The entitlement and construction process for new industrial builds is taking five months longer on average than it did pre-pandemic, impacting both developers and tenants alike.

New research from Newmark notes that the delays have also caused a "significant backlog" of facilities in the construction pipeline.  Starts increased by a whopping 64% between 2019 and 2021 to meet a 120% increase in tenant demand—but deliveries ticked up by just 5.7% during that time.

"Every stage of the construction timelines from the entitlements process to the active construction schedule has been hampered by two years of challenges that are unlikely to subside during the balance of 2022," the report notes. "Well-documented volatility still reigns in the construction materials supply chain, exacerbated by geopolitical conflict and pandemic-related shutdowns in Asia. Lead times for roofing materials, for example, are still 30-to-50 weeks out on average."