Chicago Industry Trends

As Chicago changes in the industry, Chicago is welcoming an increasing diversity of new business and real estate development projects. Office leasing activity is rebounding even as construction costs are rising according to the BOMA/Chicago Study tenants place greater importance on amenities and the spacemaking, causing them to move away from extravagant new construction to more collaborative spaces; this trend can be observed in retrofitting existing buildings to allow for companies to use them in a variety of ways as they downsize or relocate into smaller space.

IT (Information Technology) has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries in Chicago due to the rise of shared workspace companies like WeWork and Regus in addition to the fact that IT firms profit from Chicago's robust infrastructure and proximity to other talent pools within different industries. In addition, the 1871 incubator has ranked amongst the top incubators globally.

Chicago is among the top three manufacturing cities in the US that has high concentrations of food, metals and plastics production. Manufacturing companies profit from Chicago's central location which makes their products easy to transport across the country or around the world. Additionally, the innovation in this industry is rapidly increasing which is why Chicago provides numerous incubators, such as the mHub.

Transportation and logistics are key economic drivers in Chicago area, particularly as companies transition away from traditional retail to online sales. Chicago is home to a broad shipping fleet, including container ports airports, air cargo hubs airports, waterways inland and rail yards. There are also robust intermodal facilities providing access to the whole US distribution chain.

Chicago remains well positioned to remain a leading economic engine with the recent expansion of Chicago Mercantile Exchange - a global center for trading and processing commodities - coming into effect. Union Station serves thousands of Amtrak passengers daily while its port provides another important part of regional commerce by handling bulk and container products.

Tourism in the Chicago region is also experiencing growth and will increase to pre-pandemic levels later this summer due to several major events like NASCAR races Lollapalooza Festival, Democratic National Convention and the International Manufacturing Technology Show. O'Hare airport will see an increase in circulation as more airlines begin service and the government reduces travel restrictions. However, consumers' confidence could suffer due to the fact that the it is extremely unpredictable in the housing market and real estate professionals are able to aid buyers to navigate these complexities and make sure informed decisions are being made by buyers.