While some construction industry research and information providers like JLL have predicted an overall slowdown in the rate of construction growth in the coming years, one sector within the construction industry has emerged as a star — the industrial segment.

The industrial sector has experienced the lowest vacancy rates in 16 years, according to JLL. The company also found that 18% of Q3 2016 leases were for newly built space, an encouraging metric for the construction industry.

E-commerce has driven a significant portion of the warehouse/distribution component of the market, a phenomenon that is part of the “Amazon effect,” which refers to the internet giant’s impact on pretty much everything to do with warehousing, ordering and shipping merchandise in the age of the internet, according to Kent Newsom, executive vice president of Ridge Development at Transwestern.

“Retailers are trying to figure out how to adjust to it,” Newsom said. In the Dallas metro area, he said, Amazon alone has approximately 4 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space.

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