Page 28 - RE-NJ

26 SUMMER 2025
GOING GLOBAL
Inside the growth of Asian logistics fi rms in
New Jersey’s industrial market
F ar from household names,
operators like YunExpress
and Elogistek have found
themselves in the right place at the
right time when it comes to New
Jersey’s industrial market.
The companies, both based in
China, are part of a wave of Asia-
based third-party logistics fi rms
that have leased large blocks of
warehouse space in the Garden
State over the past 24 months.
That’s been critical for many
landlords, creating new demand
and helping to fi ll excess inventory
after a recent surge in speculative
construction.
How those fi rms will be impacted by
outsized tariffs and the U.S. trade
war with China remains to seen,
but developers are optimistic about
what is now an established class of
tenants.
“With the pullback in the market,
they’ve certainly fi lled that vacuum,”
said Clark Machemer, senior
managing director with Crow
Holdings Development and the
builder of a new industrial park
By Joshua Burd
in Carteret that has attracted two
China-based logistics fi rms since
late 2023.
“Just like any 3PL, there’s a lot of
diversity in how
they operate
and what they
do,” he added.
“But with the
ones we’ve been
seeing, they’ve
established their
manufacturing
Clark Machemer
networks across
Asia and specifi cally in China … and
the 3PLs become the conduits into
the U.S. market.”
According to Machemer and other
market participants, Asia-based
logistics fi rms “weren’t really on
folks’ radars” until about late
2022 or 2023. That’s when major
ecommerce players and retailers
hit pause on the large leases they
were signing at a record pace during
the pandemic-fueled peak, forcing
landlords to consider tenants
that were less familiar, often with
limited operating histories and
weaker credit profi les.