Chicago Industry Trends

As Chicago industry trends change, Chicago is welcoming an expanding variety of new business and real estate development projects. The office leasing market is recovering regardless of the rising cost of construction, according to the BOMA/Chicago Study tenants place greater value on amenities and location-making, thereby transferring them away from trophy new constructions to more collaborative areas. This trend can also be seen by retrofitting existing buildings to enable flexibility for businesses when they reduce their size or move to smaller spaces.

IT (Information Technology) has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries in Chicago due to the proliferation of shared workspace companies like WeWork and Regus and also due to the fact that IT firms take advantage of Chicago's extensive infrastructure and proximity to the talent pool in other sectors. Furthermore, the 1871 incubator is rated as the top incubators worldwide.

Chicago is one of the top three manufacturing cities in the US, boasting concentrations in food production, plastics and metals. Manufacturing companies benefit due to the city's central location, which allows their products to be easily transported across the globe or across the nation. Furthermore, innovation within the manufacturing industry is rapidly growing so Chicago has many incubators like mHub.

Transportation and logistics remain key economic drivers for the Chicago region, especially when businesses shift away from traditional retail to online sales. Chicago has a varied shipping fleet, including container ports as well as air cargo hubs, airports, inland waterways and rail yards. It also has well-developed intermodal facilities which provide access to the entire US distribution chain.

Chicago is well placed for a long-term economic success with the recent expansion of Chicago Mercantile Exchange - a international center for trading and processing commodities – taking effect. Union Station serves thousands of Amtrak travelers every day. The port plays a vital role in the flow of regional trade by handling containers as well as bulk products.

Tourism in the Chicago region is also seeing growth, and should be back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this summer because of a number of major events such as NASCAR races, Lollapalooza celebration, Democratic National Convention and International Manufacturing Technology Show. O'Hare airport should see improved traffic as more airlines resume service and the government decreases travel restrictions. However, consumers' trust could be affected as the housing market is highly unpredictable and real estate professionals are able to assist buyers with these complexities and Illinois media Contacts make sure informed decisions are being made by buyers.