Tariffs driving tactical leasing

Importers are renting warehouse space for weeks or months, not years, as they reroute cargo around fast-changing U.S. tariffs. (halifax.citynews.ca) In the Toronto area, industrial leasing climbed 43% in 2025 to 26.9 million square feet, the third-highest total on record, according to Cushman & Wakefield data cited by The Canadian Press. National leasing volumes also rose, with activity accelerating in the second half of the year. (halifax.citynews.ca) The tenants were often third-party logistics firms, which run storage and shipping for other companies, and the space they wanted was temporary overflow capacity near ports, rail yards and border crossings rather than long-term distribution hubs. (okanaganedge.net) A transload facility is a handoff point where cargo moves from ship to rail or truck, or from rail to truck, so importers can change routes mid-journey. That makes short-cycle warehouse space useful when tariff rules change faster than supply chains can be rebuilt. (inboundlogistics.com) The tariff backdrop has been unusually fluid. Reed Smith’s tariff tracker says the Trump administration has used Section 122 import surcharges, Section 301 investigations and other trade actions in early 2026, after courts struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February. (tradecomplianceresourcehub.com) That uncertainty changes what companies want from industrial real estate. Prologis said in April that customers were creating “urgent demand” for flexible overflow space even as broader warehouse leasing slowed because businesses were delaying bigger commitments. (costar.com) Some of the appeal comes from customs rules. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says goods in a bonded warehouse can be stored without payment of duty for up to five years, and goods in a Foreign-Trade Zone can enter U.S. commerce later, when duties are assessed. (cbp.gov) Those tools do not erase tariffs, and trade lawyers note that some trade-remedy duties are locked in when goods enter a Foreign-Trade Zone in privileged foreign status. But they do give importers time, route options and cash-flow relief while trade policy keeps shifting. (content.govdelivery.com) (ftz.rockefellergroup.com) For warehouse owners, that means more demand for swing space, bonded rooms and transload bays, and less certainty that a new tenant will stay for a full lease cycle. For shippers, the warehouse is becoming a tariff buffer as much as a place to store boxes. (alixpartners.com)