The long-term operating picture for the industrial sector is bright after it pushes through some short-term challenges.

In the short term, operating fundamentals for industrial have softened, with new supply triggering a pullback in demand, according to an analysis by Al Pontius, national director of office and industrial at Marcus & Millichap. Typically, this causes vacancies to rise and rental rates to flatten to attract new tenants, but reality varies from market to market. A large amount of new supply has been concentrated in high-growth markets, and there also has been a trend toward larger big-box formats of a million square feet or more, said Pontius.

Across the country, industrial vacancy averages about 6%.