A new report out Wednesday from Colliers International says that export growth is key to helping improve Tacoma’s industrial real estate picture. The vacancy rate for industrial property in and around the Port of Tacoma – stretching from the Tideflats into Fife – has hovered at around 9 percent for the past year, said a company analyst. Much of the vacant space is new buildings constructed on speculation, without specific tenants in mind, he said. A Colliers report analyzing the effect of maritime freight volumes on occupancy rates in the nation’s 10 largest container ports shows that export activity can help boost real estate activity.

But industrial property around ports that were less import dependent and had more export activity generally fared better, according to Colliers. Exports accounted for about 41 percent of the port activity in Seattle-Tacoma. Seven of the top 10 container ports had more export activity than here, including Oakland, Miami and Houston.

From the News Tribune, Friday, March 12, 2010