Melinda McLaughlin, global head of research at Prologis, Inc . (NYSE: PLD), was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast. She discussed broad trends impacting logistics today, including global trade, delivery speeds, new construction, e-commerce, rising barriers to supply, standout global markets, and more.

McLaughlin said 2025 looks set to be a “solid year” for both consumption and global trade, based on strong labor markets. E-commerce, meanwhile, is “absolutely gaining market share in all of our markets around the world,” she noted.

At the same time, there's been a lack of construction for the largest logistics buildings since 2022, McLaughlin pointed out. “Today, and looking at 2025 as a whole, we see deliveries down 35% year over year for all types of logistics real estate, but that number is a 65% decline for bulk buildings, so really setting the stage for demand and supply to rebalance and maybe even have some scarcity in certain markets.”