Chicago Industry Trends

As Chicago shifts in its industry, Chicago is welcoming an increase in the variety of business and real development projects. The office leasing market is recovering in spite of rising costs for construction according to the BOMA/Chicago Study tenants place greater importance on amenities and the places to be, which is driving them away from extravagant new constructions to more collaborative space; this trend can be observed with retrofitting of existing buildings to allow for flexibility in the use of firms that are looking to reduce or move into smaller spaces.

IT (Information Technology) has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries in Chicago due to the proliferation of shared workspace providers like WeWork and Regus, but also because IT firms profit from Chicago’s robust infrastructure and proximity to other talent pools in different sectors; furthermore, 1871 incubator has ranked amongst the best incubators worldwide.

Chicago is one of the three top manufacturing cities in the US, boasting concentrations in food manufacturing, plastics and metals. Manufacturing companies profit from Chicago’s central location which makes their products easily transportable across the country or around the world. Furthermore, innovation within the industry is rapidly advancing so Chicago has many incubators like mHub.

Transportation and logistics remain key economic drivers in Chicago area, particularly when companies shift away from traditional retail to online sales. Chicago has a varied shipping fleet that includes container ports as well as air cargo hubs, airports, inland waterways, and rail yards. There are also strong intermodal facilities that provide access to the entire US supply chain.

Chicago is well-positioned to continue to be a major press conference 298 (http://www.diigo.com) economic force thanks to the recent expansion of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange – a world-class trading center and processing of commodities – going into effect. Union Station serves thousands of Amtrak passengers each day. Its port provides another important part of regional trade by handling containers as well as bulk goods.

Tourism in the Chicago region is also seeing growth, and should return to pre-pandemic levels this summer due to several major events like NASCAR races Lollapalooza Festival, Democratic National Convention and International Manufacturing Technology Show. O’Hare airport will see an increase in travel as more airlines resume service and the government relaxes travel restrictions. However, consumer confidence could suffer as housing market is highly unpredictable and real estate professionals are able to help buyers navigate these nuances and ensure informed decisions are made by prospective buyers.