Chicago Industry Trends

As Chicago industry trends change, Chicago is welcoming an increase in the variety of business and real development projects. Office leasing activity is rebounding regardless of the rising cost of construction, as per the BOMA/Chicago Study; tenants place greater importance on amenities and spacemaking, causing them to move away from extravagant new construction to more co-operative spaces. This trend can be observed in retrofitting existing buildings to allow for flexibility for businesses who are relocating or downsizing to smaller spaces.

Chicago is one of the three top manufacturing cities of the US that has high concentrations of food production, plastics and metals. Manufacturing companies benefit from Chicago's central location that makes their products easy to transport throughout the United States or around the world. Furthermore, technology in this industry is rapidly increasing thus Chicago has many incubators like mHub.

Logistics and transportation remain major economic drivers in Chicago area, especially when companies shift away from traditional retailing and towards online sales. Chicago has a wide shipping fleet including container ports airports, air cargo hubs airports, inland waterways and rail yards. It also has strong intermodal facilities that provide access to the whole US supply chain.

Chicago remains well placed for a long-term economic success thanks to the recent expansion of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - a international center for trading and processing commodities - coming into effect. Union Station serves thousands of Amtrak passengers each day. Its port plays a vital role in the flow of regional commerce, handling containers as well as bulk products.

Tourism in the Chicago region is also seeing an increase, and it is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this summer because of a number of major events including NASCAR events, press release yesterday (form.jotform.com) Lollapalooza festival Democratic National Convention and International Manufacturing Technology Show. O'Hare airport should see improved travel as more airlines resume service, and the government eases travel restrictions. However, consumers' trust could be affected as the markets for housing are highly volatile Realtors can help buyers navigate these nuances and ensure that informed choices are being taken by buyers.