LOS ANGELES—Industrial players are in the midst of experiencing another phenomenal year, thanks to strong market and economic fundamentals. To stay on top of these trends, highlight strong and weaker markets and forecast growth for the remainder of the year, NAIOP is gearing up for their annual I.CON conference on June 10-11 in Long Beach, CA. There, industrial players from across the country will come to discuss the outstanding growth, talk about where there is room for improvement and build lasting business relationships.

“Overall, I think the industrial market will perform very well, very similar to 2014, which was a phenomenal year in almost all markets. Most still believe that there is a tremendous amount of capital looking to be placed, which will continue to drive the market. Corporate users are still feeling confident about the state of the economy, and have made a decision to continue to consolidate smaller spaces into larger facilities and expand. For that reason, I think you are still going to see positive net absorption in most markets,” Lang Cottrell, regional director at Goodman Birtcher and the committee chairman for NAIOP's I.CON conference, tells GlobeSt.com, adding that rental growth will vary depending on supply constraints in each market.

Cottrell has been busy planning the conference panels, which, this year, will include the popular Shark Tank panel, where top developers will compete for institutional equity capital to fund hypothetical projects across the country. The program this year will also include a tour of the Port of Long Beach, a panel discussing the trends beyond e-commerce, and a panel on the regulatory environment, as well as the CEO power panel, which will begin the two-day event. “We are kicking the conference off with our CEO panel with all the big players, so that is a really great way of launching the program,” Thomas Bisacquino, NAIOP president, tells GlobeSt.com. “I like to say this this is the premier industrial conference. It is where the industrial players come to do business. We have a great line-up.”

Cottrell also notes that the conference panels will highlight new trends in the marketplace. “As we pull together these panels, we also wanted to make sure that we are focusing on emerging trends,” he says. “We have a variety of panels that deal with the various aspects of the real estate industry, all with a slant on where we are today and where we are going. One of the things that is rapidly changing is the regulatory environment, although maybe not as much as we like it.”

The conference, though, isn't only about the vast knowledge industrial players will gain, according to Bisacquino, attendees will also be able to network and build relationships, which is one of the biggest benefits of attending. “At our conferences, deals happen,” he explains. “They come to these conferences because they want to network and build relationships, and sometimes they take it to the next level and are shaking hands on a deal. We think that is huge, and I think that relationship is probably the biggest takeaway.”

The event is on June 10 and 11 in Long Beach, CA, and NAIOP is expecting to host the best conference yet. “The demand for this type of program has grown exponentially, and we're expecting record attendance,” says Bisacquino. “L.A. and Long Beach is the epicenter for the whole western U.S. as far as industrial is concerned. We are in the right part of the cycle, in the right city, with the right program.”