CHICAGO—The North American big-box sector just finished a historic year, as speculative deliveries soared past build-to-suits, and users quickly moved to fill in much of the new space, according to Colliers International. The company just released its latest Big Box Market Report, a series of studies that track the sector, comprised of distribution buildings with more than 300,000 square feet and clear heights of 28' or greater. The researchers believe the splendid run of expansion will continue into 2017, as more companies seek to reconstruct their supply chains and either occupy new fulfillment centers or hire 3PL firms to move their product.

“In 2016, robust demand created record levels of development, which is now in equilibrium with absorption and providing a healthy amount of options for occupiers,” the firm says. Developers completed about 87 million square feet of new big-box space, and 67% of that work was done on a speculative basis. It was a big boost over 2015, when builders finished 65 million square feet.

But leasing activity in 2016 has kept pace with new development. Users leased 105 million square feet last year, an increase of 9.6% over 2015. And even with the record amount of new construction, the overall vacancy rate only rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.7%.