienced a 5.8% year-over-year gain, underscoring that industrial REITs have more than amply kept pace with inflation. Industrial occupancy has also remained strong; it has exceeded 95% for the past 38 quarters.
Nareit’s REIT Industry Tracker also shows that industrial REITs had strong balance sheets that were characterized by well-structured debt. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, unsecured debt stood at 90.2% of total debt and 95.4% of industrial total debt was at a fixed rate. The weighted average interest rate on total debt was 3.5% and the weighted average term to maturity on that debt stood at 7.5 years.
10x: Although industrial REITs comprised approximately the same share of the FTSE Nareit All Equity Index in both April 2000 and April 2025, the market cap of the sector increased by roughly 10 times from $15.1 billion to $149.2 billion over the 25-year period.
8,675: Nareit’s REITs Across America reported that industrial REITs owned 8,675 properties in the United States as of year-end 2023 (the latest data available).
75%: Addressing concerns related to new tariff policies, Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD) research indicated that 75% of logistics real estate demand is tied to regional distribution and local consumption, potentially insulating it from the rapid changes in trade policy.
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